The Misfits is a challenging film. None of the characters stop to give extended analysis of their actions. People who watched the film on its initial release or later keep coming back to it because everyone has a bit of Roslyn, Guy and Guido in them. Which is why it keeps finding an audience decades later. A lot of the films that are easier to take have vanished.
Clark Gable died shortly after making this film. Marilyn Monroe's constant tardiness and absenteeism with her problems did not help his failing health at the time. She died the next year in August of 1962. How eerie, at the end, as if prophetic, the two of them in the truck together, as she asks: "How do you find the way back home in the dark?" And Gable answers "Just head for that big star, straight on. She'll take us right home." Gable being the big star, Marilyn, or Norma Jean, being troubled as if lost in the dark all her life, following him in death the next year.
This is such excellent analysis. I find this movie painful but Marilyn's acting and Gable's too are great. Eli Wallach is a great actor and Guido was the one who was the ruthless one who put on a sweet attitude to get what he wanted. I knew the Magnificent 7 was going to be the first movie as soon as you said westerns were the next genre.
Someone saw the sadness we saw in Marilyn in her 'Saxophone players' speech back in 'Some Like It Hot' about her cycle of bad relationships, and then brought it out to it's full in this movie.
Marilyn's last film was "Something's Got To Give." She did not finish the film as she was fired from the film after much of it was already shot and then she died right after being fired. However, many scenes were filmed with Marilyn and her co star Cyd charisse and you can find those scenes on DVD or even here on RU-vid. Marilyn was fired from "Something's Got To Give" for being absent too many days from the set. But she looks more beautiful in "Something's Got To Give" than ever before.
Without a doubt, this is my all-time favorite film. It showed beyond a doubt that Marilyn could've been a truly legendary dramatic actress. She had the quality, the "gracefulness" which according to Guido "Can't teach that." And it's true. So very true. She had it.
I have to say this is a movie I've only seen once and never had the courage to watch again. When they play it on TCM I find something else to watch. The whole long, vital section with the horses is really painful for me, and the knowledge that this was the end of the line for both Gable and Monroe is hard. I love Montgomery Clift, too, every tragic, self-destructive fiber of him. Marilyn said of him that he was one of the few people she knew even more messed up than she was. This movie is filled with pain and regret. Eli Wallach! You must find a chance to enjoy this wonderful scene-stealing ball of energy! In our family we call him an honorary Latino: a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn who at least twice played a Latino, with gusto and heart ("The Magnificent Seven" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"). Thelma Ritter is a gem. She has some fantastic credits, two of our favorites being her parts in "All About Eve" and "Letter to Three Wives". The delicate older lady with the cemetery tin is Estelle Winwood, a veteran actress, who you will undoubtedly see often as you delve into other movies. She has a tiny, hysterical part in the 1967 version of "The Producers".
@@thomastimlin1724 Wallach did another movie around the same time 'The Lineup" as a psychotic contract killer. Close to his best work - along with his role as Tuco in "The Good,The Bad And The Ugly".
As a 76 years old retired art teacher, who used to include film history along with art history I find your presentations incredibly inspiring and encouraging and informative. I bet you could get a PhD in film history!
I am so glad you decided to react to The Misfits. It is absolutely my favorite Marilyn Monroe film and certainly deserving of it's classic status. I thought your observations were quite insightful and compelled me to look closer at my own reasons for loving this film so much. single take
It's here! One of my favorites from her...to think of all these legends and what the coming years would bring... Thank you for another great reaction/review.
I expect that by the end of this film, you will be a fan of the rest of the cast, especially Montgomery Clift. He made several great films like From Here To Eternity, Judgment at Nuremberg, and A Place In The Sun.
Cool! I first saw this around 1970 when I was going through my "deep infatuation with Marilyn" phase, and I hadn't seen it since then until finally getting it on DVD a few weeks ago. What an interesting film (any film directed by John Huston is interesting, especially "The Maltese Falcon" and "Night of the Iguana") and amazing cast. This was after Montgomery Clift's catastrophic car crash which marred his matinee idol looks (his face was all but torn in half) but did nothing to lessen his acting talent. Marilyn is heartrending, and Gable is utterly iconic. He died soon after completing the film, and Marilyn lived another year. Huston's black and white photography, as usual, is exquisite. The film is something of an obscurity today, and a bit of an oddity, which makes it even more interesting. Kudos to you for reacting to it. Also, you REALLY need to see Eli Wallach give what I consider to be one of the greatest film performances of all time in the monumental Italian western "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." And I think you would love "Night of the Iguana."
This is INCREDIBLE. Mia, you have done a FANTASTIC job. I thought I knew everything about this movie, and everybody in it, and I'm learning things every two seconds, and I'm enjoying the heck out of this. - Thank you for talking about how great Thelma Ritter is!!!! One of those actresses who is in EVERYTHING. And always, always, always great. And this role, she gets to really stretch out. - Isn't' it wild to see Clark Gable, surrounded by method actors, holding his own, acting in a completely different style....and yet they mesh perfectly? I love that man. When you made the connection to "It Happened One Night".....which I NEVER thought about......that blew my mind. Thank you! I will never see EITHER scenes the same way ever again!! :D (definitely do "Mutiny On The Bounty" and "San Francisco", if you do a Gable-fest!) - There is one person who got short shrift: John Huston! Yet another home run for John Huston! I mean, how many great movies is this guy going to direct? His direction is flawless........right to the very last shocking frame.....what an ending.....my memory of it was that it didn't fade out, it just stopped. - I love everything you're saying about Arthur Miller; watching this with you now, I am totally dazzled all over again by his incredible writing. I try not to talk like this very often: but we definitely do not have scripts like this anymore! Even then, this was way above the cut of your normal 1962 film! Seeing this now, I can see this is one of the earliest "sixties" films of the 60s! - Death is hanging all over this film. It's the eeriest thing ever. The black & white only enhances it, these silver screen movie stars, giving it their all one last time, as great as they ever would, and staying as modern and relevant and as ahead of their time as you could possibly be in 1962. What a goodbye, what an ending. Thanks, Mia. You done it again.
I discovered your channel yesterday, and your reactions are already my favourite. You have such intelligent observations and you do your research and you seem like such a lovely and genuine person. It comes through in your videos. Subscribed :)
I'm so glad you reviewed this one. I knew you'd like it. And now seeing how much you enjoyed it, I would highly recommend that you watch Don't Bother to Knock, even if just for yourself. It's another one that highlights Marilyn's dramatic acting skills, in a completely different way.. you get to see her gradually reveal layers of insanity. She was brilliant in it.
This movie had a New York dandy examines the lives of the lower orders, mainly because Miller was a New York dandy. As for the wild mustangs, they have to be periodically culled because they are not meant for that type of environment and over population reduces the food supply for them and other animals. They also tend to be destructive of the landscape. So some must end up as dog food or the remaining horses will not live.
Eli Wallach and Marilyn went back a few years by this time. She came to Broadway to see him in Teahouse Of The August Moon, was invited backstage and asked him “How do you do a whole play?” She wound up watching it several times from the balcony, and they became really good friends - and he and her friend Shelley Winters were partly responsible for recommending Lee Strasberg and The Actors’ Studio. That was in 1955, so she really trusted him. That explains why they were so good together in that car scene. We weren’t just watching her emotional disorders on display. She was a real method actor at this point. That older, disheveled woman, staggering around the restaurant, who came off so convincingly as a Reno local, was renown British stage actress Estelle Winwood, who was in her first Broadway play in 1917 and divided her early career between London’s West End and NYC Broadway.
This is the one I was waiting for, Mia! And I’m so happy it made a big impression on you. This is one of the titles I listed on the recommendation form only days before you announced you were doing a Marilyn series so that announcement came as a nice surprise. There are films… There are classic films… And then there are the ones that reach another level and float somewhere in the stratosphere, unique and mysterious, like ghostly works of art. ‘The Misfits’ is one of those films. And I love that you gave Arthur Miller his props because I believe he penned one of the great American screenplays, ‘a modern day Greek tragedy,” as you put it - which is fitting because of the philosophical themes it addresses. It’s a moody, existential drama with zero f***s given about genre or commercial appeal. No wonder critics and audiences failed to connect with it at the time. I’m just so glad the stars lined up in order to give us Miller, Huston, Gable, and Monroe - all at the peaks of their powers. I mean, nothing against Robert Mitchum but this is Clark frickin’ Gable! And we got the gift of seeing two of Hollywood’s biggest stars share the screen. And what can I say about the beautiful and tragic figure that is Marilyn Monroe (born into this world as a sweet and vulnerable creature named Norma Jean)? I was introduced to her as most of us are, decades after she had passed. These days she enters the public consciousness as a pop-cultural artifact: her image is all around us like wallpaper - on postage stamps, calendars, posters, t-shirts, tv and internet ads, memes. Until sone of us eventually take the plunge and decide to get to know her better by watching her movies, reading about her, etc., and we end up being totally captivated by her. And then something happens that allows her to crawl into your psyche for good. For me it happened when I was twelve and shopping with my mom. I noticed a large framed photo of her hanging on the wall. It turns out it was one of the very last photos ever taken of her, never before seen by the public, only recently published by the photographer, long after her death. The photo is haunting. She’s ravishing, and sexy, and happy, and enchanting. I had to have it. And though a bit pricey, my mom decided it was more than worth it just to see her son smile. You can see her final photos here (the first shot you see of her is what I took home that day)… ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8EnaJCHOCbQ.html It was a fun ride, following Norma Jean’s evolution with you these last couple of months. It gave me another chance to appreciate her multifaceted persona. She can sing, dance, and give show stopping performances, like in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and ‘Some Like it Hot’. And she’s a charming comedienne, especially under the direction of Hawks and Wilder. And despite her traumas and insecurities, she still always managed to shine between “action” and “cut.” She was conscious of her sensuality and learned how to channel it into success. So much so that she polished and branded it into a trademark that still endures to this day (she is as iconic as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Apple). And as Hollywood glamour goes, she can “outglam” almost everybody. That is, everybody except maybe Ms. Roman Holiday herself. She is the “Yang” to Audrey Hepburn’s “Yin”… each representing contrasting feminine ideals. But ultimately, as you know, her real ambition was to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress. Which brings us to ‘The Misfits,’ a film so personal and deeply resonant, it still slices my heart to ribbons. Certain scenes feel so intimate, like torn out pages of a diary, that it must have made some audience members uncomfortable, like they were trespassing on private moments. As Roslyn, she is so naked, so raw, and so vulnerable, that you’re totally right - we see flashes of the actual Norma Jean. Even her “Marilynisms,” when they crop up, are spot on. They come across as the ticks of a shy and deeply insecure person, which she was. And the scene in the desert in which she is shot from afar and screams at the men that they’re “liars” and “murderers” always makes the hairs on my neck stand up. This is her most fully realized performance and she is truly great. All she needed was a character worthy of her talents. Who knew that Miller’s script would turn out to be the strangest and greatest divorce gift in film history? And it’s thrilling to see her act opposite Gable, the reigning heartthrob of her generation, like Pitt would be for this era. I always felt that a common impression of Gable was that he wasn’t a serious actor and he merely coasted on his charisma. This performance totally debunks that notion ‘cause he is simply fantastic. The scene in which Gable hollers out for his children in a drunken stupor, hops up on a car, and then collapses, is heart-wrenching. And how can you ask for a better supporting cast than Thelma Ritter, Monty Clift, and Eli Wallach? You can’t. Genius actors, all of ‘em. In fact, just throw a truckload of oscars at everybody both behind and in-front-of the cameras. (In a parallel universe, this injustice better have gotten corrected by now. And if it hasn’t, Miles Morales - get on it, quick) And a brief word about Miller’s character development. He goes all out. He does not shy away from the warts-and-all depiction of his characters. And honestly, it’s a rather unflattering portrait of the male mindset: impulsive, insecure, jealous, aggressive, uncompromising, domineering, violent, murderous… This is the flip side of Cary Grant. Miller shines a light on the skeletons lurking in the closet. But that’s what makes a genuine artist tick… and what makes Arthur Miller so great… ‘Cause no matter what -they gotta tell the truth, even when it hurts. And even if it reveals the most uncomfortable facts about oneself. Wisdom comes hard. And that extends to the actors as well, and especially. Because they’re front and center, baring it all for the camera. They deserve the utmost respect. So thank you for taking us on this journey, Mia. You did Norma Jean proud. Her life and her story move me deeply. And this last performance of hers cuts to the bone. I’ll treasure it always. But as I wrap up, let me take you back to those final photos of her one more time. When you see them for the first time, they’re haunting, to be sure, especially knowing what we know now. However, if you look at them again, you’ll notice something else. There’s something very peaceful about them. Gone is the pain from behind her eyes. Her smile is relaxed and carefree. She’s happy. This is the same beach she used to play on as a child. This photo shoot was her idea and the photographer, George Barris, confirmed she was having a ball. So this is my main, lasting impression of her. The snapshot that lives inside my mind. Rest In Peace, Norma Jean. @->-
Thema Ritter is a Comedic Genius 🥰 Marilyn & Monty were friends… Marilyn said Montgomery was the “only person more messed up than she was.” 🥀 Marilyn found some writings Arthur had written in his diary belittling her, her intelligence & acting abilities, which really destroyed her 💔
You really should review some James Cagney films particularly Angels with Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy and White Heat. Excellent films with a great actor.
The church lady collecting in the bar was the wonderful Estelle Winwood, who had a very long and notable career. She was seventy-eight in _The Misfits._ She was eighty-foour when she played "Hold me. Touch me." in _The Producers._
You'll need to put Akira Kurosawa's _Seven Samurai_ (1954) on your list. It is the film which _The Magnificent Seven_ was adapted from. And while _The Magnificent Seven_ is a good movie, most notable for the really beautiful score, _Seven Samurai_ is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema.
I haven't seen The Misfits in years, and I was probably too young to understand most of it. In terms of Guido, I think it's important that he was involved in the air force, so I think his character is influenced by what he would have seen in war and military life. That line in the car where he says "I never kill people I know"... The anonymous nature of killing people from a plane. This was a society that was finally trying to deal with PTSD and alcoholism as an illness (as opposed to some religious character flaw) and all of the other side effects they were seeing in World War Two veterans and Korean war veterans and we were about to fall head first into Vietnam.
Guido has a sincere decent moment when Rosalyn admits to being the "nervous type." Guido tells her that, if it wasn't for the nervous people in this world, "we'd still be eating each other."
Greetings ! I just discovered your channel and I have to say That I think it's really great ! Your observations are so spot on . I love your keen eye and appreciation of all the aspects of film making IE lighting , camera , sound etc. Anyway , this is one of my favorite films . A little rough around the edges but all heart . The scene where Clark Gable is describing what it is to 'Just Live' is just spectacular and certainly words to live by ...... Take Care .... :D Oh ! Have you ever seen the film ' Hud ' .... ? ...... Really powerful .......
I've never been able to bring myself to watch this film all the way through. It's too sad both in front of and behind the scenes. Poor Clark Gable was so looking forward to his first child with his wife at the time. He had always wanted kids, and this was his first. His son was born a few months after Clark passed on. I probably will watch "Misfits" now, though, because I'm a huge fan of all the stars in it, and your reaction has made me realize it's a very important film. I always felt this film was one of the defining cultural moments of the societal shift of culture from the 1950's and before, to the 1960's and what came after. There was a sort of bouncy idealism, and a certain blindness to many things, that weathered well through the 1930's, WWII, and the 50's. But that kind of culture was coming to an end. People seriously started questioning the world around them, and this kind of film was a part of that. As for your next reaction, I've come to realize through the years that there are two types of people in the world. "Magnificent Seven" people, and people who prefer the original film it's based on, "The Seven Samurai". I'm a "Seven Samurai" person myself, but there are some really cool things in "Magnificent Seven".
Total paradigm shift, it actually shocked me quite a bit when I read it wasn't at least moderately successful. It seemed to have its finger firmly on the heartbeat of what must've surely been on many Americans' minds at the time, this sort of impending obsolescence of a rose tinted glasses, jollily coasting-through-life mentality. But maybe it was *too* aware, this was the dawn of the 60s. It being released even five years later might've done wonders for it.
@@bespectacledheroine7292 It really is more like a late 1960's, even early 1970's, kind of movie. There were many such "harsh reality" themed movies at that time. As it was, it was groundbreaking. A more fitting and epic end to both Marilyn's and Clark's amazing careers than perhaps either star knew at the time.
@@bespectacledheroine7292 Reading up on it and watching a docu or two on it's making I discovered one source said it did make a tidy profit. However I'm sure the studio heads were hoping for profits multiple times higher. Since this was a serious drama - but definitely not really romantic one - and the public mainly knew MM for her comedy for almost a decade by then, bet word of mouth kept lots of people away. What other movies were also released at the time and were competition. That can also have a big impact.
You talked of Eli Wallach here in "The Misfits" now you are going into westerns and his role in "The Magnificent Seven" is one of his most memorable roles he had in his long career from stage and screen.
Mia, you just made me like you more than I already do. So, happy to hear that you will be reviewing westerns next. I suggest The Outlaw Josey Wales, but will enjoy whatever you plan to post. The Magnificent Seven is a great film and I have no doubt that you will like it.
I would hope not, given all of the truly great (and vastly superior) westerns from the 30s-50s. You want the real authentic west, you go earlier in film history, because the old west was dying out as the film business came to Hollywood in the early 1900s. You're seeing real cowboys and outlaws, now employed by the move business. You have less rear projection and real stunts. "Stagecoach" has the most iconic stunt work of all time, for instance. "My Darling Clementine" is THE version of the OK Corrall gunfight....Wyatt Earp himself was a friend of Ford's! And the silents had some of the best. Hell's Hinges, you can see it on youtube for free, less than an hour. That's a real western. "The Covered Wagon", that's the real deal. Here, learn about the history of the birth of the western... fascinating and essential to anyone who has an interest in westerns, or movies in general: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8CDU148enA0.html That entire series is truly fantastic. Episode 5, about the stunt men is beyond amazing, for instance:. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Lr9kgXZverY.html
I always feel sad when thinking about Monroe, she was beautiful like a goddess but very human and I think she was a great actress when not being forced to play the kittenish ingenue parts. Watch her in 'Don't Bother to Knock' from 1952, she's great. Here she was showing a bit of age but aging gracefully, still gorgeous. It's a shame she didn't have a happier life. When talking about the use of local people as extras did you notice the presence of Estelle Winwood?
Hopefully you will get to the western Rio Bravo directed by Howard Hawks. Quentin Tarantino used this film as a test for women he dated. He showed them the film and if they didn’t like it, he couldn’t be with them. It is a wonderful movie.
Got this on DVD. Thelma Ritter is one of my favorite character actresses. Other Eli Wallach movies from this period worth checking out are The Lineup, Magnificent Seven, How to Steal a Million and of course The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Can't wait to see where we go from here. Thanks 😄👍❤️
The small role of Roselyn's ex-husband first seen here 8:06 was played by Kevin McCarthy, the star of the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and a good friend of Montgomery Clift.
I have too many films to recommend. It was just go on and on. However! I do want to recommend one of my favorite Montgomery Clift films, I CONFESS (1952). Also Marilyn's performance in The Misfits is so real and true that I get teary-eyed watching her..
This is such a multidimensional film and goes beyond being art. We know all the backstories of the actors but I would recommend to see the on set photographs of this film by Magnum-which adds to the intensity of this film. Thank you for this-your review was brilliant.
An observation, the man who plays Marilyn's ex husband is Kevin McCarthy who is the lead actor in the original version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, a film I highly recommend!
I do hope that "The Big Country" (1958) is on your Westerns list. For some reason it isn't one that everybody knows the name of like "The Magnificent Seven" or "The Searchers" but it's a good story with an epic feel to it and a great cast - Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Chuck Conners, Carroll Baker. Directed by William Wyler (Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday, The Best Years Of Our Lives).
Mia, i love your reaction to the movie. I like how you break down and unpack the character motivations. And you also understand the historical context. Thats not always the case with all reactors. I think you'd also like Marilyn in Don't Bother To Knock from 1952
Western month means we will get to see James Stewart again. My favorites are Naked Spur, Bend in the River, Winchester 73, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Destry Rides Again. The Misfits was one of the first modern day westerns made with the sharper edge of the sixties. Other examples are HUD starring Paul Newman, and Lonely are the Brave starring Kirk Douglas
Jimmy Stewart was in quite a few Westerns. "The Man From Laramie" (1955) is another pretty good one. Also "The Rare Breed" (1966). To be clear, all three of the other films Paul mentions as "modern day westerns" are set in the American West but take place in contemporary times (1950s or 60s), not in the late 1800s.
Since you are a fan of an older Clark Gable here are three films of his from the late fifties. The Teacher’s Pet, a rom-com costarring Doris Day. A WWII submarine film Run Silent Run Deep costarring Burt Lancaster. Since it is western month, how about a western titled The Tall Men costarring Jane Russel as the love interest. Speaking of Jane Russel, she is in three westerns also. The aforementioned The Tall Men, her breakout role, pun intended, The Outlaws, and a comedy western costarring Bob Hope called Paleface
In regards to Vince Klortho’s recommendations of HUD and the Last Picture Show, both films were adaptations of Larry McMurty novels. The film Terms of Endearments (Shirley MacLaine Oscar turn) was based on his novel as was the television miniseries Lonesome Dove. Larry won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay to Brokeback Mountain.
Mia, I really enjoy your reactions, comments and insight into each film you review. Oooo, I hope one of the westerns include John Wayne. Looking forward to your next one.
Mia, since you are going to be viewing westerns next month, I hope you will get a chance to watch Sergio Leone’s “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” Eli Wallach is one of the leads in the film and he is a hoot.
I love The Misfits for the blurring of the line between art and reality, it feels like such this quasi documentary to me, more artifact of the troubling past and then present of its stars than mere entertainment. It has the utmost respect for Rosalyn's nature, because though her character can be treated horribly in it, the three men she's surrounded by are all shown to be mistaken in how they view her/what she feels, in differing ways. Gay is the one who actually changes the most. He's been leading this very emotionally cut off lifestyle, to the extent that he observes kind of incredulously at one point that she must believe in true love, like it's something he forsook long ago. This perhaps is what has isolated him from his children. Guido is revealed to be a very small man, using the more pathetic footnotes of his life to gain sympathy giving way to what he hopes is female companionship, but he's very fickle in this. Perce may be the most interesting to me because he didn't really change for the better like Gay or have the curtain pulled on him like Guido, he always seemed decent enough but kind of like Rosalyn herself is liable to fall into the wrong crowd and be manipulated by their schemes and underlying self propelling motives. It didn't come as a surprise to me when he didn't want in on the profit or so willingly let the horses free, I believe it was always in him but having a comrade in Rosalyn let it loose. Rosalyn herself I believe is a symbol of the commanding yet quiet power of empathy, the common thread throughout The Misfits being that she always has her heart going out for somebody, be it her ex husband prior to the events of the story, Guido's deceased wife nobody thinks about as much as she seems to, the garden feasting critters Gay wants to shoot or those deeply thematically resonant wild horses. In the dead wife and the horses especially I believe she sees herself in them, in how willing all those involved are in tossing them aside or using them to gain something or other, be it money or attention. This brings out *something* in all of these men by the end. To touch on Thelma Ritter because I would be remiss if I didn't, god I love her. She's my favorite part of Rear Window where she's even more prominent, as her character drops off the face of this film halfway through. I don't know what life experience I require to be like her at that age, but I need it. As for western month, I'm eager to see it because it's far from one of my favorite genres, but this is an opportunity for you to bring out something lost on me in them! It'll be a journey worth taking. My favorite western is Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Edit: Forgot it was also Huston! I guess the man just knows what I enjoy in these stories?), also one of my favorites of all time, and whether it's on the docket or not, I urge you to see it for yourself at some point. I think it transcends the genre, hence why even I'm a fan.
I never would say that "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" IS a Western. Or a Noir either, though some people stick it in one or the other genre. A great movie though.
@@paintedjaguar I've heard that several times before, but I'm not too particular either way. It's classed as one often enough, but I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't see what made it not one, potentially. It doesn't have the feel of other westerns, has more wide-ranging themes than I tend to see in them, but I want to feel passionate about at least one western so possibly that's why it sticks in my mind as one.
@@rharvey2124 Sort of, but I think I'd just peg it as a drama, if one has to have a genre label. I'm not generally obsessed with labels though, despite my proclivity for making lists - one of my favorite romantic stories is James Cameron's "The Abyss".
Great reaction and analysis Mia! So you live for "the meat and potatoes of multi-faceted characters?" I've got two great suggestions for you. Whether or not you do a reaction to them you really should see these two. They are two of my personal all-time favorites and similar in feel and setting to The Misfits. They are Hud (1963) with Paul Newman and The Last Picture Show (1971). The Last Picture Show in particular should be seen. Yes it is outside the classic Hollywood era but it is set in 1949/50 and is shot in black and white. Amazingly poignant story and performances. Before you see it however you might want to see the 1948 John Wayne / Montgomery Clift classic western Red River first. You'll see why.
My favorite John Huston film is "treasure of the sierra madre" & i love "the african queen" too. The actors & crew suffered many hardships during the filming of AQ & John Huston kept disappearing to hunt big game so i can see why Robert Mitchum was concerned about safety.
No, actually due to John Huston s gambling problem. John gambled the movie's funds away. They needed time to raise more money so he took a break from filming, and called Marilyn's doctors and blamed it on Marilyn, threw her under the bus!
A very famous film today you should watch is “Night of the Hunter “ with Robert Mitchum as a preacher/Pyschpath in rural America in the 30s with Shelly Winters and Lillian Gish ( famous silent star) , the young children and watch the scenery, filmed in black and white, the masterful acting by the children and it was directed by Charles Laughton who was very famous in British movies. At the time of its release it was not accepted well. Later, even today it’s a classic film (noir ) with a type of mystical music theme. A classic not for the subtle, But immensely intense with a rare touch of innocence in it.
OMG, your mentioning "It Happened One Night" during the breakfast scene -- I just re-watched that film, and the setting and actions in that scene are so similar, from the cooking and serving of one egg and a donut to Clark throwing his leg over the chair before he sits down. It had to be intentional, right? 😊
Hi Mia Tiffany, this is a fine film. It was Marilyn's and Clark's last film. It also featured Eli Wallach not portraying a Mexican Bandit. Be sure to check out Eli Wallach in " The Victors " and Lee Van Cleef in " The Young Lions ". " Hey! "
Wow Scott, thank you so very much for supporting the channel! This really means a lot! I truly appreciate you! Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, the RU-vid app doesn't notify me of Super Thanks comments. Thank you again so very much :)
Looking forward to your review of The Magnificent Seven. It's a great choice. I saw it in a theater some thirty years ago in Athens, Greece; the outdoor shots are really impressive on a Big screen! As for recommendations, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon & The Searchers are high on my list.
I think it's a great film but it's a pretty haunting tale starring actors at basically the end of their careers and lives. Fun fact, well sad fact, Marilyn used to sleep with a photo of Clark Gable under her pillow when she was in foster homes, hoping that he was her dad.
The background "noise" in the introductory scene with Clark Gable was controlled with added sound effects. It was generally the policy to have no other sounds happening during the recording of dialogue, even though things are happening in the background. And because they are outside of the miking range, they would not be an issue. Consider also that there are several shot set ups in this sequence. And any additional takes would have to retain consistent room ambiance. Any capture of live background noise would produce an obvious distracting jump. So all atmospheric background sounds would have been added in the Post-production mix. The fact that you take it as live sound in the sequence is a tribute to the sound editor and mixer.
You can paint Miller as a bit of a bad guy. Read his play After the Fall and then his bio. Total betrayal of Marilyn. So much so, even Jackie Kennedy (who might've had reason to be mad at Marilyn) was pissed off at his portrayal of "Maggie" in the play. I thought Clark really stepped up to the plate with all of these "method actors". He's so natural and wonderful. BTW, watch Baby Doll some day. Eli Wallach proves you don't have to be gorgeous to have put some of the sexiest scenes EVER on film! I love him in The Holiday, BTW. So darn cute!
Western month means you will be introduced to the great director John Ford. Some of his classic westerns are Stagecoach, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, My Darling Clementine, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Funny that the greatest director of western films won his four oscars for directing non western films: The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green was my Valley, and The Quiet Man
Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine are in my absolute top five westerns. I love all the others mentioned as well, but those two are absolute favorites.
There are so many truly great Westerns including "The Magnificent Seven" that i could easily list twenty, but i will leave that list to your viewers and just suggest the one i would argue is the very first truly great Western and that is John Ford's "Stage Coach" It is John Wayne's first leading role and the modern feel of that movie and the performances will amaze you.
I know you did Marilyn films. 2 important films with her you didn't see are Ladies of the Chorus and Don't bother to knock. These are earlier films of hers.
The people that own Marilyn Monroe's house (the first & last house she owned) want to tear it down but the city is preventing them. Just a few months ago in Houston a house that Clark Gable lived in for a few years in the 1930's was demolished.
Did you know this was his face after Montgomery’s face was destroyed in an accident where his best friend Elizabeth Taylor helped save him. His drinking was bad on set, and unhappy he couldn’t be out, but Elizabeth always protected him since by this time he was uninsurable & she’d put up her salary to insure him. The were Best Friend until he died. 🖤💜
Marilyn said Montgomery Clift was the only person she knew that was more troubled then herself.He was in a bad car accident where he got platic surgery but ended up looking strange.He was also gay but of course closeted ,a bad alcoholic,it all added to this performance
In regards to the Magnificent Seven the cast is a who’s who of action stars of the sixties and seventies. The two biggest probably are Yul Bruner, and the king of cool Steve McQueen. After watching Yul in this movie it might be hard to grasp the fact that he won the best actor Oscar as the lead in the musical the King and I. If you like the Fast and the Furious series the you will have to watch Steve McQueen in the movie Bullit, the grand daddy of all car chase movies. The leads are a dark green Ford Mustang Fastback vs an all black Dodge Charger.
Montgomery Clift is another tragic person. His performance here is so poignant, you can see his physical deterioration that dated from a terrible car crash he was in several years before, as well as substance abuse. Another great talent gone to waste. I would recommend you watch A Place in the Sun to see a great performance by him in his prime, and a radiant Elizabeth Taylor.
I have also only seen this film twice. It is not easy to watch because of the 'curse' of Huston's actors after it came out. And such actors, all of them. Also, Clark Gable was, I think, the closest possible celebrity to match my own star sign, Aquarius, plus rising sign up to the time of day he was born (different year). Btw, I think that directors like Huston and Welles and Europeans, such as Godard and Truffaut are 'difficult to get' often because they had simply read so much. Like everything, and they often refer to the themes in world literature. Even an ordinary kitchen scene may carry subtle nuances of Goethe or Dostoyevski or T.S.Eliot or Melville or Hesse or Cervantes or Shakespeare or all of them.
People who think Jimmy Stewart only ever played stereotypical nice guys have probably never seen "The Naked Spur" or "Vertigo". Or several others I could name.
Marilyn Monroe was a far better actress than they ever gave her credit for and she had it from the start ("Don't Bother To Knock," with Richard Widmark - 1952). Marilyn in "The Misfits" was absolutely terrific. In there with her was classic heartthrob actor & Marilyn's idol Clark Gable. Fellow method-acting students Eli Wallach (who also made "The Magnificient 7" the year before) & Monty Clift who had a string of great films including one with John Wayne ("Red River") and Burt Lancaster ("From Here To Eternity"). This was as most people know Marilyn's & Clark's last film. All great actors, an intense story & John Huston directing. The belief is that Clark Gable insisted on not using a stuntman with the wrangling of the horse at the end. And this is what may have led to his fatal heart attack a few weeks after the wrap of this film -- while changing a tire on his Jeep. Excellent assessment Movies With Mia. You know your subject & back it up with details.
Love the magnificent seven. Other westerns I'd recommend are true grit with John Wayne, Will penny with Charlton Heston, destroy rides again or shenandoah for the great James stewart, firecreek - Henry fonda & James stewart and the rare breed for a light hearted spin.
Will Penny (1967) Charlton Heston & Joan Hackett, has some of your standard Western tropes, but also feels unique and quite moving. It's said to have been Heston's all time favorite role. My own favorite is his turn as Cardinal Richelieu in "The Three Musketeers", but Will Penny is probably my second choice.
