Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twilight Of The Gods., June 21, 2002
It's almost impossible to review this as just a movie, as it is, to movie buffs at least, such a curio piece. As everyone knows, the screenplay, written by Arthur Miller, started out as a tribute to his wife, Marilyn Monroe, but proved to be the death knell for their marriage. Though this looks like a "Western", it is far from it. It is an almost obscene look into the coming together of a group of lost souls who have nothing left to lose. This John Houston film was famously fraught with problems, many related to M.M.'s real life breakdown, and went over budget, and became, at that time, the most expensive black & white film to date, a dubious distinction. That Miller based "Roslyn" on Marilyn is now well known, a portrait at once flattering and brutally honest. If there's any doubt that Roslyn is M.M., watch for the scene when Marilyn opens a locker , in she & Clarks little "love cottage", there are well known glamour pin-ups of the real life Marilyn hung inside, which "Roslyn" refers to as "just some old pictures of me." Also the scene of M.M. & Gable, as they awaken one morning, and she is seen nude from the back, is one Marilyn fought for, wanting her breast, which was visible in the rushes, kept in the final film. This was unheard of at that time, and was cut out of the final print. At the time, M.M. commented: "I love to do things the censors won't pass, after all, what are we here for, just to stand around and let it pass us by?... Gradually, they'll let down the censorship, sadly, probably not in my lifetime ", a prophetic comment from a woman who was ahead of her time. Though she drove John Houston to distraction during the filming, he years later commented: "Marilyn was as fine an actress as any I ever worked with... she just reached down within herself and pulled her own emotions out, it was real." This film , aside from Clark Gable, also stars good M.M. friend Montgomery Clift, another real life misfit, also good M.M. friend Eli Wallach, both fellow alumni of The Actors Studio, and the fabulous Thelma Ritter, who seems to be the only one capable of holding it together. At the films release, during Marilyns now famous scene in the desert, where she lashes out at the brutality of "the men" as they capture a horse for slaughter, apparently many in the theatres laughed out loud at this unacceptable version of their Marilyn, which is very sad. I have always found this scene devestating, and only shows the struggle she had to face, in her attempts to grow as an actress, and not be confined by peoples limited vision of her. Contrary to popular belief, this film was not a total artistic failure, and received many positive reviews at it's opening. The New York Tribune: "Here Miss Monroe is magic but not a living pin-up dangled in skin tight satin, and can anyone deny that in this film, these performers are at their best?" New York Daily News: "Gable has never done anything better on screen, nor has Miss Monroe." The fact that Gable died two weeks after shooting wrapped, and that Marilyn never completed another film, only seals the legend surrounding this films making. In hindsight, it was truly the end of an era. If you want a fascinating read on the making of this film, try and get the long out of print "The Story Of The Misfits", by James Goode. Published in 1963, it's a day by day chronicle of the films making, and, though only a year after M.M.'s tragic death, handles her memory with total respect...the legend had already begun. This sad, but ultimatley hope filled little drama, filmed in the almost lifeless desert, is maybe not for the viewer looking for lots of excitement and action. But if you're a serious viewer who can appreciate brilliantly subtle performances, starring two of filmdoms biggest legends... in a movie steeped in Hollywood folklore, then you'll appreciate this film. How fitting that their final scene has them riding off, heading "for that big star."
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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lesson In Film, August 1, 2003
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.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Marilyn Monroe delivered a good performance!, November 9, 1999
By A Customer
THE MISFITS is a winner.Despite the fact that it failed at the box-office,and dramatic behind-the-scenes conflicts,this film is a good drama movie. The script of this film was written by Monroe`s then-husband,playwright Arthur Miller,as a "valentine" to her following the sad miscarriage of their child.This time,the Godess plays a role you have never seen her play in her earlier pictures.In THE MISFITS,she`s Roslyn Tabor,a divorcé who joins a group of cowboys.Roslyn was based on Marilyn.One of the cowboys is Gay Laughland,played to perfection by Clark Gable.Gay is a free spirited man who lives life by the minute and nothing gets in his way of pleasure.Also in the gang are two men (Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach)who have hidden pains from their past.The Nevada scenery is breathtaking and the musical score by Alex North is very good.Marilyn Monroe fans should know that this film added many elements from Marilyn`s troubled reality such as references about her mother.In the film,Gay helps Roslyn figure out what demons are killing her and what is she running away from.We can see that Monroe did a good job with this film and fully applied the Strasbergian Method to it`s fullest when it came to inner-examination.This film should please any MM fan,and any moviegoer that enjoys a good piece of drama.This was the last film for two movie stars that offered so much to American cinema:the king and queen of Hollywood(Gable and Monroe).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
i really liked it! Thelma Ritter and Monty Clift shine
this is a nice, little movie. MM is neurotic, highly inquisitive, and sad. Ritter is sassy, funny, confident, and flirty. clift is energetic, kind, drunk, and touching.
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Published on July 21, 2007 by T.T.
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