The Desert

Abstract

Abstract The Misfits, written by Arthur Miller and directed by John Huston, was the final completed film of both Monroe and Clark Gable. Its production, in and around Reno, Nevada, in the blistering summer of 1960, was little short of a nightmare. Emotionally and physically, Monroe was in poor condition, and her marriage to Miller was reaching the point of no return. Although her issues have traditionally been held to be the chief problem besetting the filming, a fair amount of the difficulty lay with Huston, especially with his unchecked addiction to gambling. Gable, performing valiantly under difficult circumstances, died only days after shooting was completed. Although hopes were high, the final film was the kind of pretentious disappointment that contained affecting moments but did not coalesce. Later efforts to judge it a kind of masterpiece were ill advised, and it would hardly be Monroe’s finest hour on film.