Purported Marilyn Monroe Sex Tape Auction Draws No Bidders

Aug. 7, 2011— -- A film purportedly showing a young Marilyn Monroe having sex while she was still a struggling young actress went on the auction block today, but no one bought it.

Spanish memorabilia collector Mikel Barsa put the short film up for auction in Buenos Aires at the Borges Cultural Center asking a starting price of $480,000.

Barsa told The Associated Press that it is still possible he could sell the film to a buyer from Denver he declined to identify, but the price would be about half the opening bid he had requested.

A threatened suit from the Monroe estate, however, have given him second thoughts about going through with the sale, he told the AP.

Since Barsa announced the auction, experts in the screen legend have questioned whether the young woman in the film really is Norma Jean Baker.

Barsa told the AP that the scratchy, black-and-white six-minute film shows the young actress before her Hollywood breakthrough. The report says the film may have been shot around 1946 or 1947, when she was "poor and desperate to break into show business."

The proposed sale raised legal questions about whether the film is authentic and who would have the right to sell it if it turns out that it is really Monroe.

Nancy Carlson, a spokeswoman for the brand development and licensing company Authentic Brands Group, told ABCNews.com in a statement that there is no proof the person in the video is Monroe.

"The seller would bear the responsibility of proving that it is Marilyn Monroe and if he cannot do that, he runs the risk of facing claims for perpetrating a fraud on the public," Carlson said.

She also indicated that they have notified Barsa of the claims and the connection his actions will have with the Monroe Estate.

The Monroe Estate owns all rights to Marilyn Monroe's name, likeness, image and personal effects throughout the world and Carlson said the Authentic Brands Group, which would represent the estate in a potential suit, has attorneys in many countries that could assist.

"We are prepared to pursue further action against the Seller if they become necessary," Carlson said.

"It always is the same story when it comes to Marilyn -- to deny, deny, deny and to threaten," Barsa told the AP.

Michelle Morgan, author of "Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed" said she doubted the film really showed Monroe, because the young woman's figure appears far too big to be the famous actress.

"Marilyn at the time of this tape had a very slim figure, a widow's peak and perfect teeth," Morgan said.

She said she can't imagine why Barsa would think the woman in the film is Monroe, other than the fact that she may only vaguely resemble the star.

Scott Fortner, a blogger and Monroe expert who has collected several of her items like clothing, childhood possessions and an array of the star's memorabilia, shared a series of pictures with ABCNews.com where he pointed out the differences between Monroe and the woman in the film.

"For me the main aspect is the widow's peak," Fortner said. "The woman in the film has a straight hair line; Marilyn has always had her widow's peak."

He added that there is an inconsistency with Barsa's timeline with regards to when the film was made.

Monroe's modeling career started in 1945 when she was signed to Bluebook Modeling, Fortner told ABCNews.com. She signed her first film contract in 1946 with 20th Century Fox and that same year she landed two major magazine covers with Family Circle and Leader Magazine.

Barsa told the AP that Monroe was poor and desperate for stardom at the time the film was made, but Fortner said that is "inaccurate and inconsistent because she was already discovered and was a well sought-out model."

Barsa offered a 1996 letter from Alan Brown, a member of the American Film Institute, which he told the AP confirms that the woman in the film is Monroe. According to the AP, however, the letter reads, "It's not clear whether the woman in the film is Marilyn Monroe -- if not, she's definitely a lookalike."

Bob Gazzale, president and CEO of The American Film Institute, said in a statement that the AFI "does not engage in activities of this nature." He also added in that same statement that "AFI preserves the heritage of the motion picture, honors the artists and their work and educates the next generation of storytellers."

AFI did not respond to ABCNews.com's inquiry specifically regarding Barsa's claim about Alan Brown.

Barsa shared another document with the AP, which he said was a copy of a declassified FBI report claiming Monroe was the woman in the film. The text, which was heavily redacted according to the AP report, refers to information from a third party who claimed Monroe's ex-husband and baseball giant Joe DiMaggio, was offering $25,000 in 1965 for a film that "someone else claimed showed Monroe having sex." The document itself, however, didn't say if the alleged film even existed.

Lois Banner, professor of history and gender studies at the University of Southern California and author of "MM-Personal: From the Private Archive of Marilyn Monroe," said she believes Barsa insists on selling the film just because of the money involved.

"There have been numerous tapes alleging to have caught Marilyn at a particular moment in a particular sexual indiscretion, but I would not accept any such tape without a documented provenance," Banner said. "No one would buy a Miro or a Picasso without such documentation, my understanding is that the person selling the tape has brought none of this forward."