The Misfits

The Misfits is a 1961 American drama film written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift. The supporting cast features Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallach and Kevin McCarthy. The Misfits was the last completed film for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. For Gable, the film was posthumously released, while Monroe died in 1962. The plot centers on a newly divorced woman (Monroe) and her time in Reno and Northern Nevada, spent with her friendly landlord Isabelle Steers (Ritter), a old school cowboy (Gable), the cowboy's tow truck-driving and plane-flying friend (Wallach) and their rodeo-riding bronc busting friend (Clift) in Dayton, Nevada, and in the Western Nevada desert in 1960. The Misfits was a commercial failure at the time of its 1961 release, but received positive critical reviews for its script and performances, and is regarded highly by contemporary movie critics and audiences.

Plot
In Reno, Nevada, 30 year-old Roslyn Tabor (Monroe) has filed for a quickie six-week Nevada divorce from her inattentive husband Raymond (McCarthy). As Tabor is entering the Washoe County Courthouse with her landlord Isabel (Ritter), Roslyn ignores Raymond's attempts to talk to her and reconcile, and stays with Isabelle. Isabelle is also a divorcee. After the divorce papers are filed, Isabelle takes Roslyn to a cocktail lounge at Harrah's Reno for drinks, to let the reality of her new divorce sink in. While at Harrah's, they meet an aging cowboy named Gaylord 'Gay' Langland (Gable) and his tow truck driver best friend Guido (Wallach). After some good conversation, they invite Roslyn and Isabelle to Guido's old house in the Nevada country to help her forget about the divorce, after Gay tells Roslyn that he is also divorced. The group arrives at the unfinished house Guido built for his late wife, who died several years earlier during childbirth. They all drink and dance. Roslyn has too much to drink, so Gay drives her home to Reno.

Eventually, Roslyn and Gay move into Guido's half-finished house and start to work on it. One day after breakfast, Gay tells Roslyn how he wishes he were more of a father to his own children, whom he has not seen for some years. Later that afternoon, Roslyn and Gay argue when Gay discovers a rabbit has been eating the lettuce in the garden. Gay states his intention to find and kill the rabbits which have been eating the vegetable garden they planted outside Guido's house.

When Guido and Isabelle later show up at the house, Gay suggests that they round up wild mustangs to sell. They then plan to go to a local rodeo in Dayton to look for and hire a third man for the job. In Dayton, they run into Perce Howland (Clift), a cowboy friend of Gay's, who is in Dayton to compete in the rodeo. Gay offers to pay for the broke Perce's $10 rodeo entry fee if he helps the group round up wild mustangs the next day. Isabelle sees her ex-husband Charles and his new wife Clara, and decides to invite them to her Reno home instead of going to the rodeo with Gay, Guido, Perce, and Roslyn. Before the rodeo, Guido, Perce, Roslyn and Gaylord all drink at a Dayton bar, where wagers were made and won on Roslyn's ability to play a game of paddle ball. The group is nearly involved in a fist fight when a drunken patron at the bar spanks Roslyn's bottom as she plays paddle ball.

At the rodeo, Roslyn becomes somewhat upset when Guido tells her how the horses are made to buck with an irritating flank strap. She then declares that all rodeos should be banned. Later in the rodeo, Perce is thrown by a bucking horse and Roslyn begs him to go to a hospital, but he insists on riding a bull he had already signed up and paid to ride. He gets thrown again, resulting in a head injury.

Later, after Roslyn dances with Perce, he passes out in a Dayton back alley. When he regains consciousness, he sees Roslyn crying over him. He says that he never had anyone cry for him before and that he wished he had a friend to talk to. He tells her how his mother changed after his father died, giving his stepfather the ranch Perce's father wanted to leave to Perce. A drunken Gay then fetches Roslyn, telling her that he wants her to meet his kids, whom he claims he unexpectedly ran into. When Gay discovers his children have already left Dayton, he causes a public scene outside the bar in Dayton.

Later on, during the drive home to Reno, a drunken Guido asks if Roslyn has left Gay, and offers to take his place. Back at Guido's house, Guido, intoxicated and sleepless, attempts to finish the patio he started. Perce awakens and nearly tears his bandages off, forgetting about his recent injury. Roslyn puts him to bed and sits down with Gay. He asks her if a woman like her would ever want to have a child with him. She avoids the issue, and Gay goes to bed.

The next day, Gay, Guido and Perce prepare to go after the wild mustangs, and Roslyn reluctantly tags along. After they catch a stallion and four mares, Rosalyn becomes upset when she learns that the mustangs will be sold and slaughtered for dog food. She then tells Gay she did not know she was falling in love with a killer. Gay tells Roslyn that he did things for her that he never did for any other woman, such as making the house a home, and planting the garden.

After the horses are captured, Roslyn begs Gay to release the horses. He considers doing it, but when she offers to pay him the $200 she won playing paddleball, it angers him. Guido tells Roslyn that he would let them go if she would leave Gay for him. She rebuffs him, telling him he only cares about himself. Perce also asks her if she wants him to set the horses free, but she declines because she thinks it would only start a fight. Perce frees the stallion anyway.

After Gay chases down and subdues the horse all by himself, he lets it go and says he just did not want anybody making up his mind for him. They get into Gay's truck. As they are driving, Roslyn tells Gay that she will leave the next day. Gay stops the truck to pick up his dog, and watches Roslyn joyfully untethering it. Gay and Roslyn realize that they still love each other, and drive off into the night.

Cast

 * Clark Gable as Gay Langland
 * Marilyn Monroe as Roslyn Tabor
 * Montgomery Clift as Perce Howland
 * Thelma Ritter as Isabelle Steers
 * Eli Wallach as Guido
 * James Barton as Fletcher's grandfather
 * Kevin McCarthy as Raymond Tabor
 * Estelle Winwood as Church lady collecting money in bar
 * Peggy Barton as young Bride
 * Rex Bell as old cowboy
 * Ryall Bowker as man in bar
 * Frank Fanelli Sr. as a gambler at the bar
 * John Huston as extra in blackjack scene, as Alfred Hitchcock used to also cameo in his own films.
 * Bobby LaSalle as bartender
 * Philip Mitchell as Charles Steers
 * Walter Ramage as old groom
 * Ralph Roberts as ambulance driver at rodeo
 * Dennis Shaw as Fletcher, young boy in bar
 * J. Lewis Smith as fresh cowboy in bar
 * Marietta Tree as Susan