The Misfits
We’re celebrating the talent of the legendary and magnetic Marilyn Monroe, born exactly a hundred years ago, on June 1, 1926, with three films that highlight major milestones in her career. Henry Hathaway's Niagara solidified her status as a star and her aura as a femme fatale; Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot marked the height of her comedic success; and John Huston's The Misfits offered her a final role that reflected her melancholy and revealed the full depth of her dramatic range—a range she wished she had more opportunities to explore.
A recently divorced woman crosses paths with three men who capture wild horses. Four lonely and lost souls in a complex story where love meets despair. A somewhat bitter epilogue to the American epic that was the Western. Shortly after its release, the film gained mythical status following the deaths of Gable and Monroe. A cursed film in which actors and characters perform their lives.
John Huston
Born in 1906 in Missouri, John Huston was the only son of journalist Rhea Gore and Canadian-born actor Walter Huston. He quickly dropped out of school to pursue a career as a boxer, before trying his hand at acting following his father's footsteps. Over the following years, he spent extended periods of time in Mexico and Europe while starting to write. Upon his arrival in Hollywood, he penned screenplays for William Wyler, Raoul Walsh and Howard Hawks, among others, before transitioning to directing films in 1941 with The Maltese Falcon, which was an immediate success. During World War II, he shot documentaries while serving in the military. The major works he directed after the war allowed him to establish himself as a leading director, while also pursuing an acting career. Until the 1980s, he built a diverse and unpredictable body of work, mirroring his passionate life, divided between cinema, painting, horses, the United States, Ireland and Mexico.
