The Misfits is a 1961 American Contemporary Western film written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift.
The Misfits was the last completed film for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. For Gable, the film was posthumously released as he died three months before this film's premiere, while Monroe died in August 1962, over a year after its release.
During the filming of " The Misfits", Harry Spencer was marketing/ public relations manager for the Mapes HoteI. It didn't take long for Harry Spencer to detect trouble on the set of The Misfits in 1960.
Marilyn Monroe's frequent tardiness caused annoying delays for co-stars Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, and director John Huston. The snags, blamed on Monroe's pill-popping, helped make the movie, written by her then-husband, Arthur Miller, one of the most expensive black-and-white films made.
"I was disappointed that Monroe was so mindless, and you couldn't carry a conversation with her. She was very spacey, not quite there," says Spencer, a publicist then at the Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nev., where Monroe and other cast members stayed.
ï»żThe Misfits, filmed from July to November 1960, was the only movie Monroe and Gable appeared in together.
|
Despite the all-star cast and acclaimed director, plenty went wrong during filming.
"Gable would be on the set at 7:30 or 8 in the morning with lines memorized and ready to go," Spencer said. "Monroe would arrive at noon. She didn't seem focused, and it would take a lot of time for her to do her scenes right. It was like it was a jinxed movie."
ï»żFilming not only was delayed by Monroe's tardiness, but by a drug overdose that prompted her to seek treatment in Los Angeles. She and Miller took separate rooms during the filming and divorced a short time later.
|
Miller had written the screenplay as a way for her to try to rebuild her self-esteem after a miscarriage.
Twelve days after filming ended, Gable died of a heart attack at 59. Less than 21 months later, Monroe died at 36 of a drug overdose that was ruled a suicide. Clift appeared in several other films before he died at 45 in 1966.
Gail Levin who directed "The Making âThe Misfitsâ 2002", said: "I do think there is a haunting quality to the movie because of what followed. The movie is the end of an era. It freezes them in time."
|
The blurring between art and life is remarkable in The Misfits because Monroe, Gable and Clift played characters so much like themselves, Levin said.
The movie centers on an aging but sensitive cowboy, played by Gable; a troubled but kind rodeo rider, played by Clift, and an insecure, lonely divorcee, played by Monroe.
ï»ż"I think Monroe knew it was too close to the truth," Levin said. "She puts on a brave face in the movie like in real life."
|
Miller, who based the movie on the loners he observed in Reno when he divorced in 1956 to marry Monroe, said it was difficult to watch her go through "such torture" during the filming.
"I think there was a struggle believing in herself in a part that serious, where . . . her body would have meant so little in the course of the story," Miller said.
Gable was like the cowboy he played: rugged, handsome and fiercely independent, said Marilyn Newton of Reno, who was 15 and a movie extra during the filming.
"He was really down to earth and would go out of his way to be nice to everyone," Newton said. "He was even warmer than his Hollywood image. "Clift was friendly, but he was a loner.
Monroe was very beautiful but didn't live up to her Hollywood persona. She seemed vulnerable and almost timid."
|
Movie enthusiasts who were anticipating a typical shoot 'em up western featuring Gable or a comedic performance from Monroe were left unsatisfied by the 1961 film "The Misfits".
While "The Misfits" was not a commercial success upon its initial release, it has since been re-evaluated and praised for its emotional depth and complex characters. It stands as a testament to the talents of Monroe, Gable, and Clift, offering a glimpse into their abilities beyond their usual screen personas.
The filmâs exploration of existential themes and its critique of modernity continue to resonate with contemporary audiences, making it a timeless piece of cinema.
"The Misfits" is a film of substantial artistic merit and historical importance. It provides a compelling exploration of human vulnerability and the quest for meaning, set against the poignant decline of the American West. Through its rich character portrayals and evocative direction, "The Misfits" remains a significant and enduring work in the annals of film history.
| |
