The successful businesswoman and entrepreneur
As 1956 began Marilyn Monroe’s new contract with Fox was announced. The press touted it as a major victory for Monroe. The press, which had been for the most part derisive of her year-long battle with the studio now called her a shrewd business operator (TIME Magazine) and a champion of the individual over the corporation. Meanwhile the far-right press began to question her loyalties based on her increasingly public relationship with Arthur Miller, a known communist sympathizer. Columnist Walter Winchell called her a “darling of the left-wing intelligentsia”, the latter descriptive a conservative code name for communists.
Through her position as head of MMP Marilyn had greater creative control of her films, including the choice of director. She also had control over script changes and rewrites, and her demanding persona on-site led to difficulties with film crews and fellow actors. She was also chronically late to the set, causing delays in filming which exasperated studio executives and her drug use often left her incapable of remembering her lines while performing. Nonetheless, critics began to regard her as a serious dramatic actor, beginning with the film Bus Stop (1956) and continuing through the rest of the decade.