Discovering the first half of the 20th century

Although I was born in 1985 and I'm not even American, I've started to appreciate some of the American culture that dates back before the 60's. Besides having seen most of the Tom and Jerry episodes, I first noticed some Edward Hopper paintings and I now find myself regularly listening to music by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Louis Jordan. This type of jazz and swing music reoccurs in the Marilyn Monroe movies I managed to get my hands on. So far I've seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop and Some Like It Hot. Even though its characters smoke and drink like there's no tomorrow, The Seven Year Itch remains my favourite. In this comedy Monroe is the girl, visiting a man whose family is away for the summer. For some reason the guy manages to stay loyal to his wife and leave the girl alone. It almost seems unique compared to contemporary movies. Although the subject of infidelity is taken lightly and the movies are cliché galore, it's quite interesting to see this legend I've heard so much about at work. To quote Marilyn: “Just elegant!”