Marilyn, The Prequel

Marilyn Monroe's origins are mysterious. The story goes that her mother, Gladys Monroe, was a mental patient, her father unknown. Raised by cruel foster parents, Marilyn was virtually an orphan. But what if the "official story" were not true, the real story even more poignant? For Marilyn Monroe could not have entered this world without the courage of her mother, Gladys.
Set amid the glamour of 1920s Hollywood, "Marilyn, The Prequel," tells Gladys' story, beginning with her days as a "party girl" flapper and low-level studio employee. In the Palm Springs desert, Gladys is rescued one night from a riding accident by a bold figure that turns out to be the movie star, Rudolph Valentino. Rudy tells Gladys that he is on his honeymoon and was married that very day to his second wife, the fascinating Natasha Rambova, a set designer whom he worships. Gladys feels an instant attraction to Valentino but fears she will never see him again. Fate intervenes when Rudy is charged with bigamy and Gladys, as a witness to his story of the wedding, is asked to testify. Valentino is exonerated and the two become good friends although Gladys longs for more.
Gladys is warned to give up Valentino by The Reverend, a powerful radio evangelist, of whom Gladys' aunt is an associate. The Reverend tells Gladys that unless she obeys, he will destroy Valentino from his pulpit. Terrified, Gladys decides to comply and live without love. But one day, Rudy sends a telegram begging Gladys to join him on the last stop of a "tango dance tour" he undertook with Natacha. Gladys learns that Natacha has left the tour to have an abortion, a decision that decimates Rudy. Gladys agrees to partner Rudy in the last performance disguised as Natacha. Later that night, back at the hotel, the couple engages in passionate lovemaking.
Rudy sets Gladys up in a "love nest" apartment off of Hollywood Boulevard. After a time, Gladys realizes to her joy that she is pregnant. Attending a séance, Gladys is told that the baby will be a girl whom she must name Norma Jeane. Natacha Rambova learns of the pregnancy and determines to destroy it. Gladys is lured to a private sanitarium where Natacha has arranged for a forced abortion. Gladys manages to fight off her captors and escape. But the anti-Gladys forces are not finished yet. The home of her kindly aunt and uncle is blown up and the couple killed. At the "love nest" apartment, Gladys finds that all evidence of her has disappeared.
Gladys knows she has to hide. She goes to a famous mountain resort where she works as a waitress. Late in the pregnancy, Rudy manages to find Gladys and concocts a plan to fly the two of them off the mountain, but he kidnapped by Natacha's agents. Alone, Gladys struggles in the woods to survive. Finally, she seeks refuge with The Reverend who, despite his grim attitude, turns out to be a protector of Gladys and her child.
Gladys and The Reverend are forced to flee the country when one of his most trusted assistants is seemingly murdered. The Reverend takes Gladys to a bootlegger hideout in Mexico where he delivers Norma Jeane. Sometime later, with Norma Jeane, Gladys travels to New York where Rudy is premiering a movie. Rudy is thrilled, and since he and Natacha have divorced, his future happiness with Gladys seems secure.
But Natacha's ominous influence apparently remains. Rudy is hospitalized with what the newspapers call appendicitis, but Gladys suspects he is being poisoned. No one listens to her pleas for help. Resigned, Gladys leaves the hospital shortly before Rudy dies. The final struggle has unhinged her. At Rudy's funeral, Norma Jeane is snatched from her by someone who has pretended to be a friend. Gladys is put in a mental institution and when, decades later she reads about a starlet named Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane, she realizes that she and Rudy have given the world the greatest gift that love could provide.