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The Misfits

The Misfits

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Miller's "Annie Hall"?
Review: I have always suspected that there was more autobiography in screenwriter Arthur Miller's "gift" to then-wife Marilyn Monroe than even he may have realized at the time. Miller's (typically) depressing assortment of beautiful losers in "The Misfits" is rendered even more poignant by the real-life tragedies unfolding amongst the film's stars (Clark Gable's impending fatal heart attack; Monroe's suicide within a year; and Montgomery Clift's ongoing battles with alcoholism, mental instability and addiction to pain-killers). Morbid as this sounds,these factors probably "helped" Gable, Monroe and Clift to each give some of the most realistic and heartfelt performances of thier careers. Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter (frequently overlooked for thier contributions to the movie) give equally skilled performances. A bit "stagey" at times, understandable with Miller's theater background. The irony of the movie's final shot, with Gable and Monroe gazing heavenward as they drive toward "that brightest star", is almost unbearably saddening, yet such a perfect swan song for two fine screen actors in (literally) thier final film scene. One of director John Huston's more absorbing dramas.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic,ahead of its time
Review: This last film of Monroe and Gable was ahead of its time.Marilyn has a scene at the end that should have got her nominated for an Oscar.She lets it all out,when she can't take the capture of the wild horses anymore.Its almost like what happened to her in real life.Filmed in Black and White makes the movie that much more a Classic.The film has the greatest stars ever in one movie.Montgomery Clift,and Eli Wallach,along with Clark and Marilyn.This was Arthur Miller's present to his Wife,a present that broke up there mariage,and killed Gable two weeks after the movie was finished.The sad part was Gable never got to see his first born child.This killed Marilyn.She read in a article that Gables wife blamed her for his death.Even though its ashame this is Marilyn and Clark Gable's last film,what a great ending from these two Legends.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gable and Monroe's last film
Review: Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Cliff, John Huston, and Arthur Miller. This should have been one of the best films ever made. That being said, it was a slight disapointment. It is a good film, but not up to the caliber of the cast, director and writer. But it is a film worth watching, a classic. It has a melancholy feel to it, but it is about the last chance of three disillusioned characters. Well worth watching. No extras on the dvd.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Misfits all, they face harsh realities of a changing world.
Review: In this 1961 film Marilyn Monroe is cast a recent divorcee in Reno who has just shed her husband. She meets up with Clark Gable, an aging cowboy, as well as Montgomery Cliff, who makes his living working in rodeos. Then there is Eli Wallach, a former WW2 pilot who has lost his dreams. And Thelma Ritter, an older woman who befriends Monroe. In one way or another, they're all misfits.

Gable and Monroe start a romance and move to a desert house abandoned by Wallach. There's a lot of drinking and introspection. Present throughout is the cruel reality of what the modern world has become. For example, Wallach, the pilot, shoots bald eagles for the farmers, the bucking broncos in the rodeo have irritants placed under their saddles to make them lively, and mustang horses are rounded up to use for dog food.

Filmed in black and white, there's an underlying feeling of sadness. And even the rather happy ending doesn't help that. It's a good screenplay although it was rather slow at times. But Miller sure knows how to get to the hearts and souls of his characters. I was impressed with the performances of Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter who were not cast in starring roles. And Montgomery Cliff is a fine actor and is outstanding. As for Gable and Monroe - well, I don't know. Gable has a few good scenes but mostly he doesn't seem real. And Monroe just can't act. She's all right when she's cast as a dumb blonde, but this was a serious role. Her performance here was wooden and amateurish.

I wish there had been some special features on the DVD, but there was nothing more than the original trailer. The film held my interest though, and is worth seeing just because of its history. It's the last film that Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable appeared in before their deaths. And Arthur Miller wrote it especially for Marilyn while he was living in Reno and awaiting a divorce in order to marry her. The director, John Huston, was one of Hollywood's best at the time. And yet it never quite made it to box office success. It will appeal to film buffs and fans of the stars. I therefore recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Miller's "Annie Hall"?
Review: I have always suspected that there was more autobiography in screenwriter Arthur Miller's "gift" to then-wife Marilyn Monroe than even he may have realized at the time. Miller's (typically) depressing assortment of beautiful losers in "The Misfits" is rendered even more poignant by the real-life tragedies unfolding amongst the film's stars (Clark Gable's impending fatal heart attack; Monroe's suicide within a year; and Montgomery Clift's ongoing battles with alcoholism, mental instability and addiction to pain-killers). Morbid as this sounds,these factors probably "helped" Gable, Monroe and Clift to each give some of the most realistic and heartfelt performances of thier careers. Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter (frequently overlooked for thier contributions to the movie) give equally skilled performances. A bit "stagey" at times, understandable with Miller's theater background. The irony of the movie's final shot, with Gable and Monroe gazing heavenward as they drive toward "that brightest star", is almost unbearably saddening, yet such a perfect swan song for two fine screen actors in (literally) thier final film scene. One of director John Huston's more absorbing dramas.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: JUDY GARLAND HATED IT
Review: ... she felt that Miller exposed his wife unmercifully... I can hardly disagree with her. After reading numerous biogrophies about Marilyn; she really seems 2 be playing a variation of herself.

The film is a masterpiece; all the actors give ace performances - it i s a KEY film for the lonelyhearts... The film makes u feel that U ARE NOT ALONE in having depressing feelings and the script put it in words several times what might be difficult for a person 2 express. Nevertheless; Judy was right! Marilyn shines and performs with NO safety net whatsoever...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Sad note to go out on
Review: Oh, how I wanted to love this movie. It was the last movie for both Gable and Monroe, it was set in the beautiful southwest (Reno to be exact), and it was to be a movie about free-spirits finding each other. The movie started out great, with a great opening scene with Thelma Ritter.

Unfortunately, that is the last high point of the movie. In addition to accepting the unbelievable romance between sixty year old Gable and 35-year-old Marilyn, we were supposed to feel something for these characters. Not an easy thing to ask of the viewer. Wallach, Clift and Gable played dispicable, drunken losers, and Marilyn was a woman bereft of any capability to recognize it. These were all people that I wouldn't even bother with if I met them on the street. Why am I supposed to care about them?

So sad that Gable and Monroe went out on this note. The only value in seeing this movie is purely historical.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Lesson In Film
Review: 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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic work
Review: If you appreciate the old hollywood style of telling a story, this movie is worth watching. It examines the relationship and mores of the time through an observor's view. You aren't tied into the internal thoughts and emotions of the characters, except by what they reveal to everyone. Gable is good as always, not having lost his spark and appeal. Monroe shows the sorrow of a tough life and the rest of the cast carry their roles with conviction.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This movie smells death!
Review: MY RATING- 7.7

That's right, this mov smells death cause it looks really profetic of what would happen to Marylin, Monty and Gable. Gable doesn't look mature, he looks old and tired. I know that he insisted doing many of the stunt work, yet seeing him we believe why he died little time after. Marylin looks more from another world , the scene when she screams calling "murderers" is as if she was incriminating those who leaded her to suicide. Some fresh air comes from Monty, yet his pensive character is profetic how he would die few years later. In some few words, the title says all, it's about three misfits, that try find his place in the world.
Psychological drama, that is overpassed by the master "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf". Also nice cinematography, good directing by John Huston as well as excellent secondaries- Thelma Rhitter an Eli Wallach.


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