Marilyn Monroe's best performances, ranked

Monroe refuses to be outshined in Walter Lang’s ensemble musical comedy There’s No Business Like Show Business, where she stars alongside film veteran Ethel Merman, Singing In The Rain’s Donald O’Connor, Dan Dailey, famed musician Johnnie Ray, and Mitzi Gaynor. Monroe swoops in like a tropical “Heat Wave” to spice up the overall tepid film, saving it from a truly dull existence. Any time she’s not onscreen, you’re just wondering when she’ll appear again.

As is a trend with many films starring Monroe, she’s a highlight of this clunky noir from Henry Hathaway. Monroe takes on a role outside of her wheelhouse as the illustrious, conniving femme fatale. Her natural sensuality carries the weight of her performance, but her acting doesn’t quite convince us that she’s a temptress capable of planning her husband’s murder. Still, the blame falls less on Monroe’s performance than the role she’s been given, especially since it relies so heavily on her looks to cultivate an air of mystery and a front of salaciousness.

Monroe stars alongside Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, and Robert Ryan in , the first film where the starlet was billed in its promotional materials as a lead actor. In the Monterrey-set drama, Monroe plays Peggy, a tenacious girl who works down at a fish cannery. Here, Fritz Lang did the unthinkable, putting Monroe in some classic denim jeans. Her dreamy, frisky demeanor plays beautifully off of Stanwyck’s tight composure and cynicism throughout the film. Monroe really taps into something imperfect and human here, and it marks a wide departure from the glitzy roles for which she would soon become known.

Jean Negulesco’s attests to Monroe’s ability to play a lovable, Judy Greer-esque best friend. She nevertheless gives co-star Lauren Bacall a run for her money in scenes with perfectly timed comic relief, as she and her two girlfriends seek out millionaire husbands in a high-rise Manhattan apartment they cannot afford. Never afraid to play the charming fool, Monroe’s ongoing gag about refusing to wear her prescribed glasses is a bit of ’50s screwball comedy gold.

If there’s one thing men have, . Much of Billy Wilder’s is frankly atrocious from a filmmaking perspective, with Monroe narrowly confined to the fantastical images of a neurotic, married man. However, Monroe’s an expert when it comes to ferociously playing into men’s silly, sexist expectations (and defending The Creature From The Black Lagoon!). Even when she’s playing a ditz, the joke’s never on her, and she makes us understand why whimpering, even foaming-at-the-mouth men cannot seem to control themselves when she’s around.

In one of her more dynamic romantic comedy roles, Monroe plays no one’s fool in Laurence Olivier’s . She effortlessly steals the film’s spotlight from her director and co-star Olivier, triumphing above all of the drama and heartache behind the scenes. Monroe’s Elsie Marina has a keen understanding of men and is not afraid to make them into a joke for her own personal amusement. She’s not malicious, but goofy and endlessly charming, with a touch of romanticism. Her character is tinged with self-awareness, as she refuses to be patronized by the powerful men around her.

In opposition to Niagara, Monroe’s performance in Roy Ward Baker’s noir thriller Don’t Bother To Knock feels palpably dangerous. Marking one of her first lead roles, Monroe stars as a nervous, doe-eyed girl named Nell Forbes, who takes on a babysitting job at a New York City hotel. Catching the eye of the heartbroken man across the way (Richard Widmark), Nell does anything and everything she can to keep him, supported by delusions of her past with the strange man. Though the film is short, Monroe’s performance is a knockout, imbuing her character with the feeling that at any moment she could snap.

Though Monroe appeared in numerous Westerns (i.e. River Of No Return), she’s never more emotionally potent than in her performance as Roslyn Tubor in John Huston’s . Roughing it in Reno after her divorce, Monroe’s Roslyn is taken under the wing of an elder cowboy (Clark Gable), his friend Guido (Eli Wallach), and her friendly landlady Isabelle (Thelma Ritter). Though the whole cast delivers outstanding performances, Monroe’s a standout with her raw and tender take on a down-on-her-luck character. The Misfits would not only mark the for Monroe, who died the next year, but also for the late Clark Gable, who died a mere 12 days after shooting wrapped.

Monroe’s impeccable as the restless trouble-magnet Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk, who sings and plays the ukulele in Billy Wilder’s (which is leaps and bounds better than his The Seven Year Itch). The performance given by Monroe is nuanced—as in one moment it’s sparkling and chipper, and the next laced with the perfect amount of melancholy. She has pitch-perfect chemistry with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, who offer some levity to Sugar Kane’s tiresome life on the road. Monroe brings a certain realness to this goofy feature, knowing exactly when to crank up her sensual physicality and when to instill her character with undeniable empathy.

Monroe’s in her best form by far as the star of Howard Hawks’ . Working opposite the impeccable Jane Russell, Monroe’s a truly vivacious, shimmering presence. Her line delivery is the work of a comedic genius, who knows just when to lean into her character’s “head in the clouds” nature—and also when to upturn everyone’s assumptions about beautiful blondes. Carefully wielding control over any scene she enters, Monroe and Russell make a great pair as showgirls from Little Rock—one with her sights set on diamonds, and the other set on the U.S. Olympic team. Monroe’s “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” number is a stand-out that utilizes Monroe’s show-stopping stage presence, humor, and ability to deliver any cheesy line with a grin and a wink.