The Misfits
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Movie Reviews of The Misfits
Movie Review: A ghostly moon landscape of a western
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the fascinating aspects about moviegoing is the way some movies are critical and box office failures originally, but seem like masterpieces decades later. I am thinking of Griffith's INTOLERANCE (1916), Lubitsch's TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), Ford's THE SEARCHERS (1956), Hitchcock's VERTIGO (1958) and MARNIE (1964), and Wilder's AVANTI! (1972).
John Huston's ghostly B&W western, THE MISFITS (1961), joins that group. It is a melancholy western for adults that was panned originally for Arthur Miller's original screenplay; specifically the way the central character of Roslyn Tabor too closely mirrored Miller's estranged wife, Marilyn Monroe. Actually, it is a superb script and one of Monroe's very finest, most complex performances. I know it was a hard film to make, on location in Reno and the surrounding salt flat Nevada desert in temperatures above 100 degrees. And Marilyn was frequently late to the set. Clark Gable, in his last film and one of HIS best ever, was in bad health. They blamed his death from a heart attack after filming was completed on Monroe's tardiness, but Gable was smoking three packs of cigarettes a day in this heat and doing his own stunt work with wild horses. 45 years later, both Gable and Monroe both deserve Oscars. They were not even nominated.
THE MISFITS is one of my very favorite Huston movies, no matter how difficult it was to make. Monroe's Roslyn is a disillusioned Reno divorcee who bonds with a group of aging men, led by Gable's Gay Langland and Eli Wallach's Guido. The men are lost in time, anachronisms, as they rope wild horses in the Nevada desert for eventual dog food. They are joined by Thelma Ritter as Isobel, another divorcee; and Montgomery Clift, as an unstable rodeo rider named Perce.
What we have is a character study, magnificently written by Miller (who was getting divorced from Monroe at the time) and directed by Huston. There is not much of a story. The men get drunk in Reno, then chat in a house on the outskirts of town about how the business of wild horse roping has changed, then get drunk in town again. Their behavior fascinates Roslyn, who is a lost soul, much like the real Marilyn Monroe one year before her mysterious 1962 death. Roslyn at first does not realize what the men are doing in roping the horses out in the desert. When she does realize the animals will be victims of dog food dealers, she turns on the men and becomes an animal rights activist. That, in turn, gets the men realizing that maybe Roslyn is right and how much the whole "misfits" business has changed from the days of 30 or 40 horses, not 4 or 5. Are the horses or the men the real "misfits" here? The script got panned originally for being pretentious; I find it engrossing and real.
THE MISFITS is exquisitely made, with special mention of Russell Metty's B&W photography that creates a ghost landscape in the Nevada desert, and Alex North's powerful music score. More than four decades after its release, it remains a movie masterpiece with at least five brilliant performances that have withstood the test of time. It is a classic example of tormented actors bringing their own minds and personalities to their characters, with magnificent and eerie results. Gable died right after filming, Monroe was dead a year later, and Clift never recovered from a 1956 auto accident that had him addicted to painkillers for the rest of his life.
John Huston keenly uses the actors' real personalities to great advantage with the characters of Roslyn, Gay, Guido, Perce, and Isobel. Maybe that was as cruel of him as Miller using his estranged wife as the model for Roslyn. It certainly wasn't the only time this has happened with filmmaking. And it certainly will not be the last. You use whatever you need to do to make the best movie you can with your actors. The result with THE MISFITS is a movie gem for at least me, with towering performances and complex character conflicts. Monroe, in fact, is so breathtakingly good here that one can only wonder what she would have achieved if she had lived another decade, including much-deserved awards she never received during her short life.
Movie Review: A Lesson In Film
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: a film made of legends
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read most of these readers reviews and agree with little bits here and there. Some of the bits of info contradict each other though---namely the motivation of Arthur Miller who wrote the script. Some say he wrote it as a valentine for Marilyn, others that he wrote it for her while he was in Reno awaiting his divorce so he could marry her. Others say that he wrote it as a revenge when they were divorcing. Hmm. One reviewer quoted Judy Garland saying that she hated Miller for exposing MM here. (It got a lot worse in "After the Fall" when he got really nasty. He and Philip Roth should share honors for falling in love with beautiful blond women, their opposites, and then trashing them in their work, and calling it "literature.")
It's impossible to separate the legends from this movie because they were all legends. Miller, for whatever his own reasons, crafted a decent script, at least a vehicle for the artist John Huston to film a beautiful movie, and for these memorable actors to perform. Putting them all together was, by all accounts, difficult but this film emerges as a lovely gift. We get to see Marilyn at the height of her beauty, when she's beginning to outgrow her pathetic "sexy" mannerisms (although she does quiver her upper lip a little too much in the beginning). She is luminous and despite the problems of the script, the ponderous, stagy-ness of it, just having the privilege of watching this beautiful creature is wonderful.
I've never been a big fan of Clark Gable but he, too, seemed to begin to transcend his screen persona a bit here. I agree that the scene outside of the bar where he cried out for his missing son, was a recourse to the MGM old-school of acting, but his physical presence, too, was a gift. He embodies goodness and decency. The scene where he roped the horse was amazing. It makes me feel good that he must have been very pleased with his performance, before his death, two weeks later.
I agree with the reader who said that he (she?) felt little chemistry between MM and CG, but that they were there between MM and Clift. I kept hoping she'd ditch the macho old guy and go off with sensitive gorgous Monty. It was not to be, I guess. Rosalind (MM's character) was a lost soul, a wounded child in the body of a beautiful woman...an image she revved up to the max as it seemed like the only way she could get attention/love. She found this father figure in Gable who offered some sense of stability (shades of MM and Arthur Miller) so it was in his arms that she ended up. The self-destructive Perce (Clift) was too sacrificial in giving up his interest in her.
Again one can't separate this film from what has become public knowledge about it's principles (including Miller). The theme of wildness, raw masculine energy---hmmm---I can see how they would fascinate the bookish, bespectacled Miller. (I share Judy Garland's opinion that he exploited Marilyn...)
Much could be said about the themes of what constitutes true feminity, masculinity, real love, etc. that are touched on here. But I'll leave that to further reviewers.
Movie Review: i really liked it! Thelma Ritter and Monty Clift shine
Summary: 5 Stars
this is a nice, little movie. MM is neurotic, highly inquisitive, and sad. Ritter is sassy, funny, confident, and flirty. clift is energetic, kind, drunk, and touching. gable is lively, loud, tough, down too earth, a real man's man. eli wallach is kind of vindictive, smart, in love with MM's character, and likes his own way. by no means is this Oscar worthy or "the ultimate motion picture" as it was heralded in its day. it is just too simplistic for that. it is simple b/c the plot/storyline is not deep: monroe is a lost, depressed and heartbroken divorcee who needs a retreat and is talked into it by Gable and Wallach. she hangs out with them all they way to their catching of the mustang horses. she argues and fights with them to let them go, and eventually gable and clift do, to the behest of wallach. i guess the movie's very interesting too b/c there was so much "star power": gable, clift, monroe, and written by the great Miller. now that you know the plot, it's more important to know the performances; thats the best this movie has to offer. in my initial watching of this i did not like Marilyn in it even though i am a huge fan. she seemed so sad and cranky. and i guess i'm annoyed of people who act like that. but after watching it a few more times, i came to realize that i had to accept that this was essential for her character. it was just at first it was a shock but i got over it. i think MM gave an excellent performance. really great. this lady has talent for comedy or drama. Now Thelma Ritter who i was, and still am unfamiliar with, absolutely shines. she should have at least been nominated for an Oscar. she is hillarious and her performance is so real. Monty Clift I was only a bit familar with, but after seeing his performance in this I am definitely interested in him. he is a great actor. he commands the screen. i think his is my fave in this (and MM is tough to beat!) i love the scene on the way to his rodeo match where he's drunkingly hailing his rodeo pals; he says to mm, gable, ritter, and wallach, "look! over there's bob! (i can't remember the name), boy does he hate his wife!" then he shouts to the guy "hey bob, how's your wife?!" it might not seem so funny, but they way he says it and acts it really cracks you up. another joke is "i went to a club once called the Naked Truth.....and boy they weren't lying!!" it's this kind of humor that makes The Misfits a good movie. and it was surprising b/c Arthur Miller is so serious, and not known for laughy but his writing shows he has a great sense of humor. i think Miller's script and dialogue is excellent. MM looks absolutely beautiful in this. i was really surprised that despite of all the drugs and alcohol she is very pretty. i highly reccomend this movie; it won't change your life, but you might learn a thing or 2, and it will definitely entertain you, and if you are fans of any of the actors you should get it even more. mostly get it to watch Ritter and Clift's performances.Movie Review: The triumph of the feminine
Summary: 5 Stars
Superb in every sense, this film is a masterpiece, growing better with distance from the actual life dramas of the actors who perform so well here.
I rate this film as a five star film based on the outstanding performances of the cast, the steady minimal visual foundation developed by the director, the penetrating script, and the fascinating message or theme of the film.
Monroe is super as the fragile, feminine, idealistic Roslyn Tabor. We learn that her sensitive soft nature has had multiple blows in the world of male dominated reality. Yet she holds her ground. She holds it so well that she becomes the transformative figure in the lives of three men. Gable gets an A plus for this performance of the aged knight, weary from the battle but so familiar with the rules of the game that he is somewhat reluctant to begin a game with new rules. Roslyn offers a completely new game in which he is not in control, a challenge he eventually accepts. Montgomery Cliff plays Perce Howland, a young broken man. He is broken in heart and spirit engaged in a rough trade of rodeo work that breaks his body to match his soul. Eli Wallach plays Guido, that thinks he can move toward meaning in his life if he possesses the girl rather than transforming his life by incorperating the femine principle into his existence. Thelma Ritter is super as Isabell Steers, a character that has learned how to limit her expectations and to even celebrate defeats.
John Houston uses stark minimal sets which help focus the attention onto the actors and their interactions and struggles. The narrative and visual flow are excellent and coordinated with high impact. Arthur Miller's script is under appreciated in my opinion. It is an actor's delight to have such intense and insightful poetic language, made even more interesting coming from human misfits in the desert.
Miller taps into a theme of great psychological importance in this film, which is the transfoming of the masculine by the feminine. Monroe plays this perfectly as her beauty which is sometimes her curse, is a blessing for those men who try to grow and incorporate the feminine principle. Cliff is healed by this force, Wallach tries to overpower the force with the force of the masculine, but it is Gable who has experienced a world of pain that then allows him to fully integrate the feminine into his character, opening him up to a new world of experience and insight. In this sense the film is very Jungian for the path of pure masculinity is limited and eventually destructive, as the three men in this film reveal. Ritter says they are the 'only real men left and as dependable as jack rabbits.'
In the end, the work is a masterpiece in every respect.