Review of The Misfits (1961) by Henri L — 02 Aug 2010

John Huston directs an original screenplay by Arthur Miller and the result is just as golden as could be expected. "The Misfits" is sort of like a Tennessee Williams play on downers but at the same time it has a lot of symbolic beauty. It is a harsh and rough story about crippled people living traumatized, imperfect lives.

Marilyn Monroe was thirty five years old when she acted in "The Misfits" and it should turn out to be her last film. Clark Gable was twenty five years older and died only a few days after shooting the movie. Montogomery Clift had been stitched together from the motor vehicle crash in '56 and was in bad shape both mentally and psychically. These gossip personal conditions seem to have had a huge effect on the emotions portrayed in the film as there probably has never been made an American studio production where the desperation of the characters are so evident. With Eli Wallach in the mix (and he dances!) and a splendid Thelma Ritter this "The Misfits" is an ensemble movie as good as they come.

Best is Monroe as the sensible child of Roslyn who is not made out for the harshness of Reno-men. Throughout the entire movie she bears her nerves on her clothes. She looks like a million and acts as a billion.

Together with Peckinpahs "The Ballad of Cable Houge" and David Millers "Lonely are the Brave", "The Misfits" is probably the best drama about the death of the the old west. A classic and a must-see.