News of the scene reached the
ears of photographers Lawrence Schiller and William Woodfield the night
before when Marilyn's Publicist, Patricia Newcomb called them promising
something special on the set the next day. They showed up the next day
armed with cameras loaded with color and black and white film.
Marilyn
dipped into the pool and waited for the camera to roll. The Cinematographer
called to her, "I'm sorry dear, but the lines [of the bathing suit] are
showing." Marilyn swam to the side of the pool shed the bikini at the water's
edge. There aren't any negatives known to have survived of Marilyn taking
the bikini off.
Designed to appear "spur of the moment", it was actually a well calculated
move to turn media attention on Marilyn. Elizabeth Taylor had been monopolizing
the press with stories of her affair with Richard Burton on and off the
set of "Cleopatra" in Rome.
The
set was so hot from the arc lighting, that the non-circulating water in
the pool rose to 94 degrees and refrigerated air had to be blasted through
the set. Marilyn was in the water for a total of 4 hours, coughing, wheezing
and struggling to swim to the edge of the pool between takes. Yet she finished
the scene with beauty. The footage is incredible. |
Listen
to Ellen splash around in the pool
