To view "The Misfits" in 2006 turns out to be quite a chilling experience. Prophetically in its "doomness" - personal doomness that is. Arthur Miller writes, unwittingly, his wife's swan song and she sings it with a combination of uppers and downers. Pay attention to Eli Wallach describing Marilyn to Clark Gable. Was that Miller himself being particularly misogynistic or what hell was it? She talks about herself, they all talk about her. She is a hurricane right in the middle of a human storm. Montgomery Clift seems to be talking about himself too. The whole bloody thing is really close to the knuckle. Arid, depressing, slow and yet, riveting, funny, mesmerizing. "The Misfits" should be seen for a variety of reasons but to see Gable and Monroe sharing a black and white screen a short time before their deaths is an experience on itself.
153 Reviews
Did Gable really have to die for the making of The Misfits
bkoganbing18 May 2005
I still remember when it was reported Clark Gable had had a heart attack shortly after completing The Misfits. It happened just before Election Day because there was a news item and it's mentioned in at least one Gable biography that he voted by absentee ballot in 1960. Shortly after that he died and the world was waiting the birth of his son and his last posthumous film.
No doubt about it Gable does look all of his 59 years in the Misfits. But he's still exudes that gruff animal magnetism that leaves you no doubt as to why Marilyn Monroe was finding him so sexy. It's an interesting and challenging role for Gable, his Gay Langland is a bitter multi-layered character, whose family has deserted him and his way of life is vanishing. All three of the men, Gable, Monty Clift, and Eli Wallach have a deathly fear of working for wages expressed often during The Misfits.
For Monty Clift it's more than fear. He's also bitter about being cheated out of his father's ranch by a stepfather who offers him wages. So he's taken to the rodeo circuit, but he's also past his prime in that dangerous sport.
Eli Wallach starts out as what we think is a deep sensitive portrayal, but as we go along we find there's less than meets the eye. He wants Marilyn Monroe real bad (who wouldn't) and it's clear he's just using some of his best lines in his quest for her.
Marilyn as eastern divorcée to be serves as the group's conscience when they start going after mustangs for dog food manufacturers. Quite illegally of course, but that's part of the challenge for this group. Lots of shots of Marilyn's bulges both front and rear are another good reason to see this film.
Towards the end the wild mustangs on the Nevada desert take over the film from the human actors. They are a kind of doppleganger for this group, they are also misfits with no place in the modern world for them except as canned dog food.
Those roping stunts and Clark Gable being dragged by a horse probably put a strain on his cardiovascular system. It's been written that Marilyn was the cause of his demise. Pure and utter nonsense. I can't believe John Huston the director let him do those scenes. Why wasn't a stunt double used? Marilyn Monroe was one royal pain to work with, what with all of her issues, but that surely had nothing to do with what happened to Gable.
The Misfits still holds up well after over 40 years. All of the cast can be proud of their work in that film.
No doubt about it Gable does look all of his 59 years in the Misfits. But he's still exudes that gruff animal magnetism that leaves you no doubt as to why Marilyn Monroe was finding him so sexy. It's an interesting and challenging role for Gable, his Gay Langland is a bitter multi-layered character, whose family has deserted him and his way of life is vanishing. All three of the men, Gable, Monty Clift, and Eli Wallach have a deathly fear of working for wages expressed often during The Misfits.
For Monty Clift it's more than fear. He's also bitter about being cheated out of his father's ranch by a stepfather who offers him wages. So he's taken to the rodeo circuit, but he's also past his prime in that dangerous sport.
Eli Wallach starts out as what we think is a deep sensitive portrayal, but as we go along we find there's less than meets the eye. He wants Marilyn Monroe real bad (who wouldn't) and it's clear he's just using some of his best lines in his quest for her.
Marilyn as eastern divorcée to be serves as the group's conscience when they start going after mustangs for dog food manufacturers. Quite illegally of course, but that's part of the challenge for this group. Lots of shots of Marilyn's bulges both front and rear are another good reason to see this film.
Towards the end the wild mustangs on the Nevada desert take over the film from the human actors. They are a kind of doppleganger for this group, they are also misfits with no place in the modern world for them except as canned dog food.
Those roping stunts and Clark Gable being dragged by a horse probably put a strain on his cardiovascular system. It's been written that Marilyn was the cause of his demise. Pure and utter nonsense. I can't believe John Huston the director let him do those scenes. Why wasn't a stunt double used? Marilyn Monroe was one royal pain to work with, what with all of her issues, but that surely had nothing to do with what happened to Gable.
The Misfits still holds up well after over 40 years. All of the cast can be proud of their work in that film.
Huston's film established Marilyn Monroe as a dramatic sensuous actress...
Nazi_Fighter_David6 April 2008
"The Misfits" is literally about four people who don't fit into society
A divorcée (Monroe) meets cowboy Langland (Gable), who is getting too old for his job
They decide to live together
A former rodeo star (Clift) and an unemployed mechanic (Wallach) join in the drifting
Huston's masculine images are stripped of their former glory, existing only one rough exterior which fails to conceal what has been lost Eventually the men agree to round up wild mustangs for a dog food manufacturer
Scenes of the trio and Monroe speeding across the prairie in a beaten-up truck, raising a hurricane of dust while attempting to rope the stallions, are the strongest evocations of lost souls wandering in time
Huston's film established Marilyn Monroe as a dramatic sensuous actress, thus liberating her from a decade of steamy cheesecake roles in sexy comedies
Huston's masculine images are stripped of their former glory, existing only one rough exterior which fails to conceal what has been lost Eventually the men agree to round up wild mustangs for a dog food manufacturer
Scenes of the trio and Monroe speeding across the prairie in a beaten-up truck, raising a hurricane of dust while attempting to rope the stallions, are the strongest evocations of lost souls wandering in time
Huston's film established Marilyn Monroe as a dramatic sensuous actress, thus liberating her from a decade of steamy cheesecake roles in sexy comedies
Gable and Monroe Are Terrific
drednm14 January 2008
THE MISFITS is a delicate gem of a film, poetic and harsh and as cold as those western stars on the horizon that Gable and Monroe drive toward at film's end. The title refers to the wild mustangs they hunt, but it also describes the 4 main characters, each lost in a world they hardly recognize. At one point Monroe points to a mountain vista and says "it's like a dream." Each of the characters is wounded and lost in some way. Marilyn Monroe plays a divorcée trying to figure out what to do next. Clark Gable plays a cowboy in a vanishing west. Montgomery Clift plays a rancher cheated out of his legacy when his mother remarries. Eli Wallach plays a guy whose life has come to a standstill after the death of his wife. The characters circle each other, trying to make connections, but their timing is always off. Gable and Monroe seem to find something until they go on the mustang hunt.
Gable is magnificent as the aging cowboy who fears "working for wages" as the final sign of giving in to the commonplace and losing the old west. But the old west is, of course, already lost. Most of the action takes place in and around Reno, the perfect symbol for what the west has become. His drunk scene (after he has seen his kids) is astonishing in its pain and ugliness. It's a great performance.
Monroe is stunning and gives a quiet and simple performance that shows what she could have done (had she lived). Leaving her "dumb blonde" persona in the dust, what we get here is Monroe the actress, and she's just plain terrific. Aside from the scene (done in a long shot) where she rages at the men after they have captured the horses, Monroe plays this character very quietly and with lots of small reactions (watch her eyes). It's a great performance.
Clift and Wallach do wonders with their characters and provide a lot of the tension since all three men pursue Monroe. Thelma Ritter is solid as Isabelle. Estelle Winwood has an odd role as the old lady collecting money. James Barton and Kevin McCarthy have small roles.
I think THE MISFITS is a must see for any serious film buff. The film collapsed under the weight of its publicity in 1961 and there was a huge backlash when Gable died within 2 weeks of finishing the film. Yet the film is gorgeous, a shimmering Arthur Miller poem to the worlds and people we've lost.
Gable is magnificent as the aging cowboy who fears "working for wages" as the final sign of giving in to the commonplace and losing the old west. But the old west is, of course, already lost. Most of the action takes place in and around Reno, the perfect symbol for what the west has become. His drunk scene (after he has seen his kids) is astonishing in its pain and ugliness. It's a great performance.
Monroe is stunning and gives a quiet and simple performance that shows what she could have done (had she lived). Leaving her "dumb blonde" persona in the dust, what we get here is Monroe the actress, and she's just plain terrific. Aside from the scene (done in a long shot) where she rages at the men after they have captured the horses, Monroe plays this character very quietly and with lots of small reactions (watch her eyes). It's a great performance.
Clift and Wallach do wonders with their characters and provide a lot of the tension since all three men pursue Monroe. Thelma Ritter is solid as Isabelle. Estelle Winwood has an odd role as the old lady collecting money. James Barton and Kevin McCarthy have small roles.
I think THE MISFITS is a must see for any serious film buff. The film collapsed under the weight of its publicity in 1961 and there was a huge backlash when Gable died within 2 weeks of finishing the film. Yet the film is gorgeous, a shimmering Arthur Miller poem to the worlds and people we've lost.
Deeply flawed is the best way to express the film's total effect...
Doylenf29 December 2006
It's obvious that Arthur Miller was trying to say something important here, but THE MISFITS is a strange vessel to convey anything other than bitterness, distrust, emptiness, anger and pity as expressed by showcasing the empty lives of a group of disparate people trying to eke out a living in the barren wastelands of Nevada.
Just what this is all supposed to symbolize is hard to tell. It sure takes time to criss-cross the various characters who talk at length about what's bugging them and what they want from life, and then the same sort of scene takes place again but in different surroundings. It's a vicious merry-go-round of a sad state of affairs.
Not even the wonderful THELMA RITTER can inject any of her usual levity into the gloomy proceedings with an occasional wisecrack. MARILYN MONROE looks wistfully at Gable (and everyone else--almost as if she's been drugged), and this is supposed to show us how sensitive she is. To her credit, she does rise to the occasion in the dramatic finale where the men are rounding up horses and Monroe screams at them in horror when she realizes what's happening. Her near breakdown looks genuine and heartfelt...but what was her state of mind during the first part of the film? Hard to tell--she goes from happy to sad within each segment with little explanation given.
CLARK GABLE's character is no more illuminating--he seems to be playing a lazy but good-natured drifter who doesn't really know where he's going or what he wants and he gets lifeless support from MONTGOMERY CLIFT who seems to be (like Monroe) in some sort of daze most of the time. Maybe he's supposed to be sensitive too. Subtle, no? As you can see, this will never rank as one of my favorite films even though the script is by the renowned Arthur Miller and the direction is by the equally renowned John Huston who had a hard time coaxing Marilyn Monroe onto the set.
Pretentious from start to finish is the only verdict I can come up with and a difficult film to watch without losing patience.
Unfortunately, its chief distinction today is that it was the last film of Gable and Monroe.
Just what this is all supposed to symbolize is hard to tell. It sure takes time to criss-cross the various characters who talk at length about what's bugging them and what they want from life, and then the same sort of scene takes place again but in different surroundings. It's a vicious merry-go-round of a sad state of affairs.
Not even the wonderful THELMA RITTER can inject any of her usual levity into the gloomy proceedings with an occasional wisecrack. MARILYN MONROE looks wistfully at Gable (and everyone else--almost as if she's been drugged), and this is supposed to show us how sensitive she is. To her credit, she does rise to the occasion in the dramatic finale where the men are rounding up horses and Monroe screams at them in horror when she realizes what's happening. Her near breakdown looks genuine and heartfelt...but what was her state of mind during the first part of the film? Hard to tell--she goes from happy to sad within each segment with little explanation given.
CLARK GABLE's character is no more illuminating--he seems to be playing a lazy but good-natured drifter who doesn't really know where he's going or what he wants and he gets lifeless support from MONTGOMERY CLIFT who seems to be (like Monroe) in some sort of daze most of the time. Maybe he's supposed to be sensitive too. Subtle, no? As you can see, this will never rank as one of my favorite films even though the script is by the renowned Arthur Miller and the direction is by the equally renowned John Huston who had a hard time coaxing Marilyn Monroe onto the set.
Pretentious from start to finish is the only verdict I can come up with and a difficult film to watch without losing patience.
Unfortunately, its chief distinction today is that it was the last film of Gable and Monroe.
The Misfits is an overlooked Cinematic Gem.
marxsarx21 June 2003
The Misfits is famous for being the last completed film of two cultural icons, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. It brings the two famous stars into the then current year of 1961.
This is a movie about a woman in Reno, Nevada (where else?) who is there to get a divorce. On a whim (she makes up her mind fast!) she drives out to the desert on the day of her divorce with a washed out aging cowboy (Clark Gable) and his buddy (Eli Wallach) as well as her friend (Thelma Ritter). This begins a wistful adventure and sometimes sad relationship for her with the cowboy and his misfit friends (including Montgomery Clift). They grapple with life's issues from divorce, friendship, greed and even cruelty until finally, everyone's character and philosophy of life is laid bare in a showdown over 6 wild horses.
This is an underrated cinematic gem...and I can see why. The first time I saw this movie a few years ago I thought it was beautiful and well done but sad and too depressing with a vague ending. Recently, I couldn't pass it by because of it's place in movie history when I saw it on DVD for just $5.88! What a shock I got watching this one on my big screen TV in the original widescreen format in glorious black and white. It was so fantastically fascinating from beginning to end that I watched it twice in a row. Marilyn Monroe is an amazing actress and she brings Rosalyn Tabor to life in this film. She's riveting and not because of her fantastic looks. What a thrill! Clark Gable inhabits his character Gay like he's in his own skin, making him a man you can respect and sympathize with. Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter are all incredible in their roles. I don't know how I missed so much the first time I saw this move. It has humor, pathos and drama. The great John Houston directs it brilliantly! The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking and the editing is sheer genius. It's an overlooked cinematic gem and I recommend it! Watch it twice if you're don't see the joy and hope in this film the first time. It's there! This crew hs created a near mastepiece. Keep following that same bright star. I rate this a 91/100. Don't miss seing it in the widescreen format on a big screen TV.
This is a movie about a woman in Reno, Nevada (where else?) who is there to get a divorce. On a whim (she makes up her mind fast!) she drives out to the desert on the day of her divorce with a washed out aging cowboy (Clark Gable) and his buddy (Eli Wallach) as well as her friend (Thelma Ritter). This begins a wistful adventure and sometimes sad relationship for her with the cowboy and his misfit friends (including Montgomery Clift). They grapple with life's issues from divorce, friendship, greed and even cruelty until finally, everyone's character and philosophy of life is laid bare in a showdown over 6 wild horses.
This is an underrated cinematic gem...and I can see why. The first time I saw this movie a few years ago I thought it was beautiful and well done but sad and too depressing with a vague ending. Recently, I couldn't pass it by because of it's place in movie history when I saw it on DVD for just $5.88! What a shock I got watching this one on my big screen TV in the original widescreen format in glorious black and white. It was so fantastically fascinating from beginning to end that I watched it twice in a row. Marilyn Monroe is an amazing actress and she brings Rosalyn Tabor to life in this film. She's riveting and not because of her fantastic looks. What a thrill! Clark Gable inhabits his character Gay like he's in his own skin, making him a man you can respect and sympathize with. Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter are all incredible in their roles. I don't know how I missed so much the first time I saw this move. It has humor, pathos and drama. The great John Houston directs it brilliantly! The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking and the editing is sheer genius. It's an overlooked cinematic gem and I recommend it! Watch it twice if you're don't see the joy and hope in this film the first time. It's there! This crew hs created a near mastepiece. Keep following that same bright star. I rate this a 91/100. Don't miss seing it in the widescreen format on a big screen TV.
Classic and unforgettable movie with the greatest stars in their last one
ma-cortes26 April 2020
A nice, attractive film with compelling acting all around dealing with a cynical floozy befriends grim cowboys in this sad and dramatic story. Concerning a motley group of roles in the twilight of the American frontier, and developing emotional cripples searching for a meaning to life. Most of them are failed cowboys scratching an unhappy living around the rodeos.
A downbeat and tragic film with competent interpretations from leads Montgomery Clift Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe. For the two latter it was their last film and nearly the end for Clift. Lending an almost prophetic testament when the movie proved to be the final of the line. Montgomery Clift provides the best acting in the picture as a rodeo ex-star to follow his death soon after. They are very well accompanied by Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Marilyn Monroe is magnificent as the Reno divorcee who becomes a sort of earth mother and sensitive conscience to a bunch of tarnished cowboys. But it actually comes excellent results to be the mustang round-up at the end, with overly moving and and symbolic sequences. Interesting and thoughful script by Arthur Miller, at the time Monroe's husband. And brief appearances from Stelle Winwood, Kevin McCarthy and James Burton.
It packs an evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Russell Metty. As well as thrilling and stirring musical score by Alex North. The motion picture was splendidly and superbly directed by John Huston. It was made in the 60s when Huston made pretty good films as Freud, The list of Adrian Messenger, The night of the Iguana, Reflections in a Golden eye, though he also had some flops as The Bible in the beginning, Casino Royale, Sinful Davey, A walk with love and death and The Kremlin letter. Rating 7.5/10. Better than average. Worthwhile seeing. The flick will appeal to Monroe, Gable and Clift fans.
A downbeat and tragic film with competent interpretations from leads Montgomery Clift Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe. For the two latter it was their last film and nearly the end for Clift. Lending an almost prophetic testament when the movie proved to be the final of the line. Montgomery Clift provides the best acting in the picture as a rodeo ex-star to follow his death soon after. They are very well accompanied by Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Marilyn Monroe is magnificent as the Reno divorcee who becomes a sort of earth mother and sensitive conscience to a bunch of tarnished cowboys. But it actually comes excellent results to be the mustang round-up at the end, with overly moving and and symbolic sequences. Interesting and thoughful script by Arthur Miller, at the time Monroe's husband. And brief appearances from Stelle Winwood, Kevin McCarthy and James Burton.
It packs an evocative and atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Russell Metty. As well as thrilling and stirring musical score by Alex North. The motion picture was splendidly and superbly directed by John Huston. It was made in the 60s when Huston made pretty good films as Freud, The list of Adrian Messenger, The night of the Iguana, Reflections in a Golden eye, though he also had some flops as The Bible in the beginning, Casino Royale, Sinful Davey, A walk with love and death and The Kremlin letter. Rating 7.5/10. Better than average. Worthwhile seeing. The flick will appeal to Monroe, Gable and Clift fans.
Stands Alone
kinolieber21 April 2001
This is a one of a kind film experience which has taken on even more depth with our hindsight into the lives of its creators. Written by Monroe's then husband, Arthur Miller, and produced as their marriage was ending, it provides Monroe with the role of her life. There are many great moments in the film, the most famous being her tirade against the cruelty and dishonesty of the men in her life. You will never forget her cries of "Murderers!" , even more horrifying now, given the suspicions surrounding her death. But for me the most unforgettable moment takes place in the cab of the truck when Eli Wallach's character offers to save the lives of some horses if she will give up the man she is with and live with him. The look on her face changes from hope to horror as she realizes he's bartering the horses' lives for hers: "You have to GET something in order to act human?!" she spits out at him. It's a great script, cast perfectly, and speaks as sadly and as eloquently to us now as it did forty years ago.
Cruelty to horses
grahamvr7 March 2019
Despair and a glimmer of hope served up by legends
jjnxn-130 November 2013
This movie is about despair. Despair at the passing of a way of life. Despair at disappointed hopes and dreams. Despair at the loss of a loved one, either through death, divorce or disinterest. Knowing that going in and if you don't mind downbeat films there are some really moving performances from a cast full of legends.
Heavy with gloom there is still much too admire though Miller's prose is at times heavy and tending towards pretension. Marilyn's woozy sexuality coming through a haze of pills and booze at times still suits her character's searching and displaced loneliness.
Clark Gable accepted his part after first choice Robert Mitchum passed. Mitchum would have been great of course and publicly stated he regretted not taking the role since he and Marilyn were longtime friends, before both were famous he had worked with her first husband, and he felt that around him she would have been able to pull herself together as she had on River of No Return. This was the end of the line for Gable and his weathered appearance and weariness actually suits the role better than Mitchum's ruggedness would have at that point. The film contains some of the best acting Clark ever did.
Clift and his sad broken looks make a powerful impact and Wallach scores well too but the great Thelma Ritter is somewhat shortchanged since she disappears about halfway through the picture. Her astringent tartness would have been most welcome later in the film when the real heavy going takes place.
Heavy with gloom there is still much too admire though Miller's prose is at times heavy and tending towards pretension. Marilyn's woozy sexuality coming through a haze of pills and booze at times still suits her character's searching and displaced loneliness.
Clark Gable accepted his part after first choice Robert Mitchum passed. Mitchum would have been great of course and publicly stated he regretted not taking the role since he and Marilyn were longtime friends, before both were famous he had worked with her first husband, and he felt that around him she would have been able to pull herself together as she had on River of No Return. This was the end of the line for Gable and his weathered appearance and weariness actually suits the role better than Mitchum's ruggedness would have at that point. The film contains some of the best acting Clark ever did.
Clift and his sad broken looks make a powerful impact and Wallach scores well too but the great Thelma Ritter is somewhat shortchanged since she disappears about halfway through the picture. Her astringent tartness would have been most welcome later in the film when the real heavy going takes place.
Not Huston's best, but moving and quite beautiful
TheLittleSongbird23 January 2011
The Misfits is not a John Huston classic, but I quite like it. Is it flawed? Yes, it is overlong, it is very slow sometimes and while easy to admire it isn't a movie I can enjoy fully. Is it good? Yes, and I think pretty underrated too. The Misfits does look very nice and Alex North's music is beautiful. The script is thought-provoking and moving, Huston's direction is great and the story is interesting and well-told. The cast are excellent too, The Misfits was both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe's last films, and this film is an affectionate enough tribute to them. Both are splendid, while Montgomerry Clift and Eli Wallach also impress. All in all, moving and beautiful but falls short of classic status. 7/10 Bethany Cox
With all the talents involved, it could have been a much better film than it is.
JamesHitchcock13 June 2018
"The Misfits" is well-known for being the last completed film of two of the most iconic stars in film history, Clark Gable, the man who became known as the "King of Hollywood", and Marilyn Monroe, the woman who, at the height of her fame, had a good claim to be its Queen. Gable was to die of a heart attack a few days after finishing shooting; Monroe was to die less than two years later before "Something's Gotta Give", which would have been her next film, was finished. (It was eventually completed under the title "Move Over, Darling" with Doris Day in the leading role).
The film is a modern-day Western, an example of the genre which transfers classic Western situations to a contemporary setting or explores the relevance of the mythos of the Old West to modern America. (Other examples include "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Lonely Are the Brave" and "The Electric Cowboy"). Two of the three main male characters, Gay Langland and Perce Howland, are Nevada cowboys; the third is their friend Guido, a truck driver. The plot revolves around the romantic friendship which grows up between Gay and Roslyn Tabor, a much younger woman who has travelled to Reno to get a "quickie" divorce from her husband, and around the three men's scheme to round up wild mustangs to sell. The relationship between Gay and the animal-loving Roslyn is placed under stress when she learns that the captured mustangs are not simply going to be domesticated and used for riding, as she had originally assumed, but killed for dog food.
The title "The Misfits" refers to the men's description of the mustangs as "misfit horses", but there is a clear implication that it refers to the four main characters as well. All of them seem to have difficulty fitting in somewhere, whether into a steady job, into a relationship- like Roslyn, Gay is a divorcee- or into society as a whole.
The film was written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and, besides Gable and Monroe, starred actors of the quality of Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Despite this stellar line-up, however, the film was not very popular when first released. Even the death of a star as beloved as Gable did not arouse much interest in his last film. It was not quite the commercial disaster which some have claimed- it just about broke even at the box-office- but certainly was not the success its makers were hoping for.
Contemporary critical opinion was not entirely enthusiastic either, but today the film seems to be more highly regarded than it was in 1961. Having recently watched it for the first time in a number of years, however, I am not really convinced. Certainly, Gable is good in his last role as the grizzled, leathery old cowboy Gay, but I have always been in two minds about Monroe's performance. Yes, she was strikingly beautiful in her mid-thirties, more so, in fact, than she had been a decade earlier. Monroe's beauty, moreover, went deeper than mere good looks. She was able to radiate charisma, expressing more strongly than ever in this film that mixture of desirability and vulnerability which had always been her stock-in-trade. She was not, however, always a technically proficient actress and here her shortcomings in this direction are often apparent. She always spoke in a breathy, high-pitched voice, and here this feature becomes so exaggerated that her lines often become inaudible.
To be fair to Marilyn, this film was made at a difficult time in her life when she was feeling like a misfit herself. Miller, her third husband, had described his script as a "Valentine" to her, but their marriage broke down during the making of the film, putting Monroe into a similar position to that of her character. She had turned to drink and drugs to help her cope, and production was shut down for a time so she could attend a hospital for detox. Nor was she the only one who had problems of this nature. Director Huston was drinking and gambling heavily, and even turned up drunk on set. (Nevada, notorious for its liberal gambling laws, was perhaps not the ideal location for a man with a gambling problem).
In the circumstances, therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that Monroe's farewell performance is perhaps not the best of her career or that Huston's direction is not at its most fluent. The first half of the movie, in particular, is very slow and meandering and never seems to be going anywhere. The film comes to life more in the second half; the mustang-hunting scene is genuinely exciting and the romance between Roslyn and Gay becomes more interesting as it seems that she will have to choose between her love of animals and her love for a man whose whole way of life is cast around the assumption that animals are just another commodity. Given all the talents that went into making it, however, "The Misfits" could have been a much better film than it is. 5/10
The film is a modern-day Western, an example of the genre which transfers classic Western situations to a contemporary setting or explores the relevance of the mythos of the Old West to modern America. (Other examples include "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Lonely Are the Brave" and "The Electric Cowboy"). Two of the three main male characters, Gay Langland and Perce Howland, are Nevada cowboys; the third is their friend Guido, a truck driver. The plot revolves around the romantic friendship which grows up between Gay and Roslyn Tabor, a much younger woman who has travelled to Reno to get a "quickie" divorce from her husband, and around the three men's scheme to round up wild mustangs to sell. The relationship between Gay and the animal-loving Roslyn is placed under stress when she learns that the captured mustangs are not simply going to be domesticated and used for riding, as she had originally assumed, but killed for dog food.
The title "The Misfits" refers to the men's description of the mustangs as "misfit horses", but there is a clear implication that it refers to the four main characters as well. All of them seem to have difficulty fitting in somewhere, whether into a steady job, into a relationship- like Roslyn, Gay is a divorcee- or into society as a whole.
The film was written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and, besides Gable and Monroe, starred actors of the quality of Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Despite this stellar line-up, however, the film was not very popular when first released. Even the death of a star as beloved as Gable did not arouse much interest in his last film. It was not quite the commercial disaster which some have claimed- it just about broke even at the box-office- but certainly was not the success its makers were hoping for.
Contemporary critical opinion was not entirely enthusiastic either, but today the film seems to be more highly regarded than it was in 1961. Having recently watched it for the first time in a number of years, however, I am not really convinced. Certainly, Gable is good in his last role as the grizzled, leathery old cowboy Gay, but I have always been in two minds about Monroe's performance. Yes, she was strikingly beautiful in her mid-thirties, more so, in fact, than she had been a decade earlier. Monroe's beauty, moreover, went deeper than mere good looks. She was able to radiate charisma, expressing more strongly than ever in this film that mixture of desirability and vulnerability which had always been her stock-in-trade. She was not, however, always a technically proficient actress and here her shortcomings in this direction are often apparent. She always spoke in a breathy, high-pitched voice, and here this feature becomes so exaggerated that her lines often become inaudible.
To be fair to Marilyn, this film was made at a difficult time in her life when she was feeling like a misfit herself. Miller, her third husband, had described his script as a "Valentine" to her, but their marriage broke down during the making of the film, putting Monroe into a similar position to that of her character. She had turned to drink and drugs to help her cope, and production was shut down for a time so she could attend a hospital for detox. Nor was she the only one who had problems of this nature. Director Huston was drinking and gambling heavily, and even turned up drunk on set. (Nevada, notorious for its liberal gambling laws, was perhaps not the ideal location for a man with a gambling problem).
In the circumstances, therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that Monroe's farewell performance is perhaps not the best of her career or that Huston's direction is not at its most fluent. The first half of the movie, in particular, is very slow and meandering and never seems to be going anywhere. The film comes to life more in the second half; the mustang-hunting scene is genuinely exciting and the romance between Roslyn and Gay becomes more interesting as it seems that she will have to choose between her love of animals and her love for a man whose whole way of life is cast around the assumption that animals are just another commodity. Given all the talents that went into making it, however, "The Misfits" could have been a much better film than it is. 5/10
A Lesson in Film
MGMboy1 August 2003
This once nearly forgotten movie, the last film of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe is now coming forward in the lexicon of film history as an underrated gem. Universally misunderstood for the most part at the time it came out it is clear now that this film was at least five of six years ahead of it's time. It fits in more comfortably with films of the late 60's and early 70's. The screenplay by Miller is one of his most striking works. A story of a group of people lost in the wide expanse of the West in search of the discarded souls of their misspent lives. The film's beautiful cinematography by Russell Metty stands out as superb artistry at the demise of the black and white era. It shimmers with the silver of the deep expanse of the desert and the flat grays and blacks of the distant mountains upon which the last act of the story plays. The music by Alex North is among his best work and gives a savage punch to the aerial scenes and the round up at the end of the wild mustangs. Montgomery Clift, by now sliding into the last years of his life is touching in his performance of Perce. His broken cowboy with the broken heart is almost painful to watch. His phone call home to his mother is among some of his best work. Eli Wallach gives a strong deeply moving portrait of Guido who has lost his wife, his way, and his humanity. He shines in his scene with Monroe where he asks her to save him. When she can't to at least say `Hello Guido'. Thelma Ritter is, well, Thelma Ritter in yet another of her excellent character roles. Ritter is the master of the one line wisecrack but here as Isobel she laces the cracks with an underlying sadness and vulnerability.
As Gay Langland, Clark Gable gives what I consider to be the best performance of his career. It was a brave move for Gable to take on the role of what on the surface seems another one of his typical macho made to fit parts. But as the story unfolds from Arthur Miller's pen Gay reveals that beneath his gruff, not a care in the world, cowboy is a man in deep pain and despair at his losses. The world has left him behind. Abandoned by his children the drunken Gable breaks so violently it is a shock to watch the great man fall. This is Clark Gable at his finest ever.
Marilyn Monroe gives an astounding performance as Roslyn Tabler the newly divorced dancer. A damaged woman who finds in the company of these three men something to finally believe in, something to stand up and fight for, she finds life. It is a performance ground out in part from her own person and experience and in part by the director John Huston and the editor George Tomasini who helped a nearly destroyed Monroe create her stunning Roslyn. This, her last performance is her best and the true example of the collaborative creation that film really is. That Marilyn under the circumstances of her life at that time could be so good is a testament to her talent as an actress and a star. Watch her when she is listening to the other actors. This is where she shines; this is the true mark of a great screen actor. To be able to listen and draw you into the inner life of the character through that deceptively simple act of listening and reaction is her gift to the audience. Her scene with Monty in back of the bar, sitting on a pile of trash, her afore mentioned scene with Eli Wallach in the speeding car. These are but a few of the examples in this film of her great talent. In the 1950's and early 60's there were only a handful of great young actresses in film, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe where at the summit of the small mountain.
As Gay Langland, Clark Gable gives what I consider to be the best performance of his career. It was a brave move for Gable to take on the role of what on the surface seems another one of his typical macho made to fit parts. But as the story unfolds from Arthur Miller's pen Gay reveals that beneath his gruff, not a care in the world, cowboy is a man in deep pain and despair at his losses. The world has left him behind. Abandoned by his children the drunken Gable breaks so violently it is a shock to watch the great man fall. This is Clark Gable at his finest ever.
Marilyn Monroe gives an astounding performance as Roslyn Tabler the newly divorced dancer. A damaged woman who finds in the company of these three men something to finally believe in, something to stand up and fight for, she finds life. It is a performance ground out in part from her own person and experience and in part by the director John Huston and the editor George Tomasini who helped a nearly destroyed Monroe create her stunning Roslyn. This, her last performance is her best and the true example of the collaborative creation that film really is. That Marilyn under the circumstances of her life at that time could be so good is a testament to her talent as an actress and a star. Watch her when she is listening to the other actors. This is where she shines; this is the true mark of a great screen actor. To be able to listen and draw you into the inner life of the character through that deceptively simple act of listening and reaction is her gift to the audience. Her scene with Monty in back of the bar, sitting on a pile of trash, her afore mentioned scene with Eli Wallach in the speeding car. These are but a few of the examples in this film of her great talent. In the 1950's and early 60's there were only a handful of great young actresses in film, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe where at the summit of the small mountain.
Envy and Impeccable acting
Stryper3 March 2003
Long have I searched for a good definition for the perfect woman. With this picture I finally got it; Roslyn Taber, or to be more precise, Marilyn Manroe as Roslyn Taber. Not often do things fill me up with the tremendous feeling of absolute perfection and happiness, but the way Manroe acted in this picture, was simply breathtaking. Note that this is a personal view on it, so don't go and get disappointed if you see it and don't like her, even though the chances are quite small.
To the movie. It's a rather simple story but still interesting. (Note; I'm from Sweden and look at this Cowboy thing with other eyes than an American) It's a love story concerning envy between men, desire and most of all disagreements. The picture circles around Roslyn and Gay's love affair and Roslyn's love to all life, which doesn't mix that well with Gay's perspective on life. After all, he is a cowboy and make his living on rodeo and catching mustangs.
Impeccable acting by Marilyn and Clark, very strong dialogues and a surprising deep make this movie worth watching. See it, if you get you hands on it.
It's beautiful.
To the movie. It's a rather simple story but still interesting. (Note; I'm from Sweden and look at this Cowboy thing with other eyes than an American) It's a love story concerning envy between men, desire and most of all disagreements. The picture circles around Roslyn and Gay's love affair and Roslyn's love to all life, which doesn't mix that well with Gay's perspective on life. After all, he is a cowboy and make his living on rodeo and catching mustangs.
Impeccable acting by Marilyn and Clark, very strong dialogues and a surprising deep make this movie worth watching. See it, if you get you hands on it.
It's beautiful.
Powerful
gbill-7487730 July 2021
"Honey, a kind man can kill."
"No, he can't."
There's something larger than life about the cast in The Misfits, and quite moving in its themes. It's a film I had put off seeing for a long time because Westerns are not really my thing, but I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Maybe all Westerns should star Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Thelma Ritter, be written by Arthur Miller, and directed by John Huston. This one is emotionally devastating, and left me tingling for a long time afterwards.
The backstory is of course fascinating, and a part of the film's immense power. Twenty-four years after Gable starred in Jean Harlow's last film, Saratoga, the one she was making when she died (and about horse racing), he appeared with the Blonde Bombshell's successor in Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe, in a film featuring wild horses. This time it would be both Gable and Monroe's last film; for Gable, he died just twelve days after production wrapped, and Marilyn would die less than two years later. On top of that, Clift would only make three more films, and die five years later. Stories of the turbulent times making the film are endless, from the clash between old school acting and those following the Method, Miller and Monroe's marriage falling apart, and Monroe's alcohol and drug use. Despite all that, the performances are wonderful.
Seeing Gable and Monroe together give the film an almost mythical quality, amplified by the themes Arthur Miller developed in the script: loneliness, authenticity, how love doesn't usually last, and biggest of all, being compassionate to other living things despite (or perhaps because of) the trials and tribulations in one's own life. Gable and Monroe are larger than life figures but were at vulnerable times in their personal lives, something that seems eerily mirrored in the film.
The setup has three men (Gable, Wallach, and Clift) out in the country with a recently divorced woman (Monroe) and her friend (Ritter). All of these characters are damaged: one of the men has scars from being a bomber in the war and now a widow, another found his wife in the arms of another man, and the third was treated poorly by his family after his father died. The two women are also divorced because of infidelity, though stoic and philosophical about it. They all seem to want to run away from the world, to go to a place where they can be free, without realizing that their problems come along with them even in wide open spaces. They drink and banter, talking a good game, but seem like lost souls straight out of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.
The men are all drawn to Monroe's character which kinda leaves Ritter's with less to do so she disappears halfway through, which is a shame because she's as marvelous as always. And I have to say, when the men all get drunk and Monroe has to mediate between them it got a little tiring, but there is such sweetness in how she responds, and she is what makes this film great.
Monroe plays the part of a woman who's warm, caring, innocent, and yet also wise to the ways of the world, which seemed to be a reflection of her own self. She has some fantastic scenes early on, dancing with Gable and Wallach and then by herself out in the yard, another where she whacks the hell out of a paddle ball, and yet another where she wakes up naked in bed to Gable's kiss. We see her through a decidedly male gaze at times, e.g. Her butt bouncing up and down while riding a horse, but she also has depth as a person, and her face is wonderfully expressive here. She's gorgeous at 35 and it's heartbreaking to think she was struggling with depression.
One of the charms of the film is that in addition to the light and playful moments we see from Monroe, she also has weighty conversations with the other characters, and looks out for animals. She prevents Gable's character from shooting a bunny invading the lettuce patch, expresses horror at what they do to make bucking broncos so angry at a rodeo, and shows revulsion at the idea that horses are killed to make dog food. This is all a build-up to scenes out on a stark, desert landscape where the men go out to capture wild mustangs. Wallach's character first terrorizes the horses with a biplane, swooping down just a few feet over them as they gallop in fear, leading to the three men pulling down several horses who are fighting for their lives, scenes which were frankly very difficult to watch.
However, Marilyn is the film's conscience, and she's brilliant in showing her sadness and eventual anger, as she lets the men have it in some of my favorite all-time moments of hers. The first is when she tells Wallach's character this when he makes her a quid pro quo offer to free the horses: "You have to get something to be human? You never felt anything for anybody in your life. All you know is the sad words. You could blow up the world and all you would feel is sorry for yourself!"
The second is when she condemns all three of them: "Horse killers! Killers! Murderers! You're liars! All of you, liars! You're only happy when you can see something die! Why don't you kill yourself to be happy? You and your God's country! Freedom! I pity you! You're three dear, sweet, dead men!"
The barren landscape, these broken characters, the shame of what they're doing, those horses running free, and knowing the fate of the actors ... it's all incredibly powerful. The ending, that final moment with Monroe and Gable in the truck looking up at the North Star, is beautifully done too, and immortal. I like to think that the reason Huston didn't put any credits or even "The End" up on the screen was in honor of Gable, as if to say that this was not really the end for him.
There's something larger than life about the cast in The Misfits, and quite moving in its themes. It's a film I had put off seeing for a long time because Westerns are not really my thing, but I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Maybe all Westerns should star Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Thelma Ritter, be written by Arthur Miller, and directed by John Huston. This one is emotionally devastating, and left me tingling for a long time afterwards.
The backstory is of course fascinating, and a part of the film's immense power. Twenty-four years after Gable starred in Jean Harlow's last film, Saratoga, the one she was making when she died (and about horse racing), he appeared with the Blonde Bombshell's successor in Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe, in a film featuring wild horses. This time it would be both Gable and Monroe's last film; for Gable, he died just twelve days after production wrapped, and Marilyn would die less than two years later. On top of that, Clift would only make three more films, and die five years later. Stories of the turbulent times making the film are endless, from the clash between old school acting and those following the Method, Miller and Monroe's marriage falling apart, and Monroe's alcohol and drug use. Despite all that, the performances are wonderful.
Seeing Gable and Monroe together give the film an almost mythical quality, amplified by the themes Arthur Miller developed in the script: loneliness, authenticity, how love doesn't usually last, and biggest of all, being compassionate to other living things despite (or perhaps because of) the trials and tribulations in one's own life. Gable and Monroe are larger than life figures but were at vulnerable times in their personal lives, something that seems eerily mirrored in the film.
The setup has three men (Gable, Wallach, and Clift) out in the country with a recently divorced woman (Monroe) and her friend (Ritter). All of these characters are damaged: one of the men has scars from being a bomber in the war and now a widow, another found his wife in the arms of another man, and the third was treated poorly by his family after his father died. The two women are also divorced because of infidelity, though stoic and philosophical about it. They all seem to want to run away from the world, to go to a place where they can be free, without realizing that their problems come along with them even in wide open spaces. They drink and banter, talking a good game, but seem like lost souls straight out of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.
The men are all drawn to Monroe's character which kinda leaves Ritter's with less to do so she disappears halfway through, which is a shame because she's as marvelous as always. And I have to say, when the men all get drunk and Monroe has to mediate between them it got a little tiring, but there is such sweetness in how she responds, and she is what makes this film great.
Monroe plays the part of a woman who's warm, caring, innocent, and yet also wise to the ways of the world, which seemed to be a reflection of her own self. She has some fantastic scenes early on, dancing with Gable and Wallach and then by herself out in the yard, another where she whacks the hell out of a paddle ball, and yet another where she wakes up naked in bed to Gable's kiss. We see her through a decidedly male gaze at times, e.g. Her butt bouncing up and down while riding a horse, but she also has depth as a person, and her face is wonderfully expressive here. She's gorgeous at 35 and it's heartbreaking to think she was struggling with depression.
One of the charms of the film is that in addition to the light and playful moments we see from Monroe, she also has weighty conversations with the other characters, and looks out for animals. She prevents Gable's character from shooting a bunny invading the lettuce patch, expresses horror at what they do to make bucking broncos so angry at a rodeo, and shows revulsion at the idea that horses are killed to make dog food. This is all a build-up to scenes out on a stark, desert landscape where the men go out to capture wild mustangs. Wallach's character first terrorizes the horses with a biplane, swooping down just a few feet over them as they gallop in fear, leading to the three men pulling down several horses who are fighting for their lives, scenes which were frankly very difficult to watch.
However, Marilyn is the film's conscience, and she's brilliant in showing her sadness and eventual anger, as she lets the men have it in some of my favorite all-time moments of hers. The first is when she tells Wallach's character this when he makes her a quid pro quo offer to free the horses: "You have to get something to be human? You never felt anything for anybody in your life. All you know is the sad words. You could blow up the world and all you would feel is sorry for yourself!"
The second is when she condemns all three of them: "Horse killers! Killers! Murderers! You're liars! All of you, liars! You're only happy when you can see something die! Why don't you kill yourself to be happy? You and your God's country! Freedom! I pity you! You're three dear, sweet, dead men!"
The barren landscape, these broken characters, the shame of what they're doing, those horses running free, and knowing the fate of the actors ... it's all incredibly powerful. The ending, that final moment with Monroe and Gable in the truck looking up at the North Star, is beautifully done too, and immortal. I like to think that the reason Huston didn't put any credits or even "The End" up on the screen was in honor of Gable, as if to say that this was not really the end for him.
Good supporting acts, a few glimmers of hope
cguldal5 December 2015
When I see old Hollywood films that are supposed to be "the best," I tend to agree they are better than the usual Hollywood fare. But to say The Misfits is a great film would be misleading. It seems like an American attempt to be French, except the French can pull it off and Americans can't somehow, or at least couldn't in this case. Arthur Miller's preachy dialog and monologues are just hitting you over the head. The allegories, parallels, metaphors, symbols... are all too obvious, to the point of being annoying and making you roll your eyes. Monroe's acting is mediocre, though she is fascinating to watch. Wallach and Clift do a good job in general. Thelma Ritter, I would be brave enough to say, is the best actor in the film! Gable is just a caricature of a cowboy (and himself). Clift's and Monroe's ongoing substance abuse issues show through, which probably "helps" their acting, since they are supposed to be drunk throughout most of the film. The drastic character changes, especially for Gable's character, seem extremely forced. And of course, this being Hollywood and not a good French film, there is a happy ending! What?!?! No way should this film have a happy ending! But it does, go figure...
Perhaps the most captivating scenes are when the men and Monroe go out mustanging (catching wild horses). These scenes with the horses, the struggle between man and nature, the struggle to make a living vs. being kind at the face of losing manliness and income... They are impressive and memorable.
The film in the second half seems like an advertisement for PETA, Monroe being extremely upset at the men who are capturing the wild horses.
I'd say watch it, if you must cover the "important" oldies or if you are a die hard fan of Monroe, Clift, Gable et al. But otherwise, those are 2 hours of your life you'll never get back...
Perhaps the most captivating scenes are when the men and Monroe go out mustanging (catching wild horses). These scenes with the horses, the struggle between man and nature, the struggle to make a living vs. being kind at the face of losing manliness and income... They are impressive and memorable.
The film in the second half seems like an advertisement for PETA, Monroe being extremely upset at the men who are capturing the wild horses.
I'd say watch it, if you must cover the "important" oldies or if you are a die hard fan of Monroe, Clift, Gable et al. But otherwise, those are 2 hours of your life you'll never get back...
Down and Out in Nevada
B2430 July 2003
Two of the previous comments have it right about Nevada. It is without question the most barren of places in terms of the sustenance of human life, yet it has a rare beauty that transcends the ugliness of its crass cities and radioactive vistas. The fact that it encompasses an entirely landlocked basin in which great rivers roar down to disappear in dry lakebeds speaks to the main point. Pristine alpine meadows form islands in the sky surrounded by millions of acres of desolation.
When I first saw "The Misfits" in 1961, after having read the savage reviews and followed the sensational press coverage of its production, my initial reaction was that most people just missed the point. I still think so, particularly after reading some of the negative comments here that parrot accepted wisdom about filmmaking in general and what is perceived as a misfire by Miller and Huston. But I have news for the naysayers: this film tells it like it is.
So what if it's a stage play set in the desert? So what if the characters devolve and come apart according to some apparently hidden hand of random fate? Those who get the story right are those who see past what seem at first to be surreal clichés existing only as fodder for the cameras and instead grasp the horror and ugliness of what passes as everyday life for the eponymous ensemble. Nothing happens, and yet everything happens.
Gable, Monroe, Clift. Arthur Miller himself. Figures that seem larger than life. This has little to do with horses and everything to do with the tragedy of Everyman.
When I first saw "The Misfits" in 1961, after having read the savage reviews and followed the sensational press coverage of its production, my initial reaction was that most people just missed the point. I still think so, particularly after reading some of the negative comments here that parrot accepted wisdom about filmmaking in general and what is perceived as a misfire by Miller and Huston. But I have news for the naysayers: this film tells it like it is.
So what if it's a stage play set in the desert? So what if the characters devolve and come apart according to some apparently hidden hand of random fate? Those who get the story right are those who see past what seem at first to be surreal clichés existing only as fodder for the cameras and instead grasp the horror and ugliness of what passes as everyday life for the eponymous ensemble. Nothing happens, and yet everything happens.
Gable, Monroe, Clift. Arthur Miller himself. Figures that seem larger than life. This has little to do with horses and everything to do with the tragedy of Everyman.
A final tribute to some of Hollywood's greatest.
bobsgrock3 April 2009
I'm sure they didn't think about this when they were filming, but The Misfits has become somewhat of a mystic film experience since it is now known as the last role featuring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, two of the biggest stars in film history. What's interesting about this movie is the fact that it seems to tap so much into the personal lives of the actors, sometimes it's almost as if they aren't reciting dialog, they are actually living this material. Gable, like his cowboy character Gay Langland, was a somewhat washed-up star most people had forgotten about so he furiously attempted to make a comeback. Monroe was also on the downside of her career and most likely only got this part because her then-husband, playwright Arthur Miller, wrote the screenplay. Scenes between these two movie giants are interesting to watch, especially Monroe, who seems like she has completely immersed herself in this role and does some things you wouldn't expect of Marilyn Monroe.
The supporting cast is also big-named with Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Thelma Ritter. Clift is okay here but he looks terrible considering he had been in a car crash years before and he was severely addicted to drugs. Clearly, the off-screen drama is more interesting than what is on-screen, but at times they seem interchangeable. The story is rather flimsy feeling like a play in the desert, and there really isn't too much in the way of excitement or entertainment. The true entertainment is in watching these immortal stars do scenes together and wonder about how great they all were. The acting is fine and the black and white cinematography is stark and captures the mood, but for the most part what you will remember is the names and how sad it is to see them having to end up like this.
The supporting cast is also big-named with Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and Thelma Ritter. Clift is okay here but he looks terrible considering he had been in a car crash years before and he was severely addicted to drugs. Clearly, the off-screen drama is more interesting than what is on-screen, but at times they seem interchangeable. The story is rather flimsy feeling like a play in the desert, and there really isn't too much in the way of excitement or entertainment. The true entertainment is in watching these immortal stars do scenes together and wonder about how great they all were. The acting is fine and the black and white cinematography is stark and captures the mood, but for the most part what you will remember is the names and how sad it is to see them having to end up like this.
Hauntingly Beautiful
Incalculacable19 May 2006
The Misfits, the last film of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, is a truly haunting film that never leaves you long after you've finished watching it. Despite having a poor box office and mixed reviews, it is now highly regarded among modern critics. It is about a restless fragile divorcée finding a new life in Reno with a couple of cowboys, one of which has a gambling problem and survives on slaughtering mustangs to make dog food.
Not only does this showcase Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's exceptional (and often underestimated) talent, but it is a very beautiful movie that lingers on in your mind long after you have finished watching it. Personally it has affected me a lot, especially the horse sequence. I know this was essential to the film but as an animal lover and vegetarian I found it very distressing - in fact incredibly distressing seeing the horses being treated that way for the sake of the movie. Nevertheless, it added to the movie and when they were set free, it was the most magnificent moment in the movie. Marilyn's screaming part was also very beautiful, I felt her frustration completely.
The Misfits is a very suitable title as it refers to both the poor horses caught up in the web of human greed and also to the restless humans, unsatisfied and cruel.
This is a very moving movie, showing the cruelness of human nature and a most realistic portrayal of human life, both the positive and the negative. I was so astounded by both Marilyn and Clark's acting, plus the magnificent script which was so very intelligent, magnificent quotes. I definitely recommend this movie to everyone.
Not only does this showcase Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's exceptional (and often underestimated) talent, but it is a very beautiful movie that lingers on in your mind long after you have finished watching it. Personally it has affected me a lot, especially the horse sequence. I know this was essential to the film but as an animal lover and vegetarian I found it very distressing - in fact incredibly distressing seeing the horses being treated that way for the sake of the movie. Nevertheless, it added to the movie and when they were set free, it was the most magnificent moment in the movie. Marilyn's screaming part was also very beautiful, I felt her frustration completely.
The Misfits is a very suitable title as it refers to both the poor horses caught up in the web of human greed and also to the restless humans, unsatisfied and cruel.
This is a very moving movie, showing the cruelness of human nature and a most realistic portrayal of human life, both the positive and the negative. I was so astounded by both Marilyn and Clark's acting, plus the magnificent script which was so very intelligent, magnificent quotes. I definitely recommend this movie to everyone.
Compelling and well-acting character drama
eminkl13 November 2019
Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe) is a beautiful divorcee who tries to redefine her life. She drops in with an elderly cowboy (Clark Cable), a frustrated pilot (Eli Wallach) and a rodeo rider who took a couple of kicks (Montgomery Clift) to his head. While enraptured by the character of these people and the scenery of the high country of Nevada, she and her new companions come to a moral disagreement over a decision to sell a dog food business some wild mustangs. The Misfits were sensitively written by Arthur Miller and directed by John Huston with economy, but it is best known before their sudden death as the last film featuring Gable and Monroe. While it is often studied as a metaphor of frontier spirit decline, The Misfits also works as a compelling and well-acting character drama.
Overshadowed by its macabre 'trivia', "The Misfits" is nonetheless a powerful hymn to life, love and freedom...
ElMaruecan8228 September 2016
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death, each of Ebert and Siskel selected two of her most defining work. All naturally, the choices went to her last films, both in black- and-white, both perfectly capturing the actress' true potential in comedy: Billy Wilder's "Some Like it Hot", and drama: John Huston's "The Misfits". Watching these two films is almost enough to understand Marilyn Monroe.
The screenplay was written by then Monroe's husband Arthur Miller, so the similarities between Roslyn and Marilyn, two rhyming names, is no coincidence. Marilyn Monroe is not only the most iconic actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, but the most tragic, a woman who attracted men but never kept them, who inspired lust while longing for love. The confusion she lived through during her ten-year career forged her reputation as an actress difficult to work with, the relationship with Miller would also be affected by her antics and they would divorce shortly after the film.
So the Marilyn we see is in the same emotional state than the fresh divorcée Roslyn. And when "The Misifts" ends and Roslyn is left on her own again, she could as well die like Monroe one year after of a suicide or accidental overdose. No one could have predicted that this was Marilyn's swan song but she couldn't have a better one. I don't think she could have let her feelings be so fulsomely imploded as she did in "The Misfits". The performance of Monroe, like a delicate flower dancing over a volcano, is crucial to the film, because it is truthful.
There's a moment where Gay, the rugged and tough cowboy played by Clark Gable, gently gazes at her and says "you're the saddest girl I ever saw". She says, "I usually heard that I was happy" "That's because you make people happy" he says. There are two truths behind this exchange. First, you can ooze happiness without being happy, like a defensive mechanism, one that didn't fool Roslyn's friend played by Thelma Ritter, a woman who learned to be happy by proxy. The second truth is that it takes an unhappy person to spot another one. And as Gay, Clark Gable's performance is equally heartbreaking.
As the tall, dark and handsome leading man, Gable was never allowed to fully express his acting potentiality (except for "Gone With the Wind") but as Gay, the free-spirited gentle cowboy, Gable knew this was the role of a lifetime, to transition through actors, not stars' roles. Gay is a man of a dying breed, his catchphrase is "better than the wages", and with his friend Guido, played by Eli Wallash, he enjoys the idle freedom from which 9-to-5 schmucks are deprived of, in their castrating lives. They chase mustangs and women, watch rodeos, drink booze, but somewhat, they're as sour and unhappy as Roslyn. They're the misfits, pure 'Hustonian' losers trying to catch their dreams like lassoing a running stallion; you might get the animal, but not its spirit.
"The Misfits" might have disconcerted audiences and critics, because of their erratic behavior. One moment, life is worth being enjoyed, every second of it, and the moment after, it's pure purposelessness. But Huston's confident directing and Miller's screenplay allow a few outbursts of emotions to each character, so the anger can steam out, even a drunken Gay, desperately cries for his lost children, and this is perhaps the greatest acting moment of Gable's career, pathetic but certainly not pitiful. Monroe has a similar moment during the film's climactic hunting sequence. These scenes work because most of the time, they all talk about life, death, stars, wilderness, manhood or kindness but at any moment, the communication can derail and makes the whole emotional edifice fall apart.
There's a moment where Guido recalls his war experience and loss of his wife and how it left him immune to guilt and compassion, but he admires Roslyn's "gift for love" and is ready to change if she accepts him, but then why such a man would need a reason to show heart? There's also Perce, played by Montgomery Clift, a young rodeo man who seems to have taken so many rides he probably lost track. Roslyn can't stand the savage sight of rodeo nor his self-destructive impulses, but Perce is surprisingly the least tortured of the group. He's a man who doesn't know much about his future but knows the past he's trying to escape from, and he takes what comes to him. As they say "maybe all there really is, is the next thing".
It's Perce who cuts the horses loose as an act of mercy for a woman too empathetic for her own good, but look at Gay's reaction, he catches the stallion, lets himself being dragged on the ground and and in a pure Hustonian move, struggles but ultimately tames it, and lets it go. Why did he bother catching him? He doesn't want someone making decisions for him. He knew it was the right thing to do, that this horse shouldn't pay for the ugliness of this world, something he shouldn't be part of, but it's still up to him to decide. Gable would die of a stroke a few days after filming, in November 1960, the exhaustion from the film might have killed him, but like he says: "one who's afraid to die is afraid to live". He embraced his character as fully as Monroe.
Being the swan song of two acting legends and one of the last from Montgomery Clift, about which Monroe said he was the first person she met in a worse shape than her, this film might be appreciated less as film, but as a document, seeing actors you know they're in the twilight of their lives, in an almost voyeuristic way. Maybe. But that doesn't take anything from the film, paraphrasing Huston, "The Misfits" is the stuff legends are made on, even on a posthumous level.
The screenplay was written by then Monroe's husband Arthur Miller, so the similarities between Roslyn and Marilyn, two rhyming names, is no coincidence. Marilyn Monroe is not only the most iconic actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, but the most tragic, a woman who attracted men but never kept them, who inspired lust while longing for love. The confusion she lived through during her ten-year career forged her reputation as an actress difficult to work with, the relationship with Miller would also be affected by her antics and they would divorce shortly after the film.
So the Marilyn we see is in the same emotional state than the fresh divorcée Roslyn. And when "The Misifts" ends and Roslyn is left on her own again, she could as well die like Monroe one year after of a suicide or accidental overdose. No one could have predicted that this was Marilyn's swan song but she couldn't have a better one. I don't think she could have let her feelings be so fulsomely imploded as she did in "The Misfits". The performance of Monroe, like a delicate flower dancing over a volcano, is crucial to the film, because it is truthful.
There's a moment where Gay, the rugged and tough cowboy played by Clark Gable, gently gazes at her and says "you're the saddest girl I ever saw". She says, "I usually heard that I was happy" "That's because you make people happy" he says. There are two truths behind this exchange. First, you can ooze happiness without being happy, like a defensive mechanism, one that didn't fool Roslyn's friend played by Thelma Ritter, a woman who learned to be happy by proxy. The second truth is that it takes an unhappy person to spot another one. And as Gay, Clark Gable's performance is equally heartbreaking.
As the tall, dark and handsome leading man, Gable was never allowed to fully express his acting potentiality (except for "Gone With the Wind") but as Gay, the free-spirited gentle cowboy, Gable knew this was the role of a lifetime, to transition through actors, not stars' roles. Gay is a man of a dying breed, his catchphrase is "better than the wages", and with his friend Guido, played by Eli Wallash, he enjoys the idle freedom from which 9-to-5 schmucks are deprived of, in their castrating lives. They chase mustangs and women, watch rodeos, drink booze, but somewhat, they're as sour and unhappy as Roslyn. They're the misfits, pure 'Hustonian' losers trying to catch their dreams like lassoing a running stallion; you might get the animal, but not its spirit.
"The Misfits" might have disconcerted audiences and critics, because of their erratic behavior. One moment, life is worth being enjoyed, every second of it, and the moment after, it's pure purposelessness. But Huston's confident directing and Miller's screenplay allow a few outbursts of emotions to each character, so the anger can steam out, even a drunken Gay, desperately cries for his lost children, and this is perhaps the greatest acting moment of Gable's career, pathetic but certainly not pitiful. Monroe has a similar moment during the film's climactic hunting sequence. These scenes work because most of the time, they all talk about life, death, stars, wilderness, manhood or kindness but at any moment, the communication can derail and makes the whole emotional edifice fall apart.
There's a moment where Guido recalls his war experience and loss of his wife and how it left him immune to guilt and compassion, but he admires Roslyn's "gift for love" and is ready to change if she accepts him, but then why such a man would need a reason to show heart? There's also Perce, played by Montgomery Clift, a young rodeo man who seems to have taken so many rides he probably lost track. Roslyn can't stand the savage sight of rodeo nor his self-destructive impulses, but Perce is surprisingly the least tortured of the group. He's a man who doesn't know much about his future but knows the past he's trying to escape from, and he takes what comes to him. As they say "maybe all there really is, is the next thing".
It's Perce who cuts the horses loose as an act of mercy for a woman too empathetic for her own good, but look at Gay's reaction, he catches the stallion, lets himself being dragged on the ground and and in a pure Hustonian move, struggles but ultimately tames it, and lets it go. Why did he bother catching him? He doesn't want someone making decisions for him. He knew it was the right thing to do, that this horse shouldn't pay for the ugliness of this world, something he shouldn't be part of, but it's still up to him to decide. Gable would die of a stroke a few days after filming, in November 1960, the exhaustion from the film might have killed him, but like he says: "one who's afraid to die is afraid to live". He embraced his character as fully as Monroe.
Being the swan song of two acting legends and one of the last from Montgomery Clift, about which Monroe said he was the first person she met in a worse shape than her, this film might be appreciated less as film, but as a document, seeing actors you know they're in the twilight of their lives, in an almost voyeuristic way. Maybe. But that doesn't take anything from the film, paraphrasing Huston, "The Misfits" is the stuff legends are made on, even on a posthumous level.
"Trouble is, I always end up right back where I started..."
moonspinner557 October 2007
Playing a recently-divorced woman in Reno, Nevada who becomes friends with two cowboys and a rascally pilot, Marilyn Monroe is clothed (or nearly clothed) throughout the film but has never seemed more naked and vulnerable. Although she shares some very tender scenes with Clark Gable (and with wonderful Thelma Ritter as her landlady), Monroe's character is tough to get a grip on; she skitters through the picture like a tremulous breeze, fidgety about her feelings, desperate to be a mother-hen to this pack of misfits, though there's nothing concrete about this woman (she's like a mirage). The movie's best scenes are mostly at the beginning, before Montgomery Clift enters as a fragile rodeo rider and slows things way down. Screenwriter Arthur Miller provides pages of quotable dialogue, though he may have fashioned his slim, wayward plot around all the chatter. As a result, "The Misfits" is appropriately aimless and disillusioned, with a clever ear for how unshackled folks talk, yet it is extremely draggy. Director John Huston, who probably had some understanding of the material, captures several incredible sequences yet he doesn't seem certain of how to make an entertainment out of all this. **1/2 from ****
Missing the Fit.
garethrleyshon20 March 2018
The Misfits tells the story of recently divorced Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe), and the friendship that she develops with car mechanic Guido (Eli Wallach), aging cowboy Gay (Clark Gable) and failing rodeo rider Perce (Montgomery Clift). Centered on how their relationships develop during their time at Guidos house in the Nevada desert and at the Dayton rodeo, these relationships finally become tested when the three men decide to hunt horses to be sold to a dog food manufacturer, much to Roslyns distress.
The Misfits essentially is about the way that people inadvertently treat others badly, culminating in the obvious mistreatment of the mustangs, innocent beings in the proceedings. The irony here is The Misfits script was meant as a gift from Arthur Miller to his wife, Monroe; the role of Roslyn being one that Marilyn could truly act. Yet Miller strangely unfavourably portrays Roslyn from time to time in the film. Occasionally naive, occasionally nothing more than the image of the sex symbol Monroe desperately craved to escape.
Regardless, Marilyn puts in her greatest performance, one which sexy and alluring, but filled with sadness and sensitivity.
All the characters are reaching points in their life where they feel they having nothing left; the washed up cowboy, the failing rodeo rider, the new divorcee and the mechanic looking to quit his job. Meeting each other sees changes in our two protagonists; Roslyn starts to become a poster girl for independence, while drawing out Gays never seen before domestic side. However these changes are minor, meaning the development of the characters and any intended arc they are meant to have to their personas are more like a gentle incline. Gay retains his stubbornness, catching the horse himself at the end just to release it again in an act of defiance, to show he can still make his own decisions. Roslyn's breakdown at the fate at the horses, is sweet, but ultimately shows her as weak. Despite being part of the titular misfits, Perce and Guido are reduced to supporting characters who have no development whatsoever.
The genre of the film is mixed too, with elements of buddy movie, romance, western and probably more, all rolled into one. While genre blending is all fine and good when its done well, here it seems halfhearted on all counts. The western element is perhaps the most dominant, but the whole film isn't stylised enough to be a classic western. There are moments when the narrative also feels like several stories that don't always fit together as they should. Perce, the rodeo cowboy generally feels superfluous to the plot, except when Roslyn hears his life story and expresses sorrow at his past.
Overly long, The Misfits would have benefited from a shortened run time, the catching of the mustangs in the closing act, seems needlessly long. There are moments also, for example, Guido wrangling the horses in the plane for Gay and Perce to capture, when the score is overly dramatic and out of place, building up to an anticlimax of nothing at all. And finally the ending of the film, is strangely abrupt considering the run time, and one can only assume that Gay and Roslyn live happily ever after.
BOTTOM LINE: Marilyns greatest performance in a film where the characters, or lack of, misfits.
The Misfits essentially is about the way that people inadvertently treat others badly, culminating in the obvious mistreatment of the mustangs, innocent beings in the proceedings. The irony here is The Misfits script was meant as a gift from Arthur Miller to his wife, Monroe; the role of Roslyn being one that Marilyn could truly act. Yet Miller strangely unfavourably portrays Roslyn from time to time in the film. Occasionally naive, occasionally nothing more than the image of the sex symbol Monroe desperately craved to escape.
Regardless, Marilyn puts in her greatest performance, one which sexy and alluring, but filled with sadness and sensitivity.
All the characters are reaching points in their life where they feel they having nothing left; the washed up cowboy, the failing rodeo rider, the new divorcee and the mechanic looking to quit his job. Meeting each other sees changes in our two protagonists; Roslyn starts to become a poster girl for independence, while drawing out Gays never seen before domestic side. However these changes are minor, meaning the development of the characters and any intended arc they are meant to have to their personas are more like a gentle incline. Gay retains his stubbornness, catching the horse himself at the end just to release it again in an act of defiance, to show he can still make his own decisions. Roslyn's breakdown at the fate at the horses, is sweet, but ultimately shows her as weak. Despite being part of the titular misfits, Perce and Guido are reduced to supporting characters who have no development whatsoever.
The genre of the film is mixed too, with elements of buddy movie, romance, western and probably more, all rolled into one. While genre blending is all fine and good when its done well, here it seems halfhearted on all counts. The western element is perhaps the most dominant, but the whole film isn't stylised enough to be a classic western. There are moments when the narrative also feels like several stories that don't always fit together as they should. Perce, the rodeo cowboy generally feels superfluous to the plot, except when Roslyn hears his life story and expresses sorrow at his past.
Overly long, The Misfits would have benefited from a shortened run time, the catching of the mustangs in the closing act, seems needlessly long. There are moments also, for example, Guido wrangling the horses in the plane for Gay and Perce to capture, when the score is overly dramatic and out of place, building up to an anticlimax of nothing at all. And finally the ending of the film, is strangely abrupt considering the run time, and one can only assume that Gay and Roslyn live happily ever after.
BOTTOM LINE: Marilyns greatest performance in a film where the characters, or lack of, misfits.
Marilyn Monroe's greatest, and most revealing, role
tomgillespie20025 August 2012
On August 5th 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in bed. She died of an overdose, which is often viewed as suspicious. That was 50 years ago, and her complexity as a woman, and her image endures without any abate. It is the fact that she was such a complex and damaged person that her screen icon status still adorns the walls of many people, and her perplexed beauty still has the power to beguile en-masse. The Misfits was her last completed film, - she never completed the filming of George Cukor's remake of My Favourite Wife (1940), Something's Got to Give, which has been subsequently released as a short - and I feel that it captures much of what made Norma Jean Mortensen, Marilyn Monroe.
She plays Roslyn, a newly divorced woman, who meets up with a couple of older men, Guido (Eli Wallach) and Gay (Clark Gable - this was also his last film), and escapes with them to a country house. The men are besotted with this naive, sexy blonde who seem's to have a certain verve for life. They meet with Montgomery Clift's rodeo rider, Perce, as they venture out to the desert first for rodeo, then to catch some Mustang's (horses, not the car). When Roslyn discovers that the men plan to sell the horses for dog meat, her attitude towards the men, and their dying practises changes.
Set in Nevada, the film engenders the idea that the cowboy, the working man, is something of the past. Modernity is taking over the landscapes of America, and this ethereal blonde figure enters the three men's lives to emasculate them from the barbaric ways of the past. But she is not there only for the purpose of altering the outlook of these gruff men, or to push modernity into the plains. Like the real Marilyn, Roslyn craves the attention of men, - Norma Jean never knew who her real father was, and her mother was less than interested in her - and especially is needy for a father figure; a man she can fully trust and rely on.
This collusion of Marilyn's real-life and the character in The Misfits is no accident of course. The screenplay was written specifically for her by her then husband, playwright Arthur Miller, and he clearly knew her need for that elusive father figure, and her need to soak up attention, and wear her body (and image) as a mask to her internal pain, and tragic sense of abandonment.
Whilst certainly not her best film (director John Huston had stated that she was difficult, and the decision to shoot in black and white was due to her bloodshot eyes - caused by alcohol and prescription drugs), that surely would go to Some Like it Hot (1959), but this is absolutely her greatest, and most revealing role. The Misfits also tells of the damaging effects of modernisation, and the nostalgia of the past.
www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
She plays Roslyn, a newly divorced woman, who meets up with a couple of older men, Guido (Eli Wallach) and Gay (Clark Gable - this was also his last film), and escapes with them to a country house. The men are besotted with this naive, sexy blonde who seem's to have a certain verve for life. They meet with Montgomery Clift's rodeo rider, Perce, as they venture out to the desert first for rodeo, then to catch some Mustang's (horses, not the car). When Roslyn discovers that the men plan to sell the horses for dog meat, her attitude towards the men, and their dying practises changes.
Set in Nevada, the film engenders the idea that the cowboy, the working man, is something of the past. Modernity is taking over the landscapes of America, and this ethereal blonde figure enters the three men's lives to emasculate them from the barbaric ways of the past. But she is not there only for the purpose of altering the outlook of these gruff men, or to push modernity into the plains. Like the real Marilyn, Roslyn craves the attention of men, - Norma Jean never knew who her real father was, and her mother was less than interested in her - and especially is needy for a father figure; a man she can fully trust and rely on.
This collusion of Marilyn's real-life and the character in The Misfits is no accident of course. The screenplay was written specifically for her by her then husband, playwright Arthur Miller, and he clearly knew her need for that elusive father figure, and her need to soak up attention, and wear her body (and image) as a mask to her internal pain, and tragic sense of abandonment.
Whilst certainly not her best film (director John Huston had stated that she was difficult, and the decision to shoot in black and white was due to her bloodshot eyes - caused by alcohol and prescription drugs), that surely would go to Some Like it Hot (1959), but this is absolutely her greatest, and most revealing role. The Misfits also tells of the damaging effects of modernisation, and the nostalgia of the past.
www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
A moody, introspective drama
NewEnglandPat14 June 2012
This story chronicles the lives of three men and a divorcée in the Nevada mountains. Clark Gable, in his final film, is a wandering, over-the-hill, middle-aged cowboy who corrals wild mustangs for slaughter with Eli Wallach, his buddy and an aviator whose plane locates and traps the horses for Gable's unerring lariats. Marilyn Monroe, always fetching, has rid herself of her husband and has come west to find meaning for her life. Montogomery Clift is a washed-up bronc and bull rider, and the four major characters come together, with each one beset by emotional traumas from their pasts. A major theme throughout the film is regret about disappointments, missed opportunities, failed family and personal relationships. The unhappy, wistful thread of the movie is mirrored by the stark black and white photography and the distant mountain vistas. The beauteous Monroe is coveted by the three men but seems partial to Gable, perhaps of his detached persona and laid-back approach to life. Wallach makes no secret of his obsession with Monroe and spares nothing in his attempt to win her for himself. Clift, along for the ride because of Gable's taunts about the disgrace of earning wages, brings his usual brooding quality to the film and seems disillusioned because he has no psychological anchor in his life. Thelma Ritter, always excellent in supporting roles, appears with Monroe early in the story but disappears midway through and is not seen again. Gable's stunt work with the wild horses is thrilling and is the film's highlight but may have cost him dearly with the wear and tear he took doing these scenes. The film is a fine coda to the careers of two of Hollywood's most storied personalities.
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