Review of The Misfits (1961) by Brandon W — 19 Jun 2012

This movie is a world class disappointment considering what went into it and how it should have been a convergence of huge talents for an ultimate 60s movie experience. I mean think about this, this is the last movie Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe two of the biggest stars of the early 20th Century would EVER appear in. If you're a Gable or Monroe completist this is the end of the road for you and it's one of the last films Montgomery Clift would ever appear in either. Not to mention it was directed by than much lauded John Huston of The Maltese Falcon fame and written by the legendary Arthur fucking Miller while he was still married to Monroe. Still this movie did have a pretty infamous production history, which for some movies propel to further greatness but apparently here just made it more of a mess. John Huston who was not the most diligent Director drank and gambled his way through filming and was known to fall asleep on the set, and Arthur Miller who was having something akin to a nervous breakdown on the set due to the dissolution of his marriage to Monroe would literally add, drop or change pages of the script on the spot in the middle of shooting. Monroe was behaving no less erratically with the failure of her second marriage causing her to go on an alcohol and drug binge and shooting was actually shutdown at one point so Huston could send her to rehab. Monroe's childhood hero and co star Clark Gable was starting to lose it as well and insisted on doing his own stunts no matter how ridiculous and he and Monroe both would often just not show up to the set making it a miracle if both of them were there together for a scene. And lastly Montgomery Clift was himself slowly sinking into the thralls of alcoholism and had recently been in a motorcycle accident that gave him a nasty scar and had required plastic surgery to save his life which had to be covered up as it would go against the character and time period. Throw in an average 108 degrees of Nevada heat and you have just about one of the most miserable movie productions in history. Looking at all that it almost seems a miracle the movie wasn't the most humongous flop of all time. But just how well did it rise above its troubled creation. Let's take a dog food look.

Our movie focuses on Reno city girl and recent divorcee Roslyn Tabor (Marilyn Monroe,this is a decent performance from her she's not a bad actress but hey that's not why she was popular let's not kid ourselves) who after an emotionally taxing celebration agrees to take a vacation to the country house of two modern day cowboys she meets with her friend Isabelle (Thelma Ritter, not as important as the beginning of the movie makes her seem but does her job well). The house belongs to widower Guido (Eli Wallach, I like his performance it seems nice and friendly at first even loveable but slowly dissolves into a real creep like real people sometimes do) who has the hots for Roslyn pretty obviously but she more naturally takes to his aging jovial friend Gay Langland (Clark Gable, this is one of his better turns the scene where he drunkenly looks for his kids is one of his very best). She and Gay start up a relationship but her gentle sensibilities and some of the compromises he's had to make to be a cowboy in the modern world put them at odds and threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile she also develops an uncomfortable friendship with another acquaintance of theirs Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift, my favorite character and the most interesting by far and Clift plays him well and uncompromisingly) a possibly brain damaged rodeo showman trying to get by after he loses his farm who has a pretty bad Oedipus Complex.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit when it was said and done but its greatest crime is how fucking dull it is at times. I mean the damn thing clocks in at about 2 hours but feels more like four and doesn't really accomplish much I mean whatever it's trying to say is basically muddled beyond comprehension by that mess of and ending. The ending's not a deal breaker and certainly not the worst I've ever seen but it's also not good at all, it's strangely, mediocre in writing and just stagnant visually despite Huston's best efforts. I mean this movie would have benefited greatly from being in color the dirty and dusty West just kind of looking flat and boring in black and white but hey maybe that's a statement about how bleak it is being a cowboy in that time. Meanwhile I never really connected with most of the characters, they had unrelatable problems and monologued and pontificated to obnoxious lengths in whiny and strangely inhuman ways. In fact I think the only reason I liked Roslyn and Gay is because Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable were playing them and they were charming enough to make any character loveable. The character that sticks out to me though is Perce, who is the best written, best acted and by far most interesting who is so great he feels out of place among the others and his scenes almost feel like he's crossing over from a better movie.

I liked The Misfits, more while I was watching it than in hindsight though I did constantly check how much longer it was which is never a good sign. It's a bit of a mediocre movie but the people involved are legendary so it's a worthwhile watch for any film buff. Arthur Miller is normally a great screenwriter so I'll chalk this up to him being depressed over his marriage or something and the actors are all really in their element even if the characters they pay aren't the most worthwhile. Plus is has some genuinely great scenes mixed into the mud of mediocrity and they make it worth the price of admission as it were so if you enjoy the work of any involved but have reservations about the Misfits its a pretty good little watch.