Many stag films made from the late 40's through the early 50's were thought to have featured Marilyn Monroe. Records have shown that many of these films - including the widely distributed Apple, Knockers and Coke Bottle - were found to star Arline Hunter who appeared in Playboy in August 1954 in photographs that copy the now famous images of Marilyn published 6 months before.

As early as 1944 the young unknown was in Los Angeles modeling and acting and in 1949 posed nude for Tom Kelley in a series of photographs that would later galvanize her image as a sex symbol and fuel her rise to fame. The late 1940's was a difficult time for Monroe, having lost her 20th Century Fox contract in 1946 and allegedly returned to less reputable means of making money to support herself.

In 1965, Joseph DiMaggio attempts to buy a so-called “French” type movie featuring his late ex-wife from FBI sources for $25,000. The source refuses to sell. DiMaggio's offer - 3 years after Marilyn's death and 10 years after their divorce - is the strongest evidence existing to support the theory that a pornographic movie starring Marilyn does exist. A longtime friend even after their divorce, DiMaggio took part in managing her estate and continued to protect her interests long after her death.

The Museum has taken posession of a film shot in 1948 featuring a woman widely thought to be the late sex symbol. It is the only film for which attribution has not be conclusively verified.

While the American Film Institute was hesitant to confirm the identity of the actress in this film, in a 1996 letter they did give indications that they did believe it was her.

The Estate of Marilyn Monroe insists that it is not.