The story of the mythical photo of Marilyn Monroe in the New York subway
In September 1954, one of the most famous scenes of the 20th century starring the pop icon was immortalized.
One of the points where the largest number of tourists accumulates in the New York-based Madame Tussauds wax museum is where her figure appears. It is easy to recognize that it is Marilyn Monroe for two reasons: the statue is as well achieved as almost all the figures that are exhibited there and, in addition, it is inspired by one of the most iconic scenes in Hollywood. The one in which the famous actress lets her legs cool with the wind that comes from one of the grilles that lead to the underground subway of the Big Apple.
The photo of that moment, although many no longer remember it, belongs to a movie called "The Seven Year Itch" in English, a comedy based on a play and directed by Billy Winder. In the film, Monroe is a beautiful and naive young woman who meets Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell), her neighbor. After seeing a horror movie in the Trans-Lux cinema, they both walk until they reach a street where the unexpected happens. Marilyn's white dress rises and her lower extremities are seen in all her splendor. “Isn't it delicious?” she flirts.
Sam Shaw is the name of the photographer who immortalized the image that would serve to publicize the film -and that never appeared as such in the film, where other shots were shown- in the United States. He was a close friend of Marilyn Monroe, whom he met years ago on the set of the movie "Viva Zapata." In 1951, the actress was not yet famous and she was tasked with driving Sam Shaw, well known for publicity photos of her, to the set every day in her car. So he did and they became intimate.
According to Shaw's relatives, the idea for the scene that to this day continues to be imitated in thousands of places was his. Reading the script he would have remembered a photo he took 10 years ago for the cover of Friday magazine. They say that this edition was sold like few others. A sailor and a young woman were seen at Coney Island in a wind tunnel. And the air gave mobility to the skirt of the protagonist. With that background, he proposed to do something similar to the direct one.
Another important fact: the scene was filmed twice. One in New York and one in Los Angeles. The first was open to the public and journalists. But so many people came to 568 Lexington Avenue that the noise complicated the recording that lasted more than 3 hours. That is why it was later decided to do the same in a closed set.
