I just watched the entire film for the first time, and must say it ends better than it begins. That Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray can overcome bad accents, pathetic and obnoxious characters, and humanize them at the end really surprised me. It had all the earmarks of something tragic developing, which would've ruined the film, and is partly why I'd never finished it. All that pathos and irritation needed a counterbalance or redemption at the end, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it had that in its latter portion. No one could portray a tormented, vulnerable, exploited soul better than Marilyn, because she lived it in real life. Watching her desperately wrestle with trying to accept and believe in someone's love for her, despite her character's past, are surely among the best moments she ever put on film. It was conveyed almost exclusively non-verbally. Through most of the film I wanted badly to slap or shoot Don Murray's Beau. His character's flaws were obnoxious and relentless, so I was again amazed that he managed to rehab or redeem the character at the end. The film was made during a less cynical or perhaps less well-informed time. Few of us today would really believe such characters could overcome themselves and their pasts', but that and the beautiful Technicolor film of the time give it a dated charm.
