The Sex Symbol

The biopic at its most seedy and vulgarly full-blown, scripted by 'Hollywood Ten' blacklist victim Alvah Bessie from his own novel The Symbol. Dripping with clichés, it's based, perhaps too closely for some, on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Connie Stevens acts as far as the title and the camera's preoccupation with her cleavage will allow, displaying at least a talent for tantrums. The film's value, if any under the leering censoriousness and tatty analysis, lies in its stripping of illusions to reveal the pathetic vulnerabilities underneath. A callous, if unintentional, exposé of a myth, and another instance of Hollywood's insensitivity towards itself. This version, prepared for cinema release, is half-an-hour longer than the original shown on American TV under threat of libel action.