娱乐英语新闻:Public fascination with Monroe endures

The delays helped make "The Misfits," written by her then-husband, Arthur Miller, one of the most expensive black-and-white films ever made. She and Miller took separate rooms during the filming and divorced a short time later.

Monroe also was troubled by an unhappy childhood, a miscarriage, the stress of doing three movies in a row without rest and the pressure of tackling such serious material, Taylor said.

"There was a lot of pressure on a woman who was not very strong to begin with," he said. "A lot of stuff was converging on her. It's remarkable they finished the movie."

Despite an all-star cast and acclaimed director, "The Misfits" did not live up to Frank Taylor's hopes for the "ultimate motion picture," said former Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha.

The dark, deep movie about the inner struggles of a group of fictional Nevada misfits was considered odd by the public and many critics, he said.

"It ended up a disappointment," Rocha said. "It didn't capture the public's imagination. So much more was expected from the movie as far as financial return and critical acclaim."

Still, the film has developed a cult following since the deaths of its stars, who played characters much like themselves, Rocha said. The movie centers on an insecure, lonely divorcee, played by Monroe; an aging but sensitive cowboy (Gable); and a troubled but kind rodeo rider (Clift).

"What happens over time is this movie begins to get a following because of what happened after the filming," Rocha said. "The movie freezes Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable in time, and has a haunting quality."

Just 12 days after filming ended, Gable died of a heart attack at age 59. Less than 21 months later, Monroe died of a drug overdose at age 36 in what was ruled a suicide. Clift appeared in several other films before he died at age 45 in 1966.

Wallach hailed the trio's performances, called the movie "extraordinary" and said it was one of the most fascinating experiences of his long Hollywood career.

"I was working with marvelous actors like Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, great, great people," he said. "I was captivated by the role Marilyn played in the movie. Clark Gable was an extraordinary man, gentle and sweet. I feel lucky to have been in the film with them."

VanCleave said she and other Dayton residents also cherish their brush with the actors.

"We thought the whole cast was wonderful, larger than life," she said. "But to be honest, I never thought it was a very good movie."