Review: "Milton's Marilyn", Greene

The greatest images of the greatest American female icon

Simply put, Milton Greene's photographs, as a group, place him first
among equals of the group of Marilyn photographers,some now dead and a
fair number still alive (as of this date),whose work-along with, of
course, her theatrical motion pictures-are all we have of this
enigmatic and emotionally compelling figure, dead 42 years now.

This book is available both in a small pocket edition and in a larger
coffee-table version, and each has its purpose, although most will
prefer the bigger one.

Greene's relationship with Monroe differed from others in that he was
also her business partner in Marilyn Monroe Productions, the company
they formed that was one of the first serious assaults on the
then-reigning Hollywood studio system. It gave MM the contractual
withal to have much more control over the types of films she did, and
the standards to which they would be made, and discretion over her
actual work (an example being the provision that she did not have to
film while periodic) than was generally the case at that time.

This also provided Greene with insight as to Monroe's thought
processes and a great deal of interaction with her personal life,
which photographers not so affiliated wouldn't have.

While there are many fine portfolios of Monroe by many very fine
photographers-George Barris,Eve Arnold, Richard Avedon-Greene's,as a
whole, stand out as capturing the Marilyn Monroe essence. No one image
of his is iconic in and of itself-it's only in the aggregate that his
work dominates. If you are only allowed one volume of Monroe, this
clearly is the one to get.