Monkey Business (1952)

After a nuanced star turn in Don’t Bother to Knock, Monroe returned to the supporting cast in the lackluster Howard Hawks comedy Money Business. Cary Grant plays a scientist named Barnaby who creates a de-aging elixir while experimenting on monkeys and accidentally drinks it himself; hijinks ensue. Monroe appears as Lois, an assistant in his lab.

Monroe’s role in Monkey Business is a stepping stone toward her status as a sex symbol, which would be solidified in Niagara the following year. As Lois she is still innocent and sweet, but the film also makes a point to have a scene early where she bare her whole leg for the camera; she is wrapped in a tight, form-fitting dress. “Very cute,” Edwina (Ginger Rogers) says to her husband Barnaby about Lois. “Sort of, but half infant,” he replies dismissively. “Not the half that’s visible,” Edwina retorts. It was this balance, between endearing naivety and sexual power, that defined Monroe’s characters in her early comedies. She doesn’t get to fully flex those traits in Monkey Business, but the performance is a launching pad for later, better roles.

The film, aside from some charms from Grant and Rogers, is perhaps most interesting as a signal of transition in Hollywood, a changing of the guard from the motormouth stars of the 1940s to the glistening beauties of the 1950s and beyond. While Edwina and Barnaby grapple with whether youth is all it’s cracked up to be, Monroe’s Lois is waiting in the wings, the picture of youth, on the precipice of overtaking Hollywood. When Grant takes the elixir and goes on a youthful joyride Lois tags along, contrasting with the aging Grant. If not a fully developed role on screen, Lois is at least a symbolically intriguing touchpoint in the arc of Monroe’s ascension to A-list status in the movie industry.

Rating: 2/5