The Misfits (1961)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

Arthur Miller (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 February 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

'SMASHING' thru the Excitement Barrier !

Plot:

A sexy divorcée falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle in early-sixties Nevada.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Horse | Divorce | Wild Horse | Nevada

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Gay Langland
Marilyn Monroe	...	Roslyn Taber
Montgomery Clift	...	Perce Howland
Thelma Ritter	...	Isabelle Steers
Eli Wallach	...	Guido
James Barton	...	Fletcher's grandfather
Kevin McCarthy	...	Raymond Taber
Estelle Winwood	...	Church lady collecting money in bar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peggy Barton	...	Young bride (uncredited)
Rex Bell	...	Old cowboy (uncredited)
Ryall Bowker	...	Man in bar (uncredited)
Frank Fanelli Sr.	...	Gambler at bar (uncredited)
John Huston	...	Extra in blackjack scene (uncredited)
Bobby LaSalle	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Philip Mitchell	...	Charles Steers (Isabella's ex) (uncredited)
Walter Ramage	...	Old groom (uncredited)
Ralph Roberts	...	Ambulance driver at rodeo (uncredited)
Dennis Shaw	...	Fletcher, young boy in bar (uncredited)
J. Lewis Smith	...	Fresh cowboy in bar (uncredited)
Marietta Tree	...	Susan (Guy's girlfriend getting on train) (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Arthur Miller		(screenplay)

Produced by
Frank E. Taylor	....	producer

Original Music by
Alex North

Cinematography by
Russell Metty

Film Editing by
George Tomasini

Art Direction by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)
Bill Newberry		(as William Newberry)

Set Decoration by
Frank R. McKelvy		(as Frank McKelvy)

Costume Design by
Jean Louis		(dresses: Marilyn Monroe)

Makeup Department
Agnes Flanagan	....	hair stylist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
Frank La Rue	....	makeup artist (as Frank Larue)
Franz Prehoda	....	makeup artist (as Frank Prehoda)
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carl Beringer	....	assistant director
Tom Shaw	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound recordist
Philip Mitchell	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Bill Babcock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
J. Lewis Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted White	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Rex Wimpy	....	photographer: second unit
Eve Arnold	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cornell Capa	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Henri Cartier-Bresson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Bruce Davidson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Elliott Erwitt	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ernst Haas	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Erich Hartmann	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Lee Jones	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Inge Morath	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Dennis Stock	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Clyde Taylor	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean Louis	....	wardrobe: Ms. Monroe

Editorial Department
Stu Linder	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Alex North	....	conductor
Henry Brant	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor
Billy Jones	....	wrangler
George Nelson	....	title designer: main titles
Edward Parone	....	assistant to producer
James W. Gavin	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Eugene Logan	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Evelyn Moriarty	....	stand-in: Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)
Barlow Simpson	....	wrangler (uncredited)
Lew Smith	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Paula Strasberg	....	coach: Ms. Monroe (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Seven Arts Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1961) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965) (USA) (TV)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (France) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• George Nelson & Co. Inc.  main titles

Runtime:

124 min | France:120 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rated) | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved | Ireland:PG

Filming Locations:

Dayton, Nevada, USA

Company:

Seven Arts Productions

Trivia:

Director John Huston originally wanted Robert Mitchum to play "Gay Langland" but Mitchum didn't like the script and turned it down. Huston and writer Arthur Miller rewrote the script, but by the time Mitchum got to see the rewrite he had committed to another film. The role was instead offered to Clark Gable, who took it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Isabelle (Thelma Ritter) and Guido return to the house after Roslyn and Langland have been alone there for a few days, Langland calls Isabelle "Thelma".

Quotes:

Gay: Honey, we all got to go sometime, reason or no reason. Dyin's as natural as livin'. The man who's too afraid to die is too afraid to live.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Great Performances: Making 'The Misfits' (#31.1)" (2002)

Huston's film established Marilyn Monroe as a dramatic sensuous actress...

"The Misfits" is literally about four people who don't fit into society… A divorcée (Monroe) meets cowboy Langland (Gable), who is getting too old for his job… They decide to live together… A former rodeo star (Clift) and an unemployed mechanic (Wallach) join in the drifting…

Huston's masculine images are stripped of their former glory, existing only one rough exterior which fails to conceal what has been lost… Eventually the men agree to round up wild mustangs for a dog food manufacturer…

Scenes of the trio and Monroe speeding across the prairie in a beaten-up truck, raising a hurricane of dust while attempting to rope the stallions, are the strongest evocations of lost souls wandering in time…

Huston's film established Marilyn Monroe as a dramatic sensuous actress, thus liberating her from a decade of steamy cheesecake roles in sexy comedies…