The Misfits
A film by John Huston
Starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift
USA, 1961, 125-minutes
On Tuesday afternoon I had the pleasure of sitting in the BFI’s theatre on Stephen Street in central London to watch just over 2 hours of silver screen magic along with a selection of London’s film aficionadas. Genius is an overused word but when you have a script from Arthur Miller and your director is the renowned John Huston you are off to a pretty good start, but when you add Clark Cable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift to the equation something very strange would have to happen for things to go wrong. Released six years before I was born this is pure class. Within the first 5 minutes I sat there thinking, why is this so good? The answers are several but I made some notes whilst watching. The camera movement was so simple and natural. The limited use of music and the great use of atmos sound, always a favourite of mine gave it a real life quality. The acting was sublime.
I felt I was in the same room. Cowboys, mechanics and dames ….well there you have it. Add some pure passion and a story line that was really pretty simple but allowed the characters to shine and you have it. Ultimately seeing Marilyn in a wide open space in jeans in the desert just letting it rip was magical film making.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios’ elegiac anti-western, The Misfits will return to UK cinemas on 12 June, opening at BFI Southbank, IFI Dublin and selected cinemas nationwide. The BFI will be celebrating Marilyn Monroe throughout June with the reissue of The Misfits and a season showcasing her work.
The Misfits is a haunted piece of Hollywood heritage, troubled on and off screen by the ghosts of eras gone by. Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable gave their final performances in this troubled production, furthering the melancholy mystique of John Huston’s off-beat drama of broken-hearted cowboys and broken-down marriages.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios’ The Misfits returns to cinemas from 12 June, opening at BFI Southbank, IFI Dublin and selected cinemas nationwide. The BFI’s Marilyn Monroe season runs throughout June.
For more locations from around the world, like in The Misfits view Gentlemans Butler Travel Editorials ...