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Movie of the Week: The Misfits (1961)
This week, because Friday is the 58th anniversary of Clark Gable’s death, our movie is, of course, his final film: The Misfits (1961). Clark Gable is Gay Langland, an aging cowboy in Reno who avoids responsibility and anything tying him down. He and his buddy Guido (Eli Wallach) run into Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe), a depressed ex-dancer who is in Reno getting a divorce. She’s been staying with Isabelle (Thelma Ritter) to establish her residency requirement for the divorce, a very common practice. They all have nowhere to be and no one to answer to, so they decide to head out to Guido’s house in the Nevada desert. Although Guido actively…
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“The Misfits” through the lens of Eve Arnold
It was on November 4, 1960, 53 years ago today, that Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe filmed what would be their final scene ever onscreen. Sitting in the cab of a pick-up truck and gazing at the night sky as they traveled through the desert, Marilyn inquires, “How do you find your way back in the dark?” Clark, in a grainy and rather husky tone, responds, “Just head for that big star straight on. The highway’s under it, it’ll take us right home.” The music swells, the screen fades to black, and two stars are gone from us. I’ve had many a Clark Gable fan say to me that…
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{Hollywood} The Roosevelt Hotel
Opened in 1927 and situated diagonally from Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, the Roosevelt Hotel is a well-known Hollywood landmark. It was named for Theodore Roosevelt and was financed by Louis B. Mayer, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Marilyn Monroe lived here for two years and did her first photo shoot in the hotel’s pool area. Other notable residents include Clara Bow, Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Harold Lloyd…you name them, they probably stayed at, or least partied at, the Roosevelt. Of course, this includes Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, who frequently rented out the penthouse before they were married. The room rates actually aren’t…