The Misfits does not feature on the 2015 iteration of the top 1000 films of all time.
Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe) Is a recent divorcee leaving her unhappy marriage. We see her develop friendships with a group of misfit men: the old-school cowboy Gaylord Langland (Clark Gable,) trucker Guido (Eli Wallach) and rodeo star Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift.)
The Misfits is best-known for being the final film of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe - both of which died soon after the film's release. Both were also terrific in this film. Hitherto I've never rated Monroe as an actress. Perhaps unfairly she has always been dismissed as a dumb blonde - although her roles in Some like it Hot or All about Eve do little to dismiss that image.
Yet Roslyn was a far more mature role and Monroe did well in the part. It was a maturity I've not really seen from her before but maybe that's more the fault of Hollywood typecasting. Roslyn was also a tragic character - as tragic as Monroe whose own marriage with Arthur Miller, who also wrote the film, was disintegrating through the film's production.
I would argue that Clark Gable's performance as gruff outsider Gaylord isn't anything out the ordinary but he still did well in the role. Alas his heavy smoking and drinking would soon catch up to him.
Considering all the production difficulties from Monroe's pill addiction to Clift struggling to remember his lines to Miller constantly rewriting scenes, it's a miracle this film was made at all but I'm glad it was. It showcased what Monroe could have been.
It's a tragic story, not only for the characters, but also for a way of life that was disappearing. The brutal scenes of the poor horses being g rounded up has stayed with me. No CGI in those days. They truly suffered, and so did Monroe, a victim of her own beauty.
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