When you think about it...

It's incredible that such a troupe of troubled people were able to let alone finish this film, but turn in quality performances and put together a meaningful piece of cinema that is still watchable to this day. "The Misfits" has withstood the test of time in my eyes. I think this may be Marilyn's greatest performance in terms of emotional range, despite what some may say about it. Even in spite of the fact that she was dozed out on pills and booze and fighting with her ex-husband on the set (who awkwardly enough wrote this movie for her), her performance in it is touching. Clift was a self-loathing disaster himself as well when he was filming this, and Gable was obviously not in good health considering he died right after filming wrapped. For all we know, making this movie could have practically killed him.

Monroe and Clift were also both dead within less than 5 years after the movie was released, and they both hated the film up to their deaths (I read once that it was showing on TV the night Clift died and he refused to watch it). I'd assume their feelings toward the film were probably more emotionally-influenced rather than driven by the quality of the film itself; they probably associated it with bad memories, but regardless, it's really pretty tragic.

Anyway, my point is that, from a historical standpoint and just on a human level, this is one of the most interesting movies ever produced by Hollywood and is a hell of a lot better than it should be considering the circumstances of its production. I've seen bits and pieces of it over the years but watched it for the first time in its entirety last night, and I already consider it among my favorite films ever. For some reason, it touched me. I knew the production of it was rocky, but I wasn't aware the extent until I came online and started reading about it. It's really sad how it all ended for these people when the curtains came down.