288: The Misfits

[00:00:00] Chapter 2, Classic Film. Let's get into The Misfits from 1961. This is directed by John Huston, the legendary filmmaker. Stars Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe as well as Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallach, that's about it. And this was

[00:00:22] also Marilyn Monroe's and Clark Gable's last feature film because Clark Gable died just a couple of days after this movie was finished and then Marilyn Monroe died about a year after this one came out. So this is their final

[00:00:37] appearance. And the synopsis is, a divorcee falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle. So I am really fascinated by Marilyn Monroe and classic film stars in general ever since probably high school but Marilyn Monroe as it is with many people she

[00:00:57] really has stuck out to me just in terms of her very unfortunate tragic career and life and yet she left this incredible legacy behind in a number of ways. And she's someone whose stories, documentaries, dramatizations I am always

[00:01:13] really drawn towards. Movies like Blonde from last year, My Week with Marilyn as well as documentaries and I've also read a biography or two of hers. So I think she's very fascinating and her films of course are a big reason for that. The

[00:01:29] Misfits is probably the last one of hers that I saw at least in terms of her leading roles. I had seen like The 7-Year Itch, some like It Hot, movies like that which I still love to this day and are some of my favorite classic comedies.

[00:01:45] I had heard about it over the years just never got around to it till a couple years ago. Overall her performance is probably one of her best and Clark Gable he's someone who I watch his movies when I can but he's not someone I am drawn

[00:02:03] towards at least like Marilyn Monroe or love more than a lot of other people but he's quite good in the movie. But Marilyn Monroe if you know anything about her life, her life was filled with incredible tragedy and trauma and abuse and just

[00:02:18] being used by the system a lot especially once she got famous, she got addicted to pills and you name it. It was a really bad time and she ended up dying at I believe 36 years old. This performance more so than any of her

[00:02:35] others I think you can feel how sad she is in real life like her melancholy that's really lying under the surface which she is someone who's getting divorced and she sort of lost and that's why she ends up going with Clark Gable

[00:02:51] and his friend to this ranch and having a slice of lifetime there but especially in the early part of this movie when she's talking about her life and her marriage and this or that you feel I think more so than most other

[00:03:05] performances I saw around this time you can tell how sad and lonely she feels truly deep down and that's really heartbreaking to watch. Yes it does make for a more interesting compelling performance but especially knowing a lot

[00:03:20] about her real life you feel that at least I did and so her performance is excellent and the best part of the movie it's really well shot. John Houston is an amazing filmmaker and I encourage you to check out more of his movies if you

[00:03:34] haven't seen him or if this is the first time you've heard about him I suggest you get into his movies and more classic movies because there's a lot of amazing content there. Other than Marilyn Monroe everything else is alright it's charming

[00:03:48] it's got some good heartwarming moments some good romance the final section with the horse wrangling I guess you could call it is not really enjoyable to watch because knowing classic Hollywood animals were mistreated a lot during

[00:04:03] that time and so to me at least maybe I'm wrong or I'm telling tales out of school but I think there definitely was some of that in this movie correct me if I'm wrong but I think there was and so I don't really enjoy that last little

[00:04:15] sequence but the first part first two-thirds where they're just at the ranch and then also before they even go there and she's at the diner with her friend all that stuff is really enjoyable sad but enjoyable and good

[00:04:30] drama good character development well shot so not one that I think is her absolute best in terms of overall film quality like middle of the pack maybe in the upper third but performance wise as I said one of the best if not the best

[00:04:48] so give it a chance and if you haven't seen more of Marilyn Monroe's movies I absolutely would check out her other films so that is a four out of five