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Rare Marilyn Monroe footage auctioned in Australia
2008-09-25
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Rare behind-the-scenes footage of Marilyn Monroe on the set of the 1959 hit "Some Like it Hot" sold for 17,500 dollars (14,630 US dollars) at an auction in Australia Thursday, the auctioneers said. The two-and-a-half-minute film, featuring Monroe with co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, was taken by a US naval officer invited onto the set at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California, after the screen goddess visited his base. The eight-millimetre film, still in its original box, was found among the sailor's possessions and brought to Australia by his daughter when she moved here. The footage, which was bought by an unnamed private collector, had been expected to fetch between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars, according to the auction house. "Marilyn Monroe memorabilia is always in demand but rarely do we get one-off material like this," said Charles Leski of Leski Auctions. "It is also extremely rare for such important archival footage to be auctioned outside of the US before its domestic release and for that we are extremely proud," he said in a statement. The film shows Monroe surrounded by sailors on a visit to the naval base and later features moments of Monroe acting "playfully" on the set with Lemmon and Curtis. The auction house said an amateur film shot of Monroe on the set of her last completed movie, "The Misfits", sold in the US for 60,000 US dollars. Monroe died aged 36 in August 1962 after an overdose of pills that was ruled a suicide. Tony Curtis is the only surviving key member of the cast of "Some Like it Hot," a cross-dressing comedy directed by Billy Wilder.
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