Acting
Kim Stanley's volcanic, Oscar-snubbed performance — she IS the movie.
Direction
Cromwell frames fame like a horror film, all mirrors and isolation.
Writing
Paddy Chayefsky's debut script, loosely based on Marilyn's life.
Director
John Cromwell
Kim Stanley
Emily Ann Faulkner (Rita Shawn)
Lloyd Bridges
Dutch Seymour
Patty Duke
Emily Ann Faulkner (Child)
Bert Freed
Lester Brackman
Joan Copeland
Alice Marie
Betty Lou Holland
Mrs. Laureen Faulkner
Steven Hill
John Tower
Elizabeth Wilson
Harding
Joanne Linville
Joanna
Joyce Van Patten
Hillary
Louise Beavers
The Cook
Werner Klemperer
Joe Wilsey
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kim Stanley originated this role on TV in 1955; the film bombed, she refused to promote it, and her film career never recovered.
Chayefsky later denied Marilyn was the sole inspiration, but the timeline matches — he wrote this during her peak fame and private despair.
US
