Marilyn (1953 film)

Plot

Randy mechanic Tom Price (Reed) lusts after seductive Marilyn (Dorne), the young wife of ill-tempered garage owner George Saunders (Dwyer). Assuming that Marilyn is fooling around with his employee, Saunders begins punching him out. Defending himself, Tom accidentally kills his boss. Marilyn helps him to cover up the crime, and together the two strike out to find a new life.

Several months later, the couple is running a just-getting-by roadhouse. Wealthy Nicky Everton (Mayne) agrees to lend the couple some money, figuring that Marilyn will offer her affections as repayment. Throughout all this, Rosie - Marilyn's maid - has kept the murderous secret, until she is taken for granted once too often by her self-centered boss.

Cast

Critical reception

Marilyn was selected by film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane as one of the 15 most meritorious British B films made between World War II and 1970. The authors note that it is "symptomatic of a transatlantic turn in the British 'B'" and praise its depiction of a "pervasive sense of dissatisfaction with things as they are".