Buena Vista Residence

Buena Vista Residence is the setting for a brief but revealing domestic encounter shortly before a film premiere. Norma Jeane Baker returns there with new clothes and the hope of showing them to Cass Chaplin; instead, the visit turns into an unexpectedly intimate moment with her agent, I. E. Shinn.

The residence and its domestic details

Two days before the premiere, I. E. Shinn accompanies Norma Jeane Baker home to her residence in Buena Vista and helps carry the shopping packages into the bungalow. Cass is not there. His absence is nevertheless palpable: the apartment retains the rich, oily smell of his skin, sweat, and wet hair, and his whiskey, gin, and brandy remain in the kitchen.

The details make the home feel occupied by Cass even when he is away. Norma Jeane does not want to touch his bottles, and she offers Shinn nothing to drink or invite him to sit while she makes coffee. She is eager for him to leave so she can try on the new clothes in front of the mirror, break them in, and be ready for Cass’s arrival.

The visit and its unexpected turn

After thanking Shinn, Norma Jeane walks him to the door. When she notices that he seems to expect something more, she adopts Marilyn’s sensual voice, calls him Daddy in thanks, and bends to kiss him lightly on the lips. The gesture reverses the scene’s immediate direction: she had been impatient to dismiss him and return to the mirror, but the farewell becomes a startlingly intimate encounter.

Buena Vista Residence thus holds two kinds of anticipation at once. The new clothes and mirror belong to Norma Jeane’s preparation to be seen by Cass; the kiss makes Shinn, who has brought the clothes into the home, the recipient of an intimacy he appears to have hoped for. The scene’s domestic setting gives that shift its force: an absent lover is present through scent and belongings, while the agent who helps deliver the purchases receives the final gesture.