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|    Message 191,658 of 192,336    |
|    gggg gggg to All    |
|    Re: The Misfits (1961)    |
|    16 Oct 22 12:54:05    |
      From: ggggg9271@gmail.com              On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 11:24:53 PM UTC-8,        wrote:       > On Wednesday, July 4, 2007 at 6:17:53 AM UTC-10, FRAJM wrote:       > > In 1961 my father and I went to see a new film starring his two favorite       > > movie stars in all the world, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. After 20       > > minutes, he said let's get out of here and for the last 45+ years that's       > > all I've ever seen of _The Misfits_. Why did he walk on it? Because       > > Monroe spends the movie in blue jeans and pigtails and he only wanted to       > > see her glammed up as in _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ or his favorite film       > > of all time, _Some Like It Hot_. As for Gable, he was looking old and       > > playing someone who was at the core the saddest man in the world. It was       > > just too much of a shock for the old man.       > > Finally, I've gotten around to watching the DVD release of _The Misfits_       > > and I could not be sorrier that my poor father couldn't have stayed with       > > it to the end. It is a film of great beauty -- the performances, the       > > direction (John Huston), the photography (Russell Metty), the music       > > (Alex North), the editing (George Tomasini) -- and a theme that       > > resonates with anyone who knows he or she is going to die.       > > Monroe plays Roslyn, in Reno to divorce Kevin McCarthy. She has already       > > been befriended by Thelma Ritter, who lights up the scenes she's in as       > > usual. Roslyn soon becomes involved with three men, Gay (Gable) the       > > aging cowboy, Guido aka Pilot (Eli Wallach) ex-WW II bomber, and Perce       > > (Montgomery Clift). She moves into Guido's unfinished house out in the       > > desert but is living, chastely it seems, with Gay. They fix up the       > > house, plant a garden, have their first fight over whether Gay should       > > shoot the rabbits who are eating their lettuce.       > > At a rodeo, they pick up Perce, bumming around on the minor rodeo       > > circuit, picking up $100 here, a concussion there, and generally feeling       > > alienated since his mother remarried and his stepfather got his late       > > father's ranch. Roslyn hates the rodeo, hates the cruelty to the animals       > > and to the men.       > > Eventually, the four of them go off to wrangle a herd of mustangs, wild       > > horses. It's only when they get far out in the desert that Roslyn finds       > > what is going to happen to the horses once they're captured, viz, sold       > > to the knacker for pet food. She raises holy hell with the men who are       > > willing to kill wild, free creatures just so they can avoid working for       > > wages. Just the thought of the distant shot of her raging against the       > > cruelty and hypocrisy of men, stomping and twisting in furious agony,       > > brings a catch to my throat.       > > The long sequence that constitutes about the last third of the film       > > concerns the capture and ultimate fate of those mustangs and the effect       > > it has on the four humans. The scenes of roping the herd stallion are       > > thrilling and exciting, but you've got to be rooting for the doomed       > > horse that fights and fights until it is too exhausted to fight any       > > longer. It is possible that the vigorous work-out Gable got during these       > > scenes, especially when he was being dragged by the stallion,       > > contributed to the fatal heart attack he suffered shortly after shooting       > > was finished.       > > Arthur Miller wrote the script for his then-wife and overall it is a       > > superb script. My only reservation about the film is the Roslyn is a       > > little too wise and has amazing insights and ways of expressing herself       > > that at times sound more theatrical than cinematic. For example, Perce       > > asks her "who do you depend on?" She replies: "I don't know. Maybe all       > > there really is is just the next thing. The next thing that happens.       > > Maybe you're not supposed to remember anybody's promises."       > > In any case, Monroe proved once again that she was a real actress. She       > > might have been hell to work with, but what finally got on the screen       > > has to have had it all worth while. Her disappointment with life, her       > > sadness, and her pure faith in the power and goodness of life shines       > > through her in every scene.       > > Meanwhile, Gable had as good a role here as he ever got in his career;       > > his Gay is complex, layered, sad, guarded, proud, lonely, nearly broken       > > by the loss of everything he valued including family and wilderness and       > > freedom.       > > The other principal actors, Clift and Wallach, are likewise superb, each       > > trying in his own way to use Roslyn to lift himself out of the hole he       > > finds himself in. Their performances are utterly convincing and deeply       > > moving.       > > This is a film I will watch many times in the future and I know for a       > > certainty that it is one of those films that I am going to find new       > > treasures in each time.       > > --       > > Frank in Seattle       > > ____       > > Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney       > > "Millennium hand and shrimp."       > (Recent Youtube upload):       >       > The Making of Marilyn Monroe's Very Meta Last Film              (Recent Y upload):              "Rare Photos Of Marilyn Monroe: The Making of The Misfits"              --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05        * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)    |
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