Seems that the four main characters ate little or nothing, but were always boozing it up. Every few scenes, they were "going out for drinks", and at several points, they were all stinking drunk!
Guess they tried to drown the emptiness of their lives in the bottle!
And that was on-screen. Can you imagine what went on during filming what with a drunk and pill popping Monroe and an equally drug-addicted and alcoholic Montgomery Clift? Was Thelma Ritter a drunk herself off-screen? She always plays a heavy drinker on screen. Is it any wonder Clark Gable dropped dead right after the filming of this movie wrapped? These dependent personalities must have driven him out of his freakin' mind. Not that he was a choirboy himself, I understand.
On set and the film itself, "The Misfits" is one huge downer. Not to mention, it's not, by any barometer, a good film, In fact, I think it drags on for two hours of a lot of blather. They must have run out of glycerine for Monroe's scenes. She looks as though she's on the verge of tears for most of the time she's on screen. She was probably doped up and/or drunk, as well.
Thrills in pills are good for whatever ills.
The two preceding posters apparently did not watch the film. Most of its second half takes place with nary a drop poured. That's the point, or part of the film's point.
shareI can't speak for the second poster, but I DID watch the film. In fact, I've seen it numerous times!
And as for the second half, more than a drop was poured! During the mustang roundup, all the men appeared drunk!
All of them were losers. Much as I try to like this film, I cannot. The only one who was believable was Thelma Ritter. I despised the others.
I read somewhere that MM met her match with MC. She couldn't keep up with him. You notice Montgomery's thermos during some scenes...MM was hott in this flick btw.
share"it's not, by any barometer, a good film"
Sorry, but my barometer and plenty of other barometers indicate that it is a good film.
They drank too much according to what? compared to what?
They drank too much for me ... and apparently for you too.
But, for the characters they played - THEY WERE PERFECT.
They are not meant to be "role models", but characters in a drama.
I grew up in the West (forty years ago). I've seen a lot of "cowboys and cowgirls" (very much like the people in this film - rugged & hard-liv'n) and not all of them "drank too much", but some of them drank like fish. Part of being a "cowboy" is doing what you damn well please. You work hard and you party hard. Between rodeos or if working - when they went to town Saturday night - get out of the way! Hoot'n and holler'n, rough-housing; cuss'n a blue streak; drink'n and danc'n, fight'n and drink'n some more - hoping to find a soft place to pass out before sunrise - while not ending up with VD or in jail - or your teeth knocked out.
In my opinion, this movie gave a very realistic depiction of the lifestyle of fellas like Gay.
Most of the old pardners come to the conclusion, as they get older, that eventually - as a county song puts it, "...nobody wants to get drunk and get loud and all my rowdy friends have settled down."
Between rodeos or if working - when they went to town Saturday night - get out of the way!
FYI people whose lives are hard and fucked up, and devoid of hope for the future, still drink too much and start drinking too early.
I cant say I like this movie, but that part of it is totally realistic.
I was just commenting on the lifestyle of these particular characters in the movie; and a lot of Westerns. I know it's realistic.
I appreciate the comment though; it's sad, but true.
Heavy drinking was much more socially acceptable in 1961 than it is now, those were the days when a "three-martini lunch" was the idiom for having it made!
IMHO the drinking in the movie was meant to seem excessive, to audiences who aspired to a lifestyle where they could get hammered at lunch.
They drink because they are not happy people. The original poster even said to drown out the emptiness in their lives. Well, hello. Watch the movie and absorb it a bit. You may find it quite rewarding. This is a great character study about characters that not fulfilled with their lives. It has a subtle eeriness to it; mostly because of the tragic actors portraying them. The abrupt ending is as powerful ending you could ever see.
You nailed it. It amazes me that some of the complaints about this film are like not getting enough cotton candy and lollipops for the viewer. Or maybe not enough car chases and shootouts. It seems that some people simply cannot handle character study, and therefore if is a "bad" or "boring" film.
sharei agree.
share