For the family of Jules Schuback, furrier by trade and amateur cameraman, it must have been quite a shock to unearth a lost cinematic treasure in the family patriarch’s back room. In 2004 while preparing to move, three minutes of footage of Marilyn Monroe on the infamous subway grate from cinema classic “The Seven Year Itch” was discovered in a grocery bag stuffed with old film by Schuback’s family. The moral of the story: listen to Grandpa’s old stories kids, because you never know which of his tall tales could actually be true!
The New York Times has now released Schuback’s footage of Monroe to the public. What makes the footage particularly special is that “The Seven Year Itch” director Billy Wilder had to film the subway sequence twice. The first time he tried filming it on the actual streets of New York, the production was so completely swamped by men panting over Monroe that the footage was made unusable. The sequence was later re-shot on a soundstage but the original footage had never been seen – until now.
While Schuback’s footage is undoubtedly cinematic history, it also captures the eternal specter of repulsive male behavior and entitlement towards women that has shamefully not abated today. Still, it is an absolute joy and honor to have a piece of cinematic history, of one of the world’s best and brightest iconic movie stars, now made available to the public. Check out the snippet below. No word yet on when the full three-minute reel will be made available to the public.
