The Misfits (1961)

Posted on May 2, 2019 by EricReportsNews

For some reason, “The Misfits” doesn’t seem like Marilyn Monroe’s last movie; probably because of the publicity received by “Something’s Got to Give” (1962, unfinished.) It is, along with Clark Gable’s final performance, who died from a heart attack before it was released (1960.)

Montgomery Clift would also die five years later (1966); Thelma Ritter in 1967. The sole survivor for many years was Eli Wallach, who passed away in 2014.

The opening credits: Jigsaw puzzle pieces not fitting together describes the characters shown against Alex North’s moody score.

The screenplay by Arthur Miller was written especially for his wife, Marilyn. By the time, filming commenced, Miller and Monroe weren’t on speaking terms. Divorce was imminent.

The role of Roslyn Taber was meant to be her breakthrough dramatic performance. What emerged?

Monroe seems exhausted at times. The combination of drugs, Nevada’s extreme heat and her marriage falling apart took its toll.

There are moments of brilliance…

Monroe’s seething anger boiling over at the men during the “mustanging” episode…

The stark backdrop of the Nevada desert…

The black & white cinematography, considered old-fashioned at the time, is more beautiful than ever.

Of the love relationship between MM and Gable as Gay Langland…it seems almost like father/daughter, doesn’t it?

Eli Wallach (center) broods over his empty life.

Co-star Montgomery Clift poses with Marilyn.

Best performance – Montgomery Clift as Perce Howland. Clift’s face was left partially paralyzed by an auto accident in 1956. Although he started off as a matinee idol, the accident forced him to become a better actor. While filming Clark Gable’s scene, where he reacts angrily at Roslyn, it was real anger at Clift who thought he was upstaging him.

“Misfits” ends anti-climatically. The real finish is Gable’s monologue…

“Damn ’em all. They changed it, changed it all around. Smeared it all over with blood. I’m finished with it. It’s like ropin’ a dream. I just gotta find another way to be alive, that’s all. If there is one anymore.”

For whatever reason, “The Misfits” was shut-out at Oscar time, receiving none.

Time has been kind, however and today many rank it as a film of great importance, if only for being the end of an era. I think it’s more than that. Towards the conclusion, Gay describes the horses as “chicken-feed horses, misfits.”

Likewise, this makes a larger statement about the characters; people who simply don’t fit in, who can’t find their way in society and are marginalized. Back in ’61, critics didn’t know what to make of it. Now it’s easier to accept conformity.

Except how many movies from 1961 are still being discussed? And does its difference make it last?

There’s some argument about when Hollywood’s “Silver Age” began. Most critics cite “Bonnie & Clyde” (1967.) I say “Psycho” (1960.) There’s little argument when Hollywood’s “Golden Age” ended with “The Misfits”.

The Sad Last Days of Montgomery Clift

Posted on January 30, 2019 by EricReportsNews

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Back in the 1950’s, Montgomery Clift was at the top of his game, among the highest of the echelon of actors for that time. Marlon Brando stated that he thought Clift was his only serious competitor.

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On May 12, 1956, while driving home from a party held by his close personal friend Elizabeth Taylor, his car crumpled into a phone pole, nearly killing him. Surviving, his shattered face was corrected with plastic surgery; however, the left side remained paralyzed.

The 1960’s became a rough time for “Monty” except for 1961, when he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “Judgement at Nuremberg” and excellent reviews for “The Misfits”.

Unfortunately, after “Freud” (1962), a film beset with many setbacks and problems, Clift was no longer bankable. (He would receive much of the blame, undeservedly.) It was true, he had trouble remembering his lines. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol, used to dull the pain of the accident. An eccentric to begin with, later day behavior became increasingly bizarre. Plus, his sight was failing due to cataracts. He became un-insurable.

Still, Clift wanted to act. He pleaded with Warner Brothers for the role of John Singer in “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”. Warners turned him down. (Alan Arkin took the role, receiving an Oscar nomination.)

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Clift and Liz Taylor discussed roles for them together. They had already starred in “A Place in the Sun”, “Raintree County” and “Suddenly Last Summer”. There was talk of them doing “The Owl and the Pussycat”. (Later to be filmed with Barbra Streisand and George Segal.)

Ultiimately, they settled for “Reflections in a Golden Eye”. Warner Bros. wanted proof he could still perform for the cameras. So they cast him in the low-budget, grade-B cold war spy drama “The Defector”. Clift knew it was schlock, yet did it anyway, just to prove he could still act. It became his last.

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Weeks before filming “Reflections”, Montgomery Clift died on July 23, 1966 of a heart attack. He was only 45. Ironically, he was replaced by his greatest competitor Marlon Brando. Text © 2019 – EricReports.

Marilyn Monroe’s Last Movie

Posted on July 3, 2018 by ericreportsnews

Most consider “The Misfits” as Marilyn Monroe’s last film; however, there were a number of failed attempts to cast her in other pictures. Most famous of all is “Something’s Got to Give”, abandoned by 20th Century Fox after MM’s numerous absences. A last attempt to finish it, after Monroe was fired, then rehired, ended when she died on August 5, 1962.

Marilyn Monroe’s costume tests for “Something’s Got to Give”

The plot: A woman returns after being lost on a desert island, finding out her husband has just remarried. The first video is of a 1990’s TV special commenting on what transpired.

Recently restored by 20th Century Fox, the video below attempts to piece together what was filmed. (37 minutes in length.)

Funniest scene: Wally Cox in the shoe store.

Also contains MM’s nude swim, a major event in ’62.

“The Misfits” (1961.) Arthur Miller’s saga of how a woman changes the lives of three down and out losers. Also starring Clark Gable, Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift. “Misfits” didn’t connect with audiences then, but is more appreciated today.

Best performance: Montgomery Clift as Perce Howland.

Clark Gable died of a heart attack shortly after filming.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Based on the novella by Truman Capote. The author urged the studio to cast Marilyn as Holly Golightly. Turned down by the director Blake Edwards because of MM’s notorious reputation for being late, high, sick and/or forgetting her lines.

Monroe lost role of Holly Golightly to Audrey Hepburn who received an Oscar nomination for “Best Actress”

“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” Rights to this were then owned by Charlie Chaplin, who offered MM the lead role. She turned it down, believing it was about horses. (Plot concerns marathon dance contests in the 1930’s.)

Released in 1969, starring Jane Fonda, who received an Oscar nomination for “Best Actress”.

“Freud” (1962)

Actor friend Montgomery Clift tried to get Marilyn cast as Freud’s wife. Susan Kohner was cast instead.

undefined “What a Way to Go!” (1964)

Dark comedy about a wife whose five husbands all die for one reason or another. Shirley MacLaine inherited the role.

Last major public appearance. M.M. sings “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy. Host Peter Lawford refers to her as “the late Marilyn Monroe.”

Last Movie Roles – Part 2

Posted on January 5, 2017 by ericreportsnews

Bruce Lee – Game of Death

Bruce Lee was midway into production with “Game of Death”, when he was called away to star in “Enter the Dragon” (1973.) After completing “Dragon”, he intended to finish “Death”. Instead, he was found dead with actress Betty Ting Pei from the drug Equagesic (containing meprobamate.) This caused cerebral edema (brain swelling.) Fans insist Lee was killed by rival martial arts leaders for teaching his style of fighting to non-Asians. “Game of Death” was completed in 1978, using a lookalike actor.

Brandon Lee – The Crow

Son of Bruce Lee, Brandon was following in his father’s footsteps. He had already had success with “Rapid Fire” (1992.) “The Crow”, a dark, goth, revenge drama would make him a star. Fate would step in, however, when a .44 Magnum revolver was loaded with real bullets instead of blanks during filming. Brandon Lee was fatally shot on March 31, 1993. “The Crow” was finished with doubles and digitally-altered images. [Note: In “Game of Death”, Lee’s character is shot while filming a scene for a movie.]

John Wayne – The Shootist

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Western star John Wayne stars as J.B. Books – a gunfighter/former Marshall, who has only weeks to live. A sad and poignant end to a distinguished career. Wayne died three years later from cancer – probably contracted from radioactive soil near St. George, Utah, while filming “The Conqueror” (1956.)

Richard Burton – 1984

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Richard Burton with co-star John Hurt

Richard Burton’s best film in years as “O’Brien”, the man who held your worst fears in Room 101. [Based on George Orwell’s classic novel.] Amazingly, he was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, yet never won. Cause of death: cerebral hemorrhage on August 5, 1984.

Montgomery Clift – The Defector

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Montgomery Clift starred in this low-budget, cold-war drama only to prove to Warner Brothers he could still function well enough to perform with Elizabeth Taylor in “Reflections in a Golden Eye” (1967.) Unfortunately, he died soon after filming from a heart attack. (Clift had been having health problems for ten years following a near fatal car accident.) Marlon Brando replaced him in “Reflections in a Golden Eye”.

Edward G. Robinson – Soylent Green

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Edward G. Robinson (deaf and terminally ill) knew he was dying from cancer and used it to great effect in his grand finale with star Charlton Heston. Robinson would win an Honorary Oscar, posthumously, that same year. (1973.)

Alfred Hitchcock – Family Plot

Director Alfred Hitchcock became world famous for his suspense thrillers: “Psycho”, “Vertigo”, “Frenzy”, “The Birds”, “North by Northwest,” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Likewise, his celebrity grew through his film cameos. Additionally, he introduced every episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1955-1965.) His last cameo was as a silhouette. Hitchcock died in 1980 from kidney failure.

Heath Ledger – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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Director-writer Terry Gilliam’s over-the-top ode to the Illuminati: complete with the death of its star, Heath Ledger. On January 22, 2008, Ledger was found not breathing in his apartment. First to be contacted was his girlfriend, Mary-Kate Olsen, and then later 9-1-1. Eventual cause of death was discovered to be a lethal combination of drugs. Ledger’s doctors were cleared of wrongdoing. Olsen refused to speak with police unless granted immunity. Ledger was replaced with three different actors: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

Kim Novak – Liebestraum

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Actress Kim Novak is still very much alive, but she has vowed that “Liebestraum” will be her swansong, stating that her best scene was cut. The movie is a “Twin Peaks”-like mystery without the mastery of David Lynch. (Mike Figgis directed.) Maybe, that’s why it wasn’t a hit. Still, Miss Novak is always worth watching and she’s excellent in it.

Brittany Murphy – Deadline

The pictures say it all, don’t they? On December 20, 2009, Brittany Murphy was found collapsed in her shower. She had been suffering from ill health recently and the cause of death was attributed to “pneumonia, anemia, and multiple drugs.” Strangely enough, her husband Simon Monjack died on May 23, 2010 from pneumonia and anemia. Police blamed “mold”, then later recanted. Murphy’s father paid for his own analysis and said she’d been poisoned.

EricReports

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The Misfits (1961)

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The Sad Last Days of Montgomery Clift

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Last Movie Roles – Part 2

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