The Misfits: Story of a Shoot

by Arthur Miller

Book Overview

This book documents the making of the legendary film The Misfits (1961). Directed by the Hollywood auteur John Huston, it starred three of the most charismatic actors of all time - Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Its script was composed by Arthur Miller, one of America's greatest playwrights and Marilyn's husband. As part of the promotional strategy for the film, the Magnum photographic agency was given exclusive access to the shoot...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0714839361
• ISBN13: 9780714839363
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.5" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking title story

"The Misfits" is reason enough to read this collection. Feeling themselves apart from a materialistic society whose norms they cannot live by, three men who want to be free from the pretenses and profiteering of American business make a living, ironically, by capturing wild horses. The character portrayals are brief but entirely compelling--Guido has lost a wife in childbirth and refuses to work as a pilot for an airline, despite the financial remuneration. 47 year old Gay feels a connectedness with all those on the range, yet cannot connect well with anyone in particular. The young Perce struggles with the morality of capturing the wild horses and provokes Gay's jealousy with his vitality, ability, and the attention Perce receives from Gay's girlfriend. Poetic descriptions of the western landscape also contribute to a fascinating story with many interconnecting elements and ironies. The representations of women may seem offensive at first, but Miller seems to be pointing to a psychological portrait of men on the open range and does not champion or support the men's beliefs about women so much as he uses them to reveal the men's weaknesses through them. A must read, even for those who have no interest in "Western" stories.