The Misfits: The Film That Ended a Marriage (paperback)
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The Misfits: The Film That Ended a Marriage (paperback)

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The Misfits: The Film That Ended a Marriage

Aubrey Malone

 6x9

ISBN 9781629339399

John Huston’s ‘eastern Western’ signaled the end of the careers of three major Hollywood figures. It was Marilyn Monroe’s last completed film. Clark Gable died a fortnight after shooting ended. Montgomery Clift rumbled on for a few years but without doing much of note.

         It also signaled the end of Monroe’s marriage to Arthur Miller. Miller wrote the screenplay as a ‘gift’ to his troubled wife but their marriage was already on the rocks by the time the cameras started rolling. Matters deteriorated further on the set, culminating in Monroe suffering a nervous breakdown in mid-shoot which led to the set being closed down while she recuperated.

       Aubrey Malone’s book chronicles the background to this iconic film which changed the way people saw the old West. It also chronicles the on-set tensions, the squabbling and feuds and divided loyalties. Huston tried to hold everything together as he struggled with a gambling addiction that was too great a temptation to resist in the casinos of Reno.

       The dramas that took place behind the scenes were arguably as engrossing as anything that appeared in the film itself. Sample both sets of scenarios in this detailed study of a valentine to a bygone era.

 

“Released in 1961, The Misfits is a Western film that has always existed in the shadow cast by the deaths of its stars: Clark Gable before its premiere, and Marilyn Monroe a year later. The film's legacy is often cited as a metaphor for the shifting cultural landscape of the United States in the 1960s. Malone's book discusses the film's production, challenges, and impact. Malone details the very troubled film project, including Monroe and Arthur Miller's crumbling marriage and the numerous cast members fueled by pills and beset by doubts over Miller's screenplay. Malone benefits from the numerous biographies on Monroe, Gable, Montgomery Clift and director John Huston from which she creates a tight, well-annotated biography of the film. Unfortunately, Malone's commentary often seems to speak for Monroe despite the inclusion of numerous first-person quotes. The book is well-illustrated with poster art, stills from the film, and numerous behind-the-scenes photographs of the cast and crew during principal photography.

 VERDICT: While this slim book succeeds in bringing together the facts about the film in a tidy linear format, it lacks enough critical analysis to elevate its message. Films fans will find it a useful, entertaining retelling.”

 -- Library Journal