Tristar was the very first company to ever make a Marilyn Monroe doll.  However, they did not catch a very good likeness of her.  I have heard these dolls referred to as Voodoo Marilyns.  Nevertheless, they are extremely collectible due to their age and they did come in very nice graphic boxes.  Not only did they miss the mark on Marilyn's features they also had some rather strange versions of her movie costumes.  The Don't Bother to Knock doll actually features an outfit worn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and the River of No Return dress was not worn in the film.  I wonder why they chose a couple of her lesser known films (like Let's Make it Legal) to begin with.  There are so many more famous outfits that could have been considered. 

These dolls came in two different sizes.  A larger 16" version that featured 4 dolls and the smaller 11 1/2" version that featured 8 dolls.  The most difficult dolls to find are the smaller version later dolls; Niagara, Let's Make it Legal, River of No Return and Don't Bother to Knock. 

LARGE DOLLS (16 inch)

PHOTO FROM MY COLLECTION

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, There's No Business Like Show Business, The Seven Year Itch

SMALL DOLLS (11 1/2 inch)

ABOVE PHOTOS FROM MY COLLECTION

The smaller dolls also came in the same outfits featured in the large series.