Play Misty for Me (1971)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Jo Heims (story)
Jo Heims (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 November 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The scream you hear may be your own!

Plot:

A brief fling between a male disc jockey and an obsessed female fan takes a frightening, and perhaps even deadly turn when another woman enters the picture.

Plot Keywords:

Disc Jockey | Obsessed Fan | Secret Meeting | Chicken Delight | Stalker

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Dave
Jessica Walter	...	Evelyn
Donna Mills	...	Tobie
John Larch	...	Sgt. McCallum
Jack Ging	...	Frank
Irene Hervey	...	Madge
James McEachin	...	Al Monte
Clarice Taylor	...	Birdie
Don Siegel	...	Murphy (as Donald Siegel)
Duke Everts	...	Jay Jay
George Fargo	...	Man
Mervin W. Frates	...	Locksmith
Tim Frawley	...	Deputy Sheriff
Otis Kadani	...	Policeman
Brit Lind	...	Anjelica
Paul E. Lippman	...	2nd man
Jack Kosslyn	...	Cab driver
Ginna Patterson	...	Madalyn
Malcolm Moran	...	Man in window
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cannonball Adderley	...	Himself (leader, Cannonball Adderly and His Quartet) (uncredited)
Cannonball Adderley and His Quartet	...	Themselves (uncredited)
Robert S. Holman	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Johnny Otis	...	Himself (uncredited)
Walter Spear	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Clint Eastwood

Writing credits
Jo Heims		(story)
Jo Heims		(screenplay) and
Dean Riesner		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Daley	....	producer
Robert E. Larson	....	associate producer (as Bob Larson)
Jennings Lang	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dee Barton

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees

Film Editing by
Carl Pingitore

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen

Set Decoration by
Ralph S. Hurst		(as Ralph Hurst)

Costume Design by
Helen Colvig

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert E. Larson	....	assistant director (as Bob Larson)

Art Department
Don Heitkotter	....	painting

Sound Department
Robert L. Hoyt	....	sound
Robert Martin	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound

Stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunt double: Jessica W (uncredited)
Julie Ann Johnson	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brad Whitney	....	costumes: Clint Eastwood (as Brad Whitney of Carmel)

Music Department
Erroll Garner	....	musician: piano, "Misty"
Ewan MacColl	....	composer: song "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Other crew
Betty A. Griffin	....	script supervisor (as Betty Abbott)
Jack Kosslyn	....	dialogue coach
Jennings Lang	....	presenter

Thanks
Jimmy Lyons	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures
• Malpaso Company, The

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• CIC (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• ETD Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (????) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Cinematique  cosmetics
• Octave Music Publishing Corporation  by arrangement with: "Misty"
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Runtime:

102 min | Portugal:96 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1985) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (Certificate #22848) | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Clint Eastwood's directorial debut.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The music heard during the "Jazz Fest" sequence rarely matches the video.

Quotes:

David 'Dave' Garver: I'm just trying to tell you something. I'm trying to tell you there's a telephone. I pick it up and I dial it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Play It Again: A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Preacher's Blues

An impressive psychological thriller

This is quite an impressive, very 70s looking psycho-thriller that is sure to please.

Clint Eastwood plays Dave Garver, a radio DJ in southern California. One night, a woman calls requesting that he "Play Misty for me." Later, he meets the woman at a bar he goes to often, and they go back to her house together and make love. The next morning, he leaves, figuring it was just a one-night stand, but when he gets home, the woman, Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter) shows up with groceries and starts to make herself at home. Dave decides to go with it, and later sees that his old girlfriend, Tobie Williams (Donna Mills), is back in town, and the two become close again. But Evelyn won't go away, and continues to follow Dave everywhere, and starts to get viciously jealous of Tobie. And as Dave and Tobie's relationship forms, Evelyn becomes angry and violent, and eventually, murderous, and Dave must find some way to stop her before she ruins his life, and potentially, kills him.

A very creepy movie. Jessica Walter is beyond convincing as the jealous psycho lover, and Clint Eastwood proves that he doesn't just do Dirty Harry movies. Donna Mills is also quite good as the innocent girlfriend. The movie implies and foreshadows a lot, making everything even scarier. But the best scene in the whole movie is the knife attack on the maid, Birdie. That scene competes with the shower scene in "Psycho" as one of the most shocking in film history. The way the camera darts and swings around, and Birdie's screams as she struggles and fights to get away, all add up to one of the scariest scenes I've every seen. The climax is quite good, if not executed a little too quickly, but what led to it was shocking enough to overshadow it.

All in all, a great film that I would definitely recommend.