Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable Weren’t the Only ‘The Misfits’ Stars to Experience Tragedy
The 1962 film, The Misfits, is a western drama by director John Huston and screenwriter Arthur Miller. The movie starred Miller’s wife, Marilyn Monroe, and two big male actors of the time, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Sadly, the film was marred with tragedy.
What is ‘The Misfits’ about?
The Misfits depicts Monroe’s Roslyn Taber, a beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber in the midst of a divorce. She ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland, played by Gable, and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli, played by Eli Wallach.
The two men become smitten with Roslyn and the three decide to move into Guido’s still-under-construction desert home together. When ex-rodeo star Perce Howland arrives, played by Montgomery Clift, the four start a business capturing wild horses.
The Misfits was lauded by critics and fans for the writing and cast performances even if it wasn’t a major hit when it was first released. However, more than anything, it received attention due to it being the unexpected final film for both Gable and Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable’s deaths made some think ‘The Misfits’ was cursed
Monroe’s issues on set were the most talked about. Not only were she and Miller experiencing marital problems during the filming of the movie, but Monroe was also dealing with extreme bouts of depression. She dealt with addiction and depression most of her adult life. This was exacerbated by her divorce from Miller and mounting pressures from the film industry to remain youthful and beautiful.
Meanwhile, Gable was a prolific actor throughout the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s, becoming one of the world’s biggest stars. However, his own personal life was in shambles as well. He was married multiple times after his marriage to Carole Lombard tragically ended when she died in a plane crash. Gable himself died of a heart attack just a few days after filming was completed on The Misfits.
And, as BuzzFeed notes, Gable and Monroe weren’t the only actors on the set to experience tragedy.
Montgomery Clift soon followed Gable and Monroe in death
As reported by Frank Beacham’s Journal, on July 22, 1966, Clift spent the majority of the day in his bedroom at his apartment in New York City. Lorenzo James, his live-in personal secretary, walked up to say goodnight to Clift, who was still awake and sitting up in his bed. Clift respectfully declined when James asked if he needed anything and then said he would stay up for a bit to either read a book or watch some television.
James then informed Clift that The Misfits was airing that night and asked if he wanted to watch it with him.
Clift replied, “Definitely not!” Those were the last words he ever spoke. The next morning he was found dead of a heart attack. The movie being the last thing he spoke about served to further the rumors that the film was cursed.
The Misfits served as the last on-screen performance of both Gable and Monroe and nearly the last for Clift. One could theorize that the mere mention of the film might have hastened Clift’s own death years later. Superstition aside, the film is still a classic.
