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 | Beautiful Woman | 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		(director of photography)

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

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:

Bored while waiting for Marilyn Monroe to turn up on the set, Clark Gable opted to do his own stunts, which included being dragged by a truck traveling at 30 mph.

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:

Referenced in The Immoral Mr. Phillips (2004) (V)

Down and Out in Nevada

Two of the previous comments have it right about Nevada. It is without question the most barren of places in terms of the sustenance of human life, yet it has a rare beauty that transcends the ugliness of its crass cities and radioactive vistas. The fact that it encompasses an entirely landlocked basin in which great rivers roar down to disappear in dry lakebeds speaks to the main point. Pristine alpine meadows form islands in the sky surrounded by millions of acres of desolation.

When I first saw "The Misfits" in 1961, after having read the savage reviews and followed the sensational press coverage of its production, my initial reaction was that most people just missed the point. I still think so, particularly after reading some of the negative comments here that parrot accepted wisdom about filmmaking in general and what is perceived as a misfire by Miller and Huston. But I have news for the naysayers: this film tells it like it is.

So what if it's a stage play set in the desert? So what if the characters devolve and come apart according to some apparently hidden hand of random fate? Those who get the story right are those who see past what seem at first to be surreal clichés existing only as fodder for the cameras and instead grasp the horror and ugliness of what passes as everyday life for the eponymous ensemble. Nothing happens, and yet everything happens.

Gable, Monroe, Clift. Arthur Miller himself. Figures that seem larger than life. This has little to do with horses and everything to do with the tragedy of Everyman.