Review of The Misfits (1961) by Sharon K — 24 Mar 2008

This week, the Vintage Broadcast Network submits a film that still resonates with some heavy, heavy emotional weight.

I believe this to be one of the 10 best American films of the 60's.

THE MISFITS stars Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, three of the biggest stars you will ever see in one film. This is an unassuming poetic nod to the "old days". Gable wants to retain his unchecked wild cowboy status in a world that seems to be vanishing around him. Clift plays a ranch hand cheated out of his legacy, and...then there is Marilyn.

For all of those people who have said she was just a pretty blonde pin-up who couldn't act, and that her cult of personality exceeded her capabilities, watch this film. She is UNBELIEVABLE as a recent divorcee who just wants to get away. Her haunting performance, just a year-and-a-half before her death, is the crowning achievement of her filmography. Sadly this performance was enabled by a burgeoning addiction to prescription pills and alcohol. The production was actually shut down for a little while so Marilyn could check in to detox!

Gable delivers a towering final performance. His character could be seen as art imitating life, as he was one of the original, true leading man "cowboys" of Hollywood's Golden Age. He performed all of his own stunts, but suffered a heart attack 2 days after production ended and died just 10 days later. Monroe was often cited as saying Gable was her childhood hero.

Montgomery Clift, in close-ups, still showed the effects of his horrific 1956 car accident and subsequent reconstructive surgery. His aloof character resonates with sadness and emotional baggage.

Helming the ship is another legend: John Huston. It helps when you have all of that talent on a film project, but you have to have great writing and a director strong enough to pull it all together. Huston, a notorious drinker, often gambled and fell asleep on set. Also, the great Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay as his marriage was disintegrating with Monroe.

These film Gods embark on a journey you won't forget. This is one of the rare occasions when life imitates art, and that magic transfers to the silver screen with a poetic nod to yesterday. We painfully witness lives affected by tragedy and disappointment...real or otherwise. I can promise you will never look at these actors, the wild west, horses...(or dog food) the same way again.

THE MISFITS was released in February 1961. Put this one high on the list and watch the glorious black and white on a great television.