Arthur Miller the murder, postulating that part of the reason Miller took such an active interest (including supporting Reilly's defense and using his own celebrity to bring attention to Reilly's plight) was because he had felt similarly persecuted in his run-ins with the HUAC. He sympathized with Reilly, whom he firmly believed to be innocent and to have been railroaded by the Connecticut State Police and the Attorney General who had initially prosecuted the case. In 1964 "After the Fall" was produced, and is said to be a deeply personal view of Miller's experiences during his marriage to Monroe. The play reunited
Marilyn Monroe performances and awards "American National Biography", considers the typecast "an unfair stereotype that bothered her throughout her career". Her major breakthrough came in 1953, when she starred in three pictures: the film noir "Niagara", and the comedies "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How to Marry a Millionaire". Sarah Churchwell, Monroe's biographer, notes that "unconscious, rather than conscious, sexuality would become the Marilyn hallmark after 1953", and the actress became one of the most popular and recognizable people in America. In 1955 Monroe appeared in the Billy Wilder–directed comedy "The Seven Year Itch", in which she becomes the object of her married neighbor's sexual fantasies.