Marilyn Monroe film 'shows actress smoking marijuana'

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The video was unearthed from an attic some 50 years after it was filmed

A reel-to-reel home movie which allegedly shows Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe smoking marijuana has emerged after 50 years.

The silent film, shot at a private home in New Jersey, was recently purchased by a collector.

Monroe at one point is passed a cigarette, takes a puff, but does not appear to inhale deeply.

The person who shot the film told the Reuters news agency the cigarette contained marijuana.

Collector Keya Morgan recently purchased the film for $275,000 from the film's owner, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The film is believed to date from 1958 or 1959, and shows a happy and relaxed-looking Monroe.

Monroe died aged 36 in 1962

"This is the late 1950s so she is already very famous, but this is a personal side of her we've never seen before" said Mr Morgan.

"People have never seen her in such a relaxed pose."

Stored in attic

Mr Morgan is a collector of historical photographs and manuscripts, and is currently working on a documentary about Monroe.

He learned of the film and tracked down the owner, who had kept it as part of an archive that was moved between various homes. In the last three years it had been stored in an attic.

The anonymous owner told Reuters that the cigarette contained marijuana, saying: "I got it [the pot]. It was mine. It was just passed around.

"It was not a party. It was just a get-together. You know, come over and hang out."

In August this year, the burial vault above the remains of Monroe - who died aged 36 in 1962 - was sold for more than $4.6m (£2.8m).

The space was auctioned by the widow of the man buried - face down - above Monroe, to raise enough cash to pay off the mortgage on her Beverly Hills home.