The Misfits (B or 3/4 stars)
Sometimes, even if a film is good, they become legendary for what occurred during/after the "making" of said film, rather than the actual finished product. Such an example is this film, 'The Misfits' (directed by the great John Huston & written by Arthur Miller for his wife Marilyn Monroe) -- more on the production story later. 'The Misfits' is about 4 Reno locals who have trouble fitting into society as they question life, love, ambitions, & their varying motives for doing what they're doing. Clark Gable stars as the hard drinkin' cowboy Gay Langland, a grizzled man who is fast with the women, but also suffers from a sense of melancholy that he can't seem to shake. Marilyn Monroe co-stars as Roslyn Taber, a beautiful, but sad divorcee, coming to Reno to get out of a bad marriage (with Kevin McCarthy).
She is solemn, uber-sensitive, & very confused about who she is & who she wants to be. Eli Wallach plays Guido, Gable's 'good friend' who secretly despises him & pretends to feel things he actually doesn't feel, at all. And Montgomery Clift plays Perce Howland, an honest cowboy who laments the fact that his beloved father died in an accident & left their ranch that he loves to his re-married mother & her new husband, who has the nerve to offer him $$ to work the very ranch that he once owned. He now wanders aimlessly on the dangerous rodeo circuit, and is viewed as a younger, 'better' version of the older Clark Gable character. But he has his troubles, as well. All 3 men love (or lust) after Roslyn. She becomes susceptible to their wooing ways. But they're are messed-up in one fashion or another. Everything culminates in a horrible climactic sequence in which the 3 men try (via plane & truck) to catch 6 free horses to be sold for dog meat. Roslyn can't believe what she's watching & nearly loses her mind trying to decide how to get outta there, where she'll go, and if any of the men can win her over again.
OK, now the production drama. 'The Misfits' would be the last film for both Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe. Gable would die 10 days after production wrapped from a massive heart attack. And Monroe would die 1 yr. after the film's release due to a supposed overdose. To go even further, Montgomery Clift & supporting player Thelma Ritter would die relatively young within 8 yrs. after this film released. And funny enough, Eli Wallach, the only other actor left, is still alive today at age 98, haha. Even though Arthur Miller wrote this movie for his wife for Marilyn, this was possibly the best role Gable ever had excluding Gone With The Wind.
Nevertheless, aside from his own drinking/smoking/gambling issues, Gable pushed his body hard during the film; dropping some 40 pounds & doing many of his own tricky stunts in 107 degree heat. Stressed from that, his co-stars also drove him nuts during filming; which could have contributed to his anxiety/stress which led to his fatal heart attack. Monty Clift was abusing drugs & on the verge of one of his mental breakdowns. Arthur Miller & Marilyn were experiencing intense marital issues. And Marilyn, herself, was constantly troubled/late for work (as usual); on her own downward spiral of depression, alcohol & pills. Director John Huston once said of Marilyn that he could tell she was "doomed" from watching her work right in front of him every day. Interesting stuff, right?
'The Misfits' tries to debunk the nostalgic, old Western myth of rugged individualism by showing how vulnerable they really are; trying to mask their feelings by acting tough in a rugged lifestyle. On that front, the movie does a swell job. I FELT the melancholy in each of these 'misfit' characters (and some of that melancholy poured-over from their real lives). There are no classic heroes in this story, only lonely, aging people trying to live with their illusions of Western life. Some critics back in 1961 found this movie to be too solemn & pretentious for the time. But over time, it's become one of the founding examples of the 'modern' Western; which shows the dissolution of the American Dream, deconstructs the myth of cowboys, & shows the psychological ramifications of these types of people.
And hey, let's face it; this film also affords us the chance to watch these stars do their thing near the tail end of their careers. This was the last time we'd see Gable's tender, yet stoic charisma onscreen. It's the last time we'd see Marilyn & her evolution as an actress {she really was getting better & better with age; something she always tried to do, the poor thing}. Here, she's nuanced & heartbreaking in her portrayal. And this is one of the last times we'd see Monty Clift before his self-destructive lifestyle would take hold. I liked the 1st half of the film more than the 2nd. Portions of the last 45 minutes felt a touch aimless, & the mistreatment of the horses made me uncomfortable. But 'The Misfits' really is a stellar artistic achievement. It's haunting. It's elegiac. It's iconic ... for several reasons.
She is solemn, uber-sensitive, & very confused about who she is & who she wants to be. Eli Wallach plays Guido, Gable's 'good friend' who secretly despises him & pretends to feel things he actually doesn't feel, at all. And Montgomery Clift plays Perce Howland, an honest cowboy who laments the fact that his beloved father died in an accident & left their ranch that he loves to his re-married mother & her new husband, who has the nerve to offer him $$ to work the very ranch that he once owned. He now wanders aimlessly on the dangerous rodeo circuit, and is viewed as a younger, 'better' version of the older Clark Gable character. But he has his troubles, as well. All 3 men love (or lust) after Roslyn. She becomes susceptible to their wooing ways. But they're are messed-up in one fashion or another. Everything culminates in a horrible climactic sequence in which the 3 men try (via plane & truck) to catch 6 free horses to be sold for dog meat. Roslyn can't believe what she's watching & nearly loses her mind trying to decide how to get outta there, where she'll go, and if any of the men can win her over again.
OK, now the production drama. 'The Misfits' would be the last film for both Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe. Gable would die 10 days after production wrapped from a massive heart attack. And Monroe would die 1 yr. after the film's release due to a supposed overdose. To go even further, Montgomery Clift & supporting player Thelma Ritter would die relatively young within 8 yrs. after this film released. And funny enough, Eli Wallach, the only other actor left, is still alive today at age 98, haha. Even though Arthur Miller wrote this movie for his wife for Marilyn, this was possibly the best role Gable ever had excluding Gone With The Wind.
Nevertheless, aside from his own drinking/smoking/gambling issues, Gable pushed his body hard during the film; dropping some 40 pounds & doing many of his own tricky stunts in 107 degree heat. Stressed from that, his co-stars also drove him nuts during filming; which could have contributed to his anxiety/stress which led to his fatal heart attack. Monty Clift was abusing drugs & on the verge of one of his mental breakdowns. Arthur Miller & Marilyn were experiencing intense marital issues. And Marilyn, herself, was constantly troubled/late for work (as usual); on her own downward spiral of depression, alcohol & pills. Director John Huston once said of Marilyn that he could tell she was "doomed" from watching her work right in front of him every day. Interesting stuff, right?
'The Misfits' tries to debunk the nostalgic, old Western myth of rugged individualism by showing how vulnerable they really are; trying to mask their feelings by acting tough in a rugged lifestyle. On that front, the movie does a swell job. I FELT the melancholy in each of these 'misfit' characters (and some of that melancholy poured-over from their real lives). There are no classic heroes in this story, only lonely, aging people trying to live with their illusions of Western life. Some critics back in 1961 found this movie to be too solemn & pretentious for the time. But over time, it's become one of the founding examples of the 'modern' Western; which shows the dissolution of the American Dream, deconstructs the myth of cowboys, & shows the psychological ramifications of these types of people.
And hey, let's face it; this film also affords us the chance to watch these stars do their thing near the tail end of their careers. This was the last time we'd see Gable's tender, yet stoic charisma onscreen. It's the last time we'd see Marilyn & her evolution as an actress {she really was getting better & better with age; something she always tried to do, the poor thing}. Here, she's nuanced & heartbreaking in her portrayal. And this is one of the last times we'd see Monty Clift before his self-destructive lifestyle would take hold. I liked the 1st half of the film more than the 2nd. Portions of the last 45 minutes felt a touch aimless, & the mistreatment of the horses made me uncomfortable. But 'The Misfits' really is a stellar artistic achievement. It's haunting. It's elegiac. It's iconic ... for several reasons.