Published on March 19, 2012
I have been interested in Clint Eastwood’s body of work for a few years now – it has been fascinating for me to observe the smooth way in which Eastwood has converted himself from an iconic (but stilted and somewhat limited) superstar to a serious filmmaker over the last four decades. Eastwood’s has been a model career – and now, at age 81, he is still going strong as a director par excellence. Some of the best and most acclaimed Hollywood movies of the last decade have come from the Eastwood stable – award-winners like Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Changeling and, most recently, J Edgar.
Having read scores of articles, books and interviews about Eastwood and his films, it has been pretty easy for me to identify his trademark touches as a director – Eastwood always brings his movies in under budget, he works quickly and efficiently, he always collaborates with his long-term crew, he keeps everything and everybody relaxed on set and almost every movie he makes gets done with the minimum of fuss and with maximum economy. Eastwood tackles some very interesting subjects in his films – ranging from his favourite passions (jazz, the Western, the cop drama) to biopics and adaptations of popular novels.
For those who would like to know more about Eastwood the auteur, the logical film to start with is a little-known suspense film from 1971, called Play Misty For Me. This psychological crime thriller, which had a tinge of European art-house sensibility, was Eastwood’s first directorial venture and I would rate it as one of his best. Misty was modest in scale and had no great ambitions but it was very effective. It was made for just US$700,000 – a small amount even for 1971 – but at no point does the movie look cheap or shoddy.
Eastwood plays small-town DJ Dave Garver in the film who is stalked by a psychotic fan called Evelyn Draper (played by Jessica Walter) who repeatedly phones and asks him to play the song Misty on air. She orchestrates a meeting with him one evening at a bar and he has a casual fling with her. Casual for him, but not for her, as it turns out! Things go wrong quickly from this point onwards – Evelyn goes after Garver with a vengeance when she finds herself sidelined after his serious girl-friend comes back into the picture.
Walter, who plays the role of the murderous admirer, gives the performance of her life and she is electrifying to watch. This must be one of the few occasions when Eastwood was eclipsed on screen at the peak of his popularity as a megastar. Walter goes from sexy fan to an obsessive killer psycho with ease and she is absolutely terrifying in this role. A pity she was never heard much from after this Oscar-worthy portrayal of a woman spurned.
Misty evokes the charm of small-town life perfectly – this is one place where it’s logical to find a DJ as the big local celebrity. Eastwood chose to shoot the movie in Carmel-by-the-Sea (California), the town where he has been based for decades now, and of which he would go on to become the mayor briefly in the mid-1980s. There are some great shots of the lovely locales and the beautiful topography throughout as the movie unfurls in the typically unhurried and languid Eastwood manner.
Misty is, by no means, a perfect thriller. There are a couple of interludes – one is a love-making scene, the other is a sequence from a jazz festival – that go on for far too long and tests the viewer’s patience. Also, there is the question of why a big tall fellow like the hero is repeatedly unable to defend himself against a woman who is about half his size! But then this is a movie after all and sometimes, as we all know, reality is put aside. Eastwood is also typically wooden in some scenes and, as many critics commented at the time, seemed far more keen to show off his body than his acting chops.
Misty had a lovely soundtrack also – besides the title song, it created a hit out of Roberta Flack’s moving interpretation of the ballad, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Another reason Misty is remembered for is for the guest appearance of Eastwood’s directorial mentor, Don Siegel, in a small starring role as a bartender. Siegel’s presence was vital for the movie’s creation as Eastwood wanted him around on the set for support and help.
Not many people know Misty was the forerunner of and the inspiration for other stalker movies like the smash hit Fatal Attraction (1987). Misty was received warmly by most critics of the day, though it never really caught fire at the box-office. But it remains an essential movie of the early 1970s and a must-watch for anybody interested in anything to do with Eastwood. It was his kind of homage to Alfred Hitchcock, in a way, and it works well, in its own modest manner. So check this under-rated gem out now, if you haven’t … and see how Eastwood’s directorial journey started, more than 40 years ago.
I have been interested in Clint Eastwood’s body of work for a few years now – it has been fascinating for me to observe the smooth way in which Eastwood has converted himself from an iconic (but stilted and somewhat limited) superstar to a serious filmmaker over the last four decades. Eastwood’s has been a model career – and now, at age 81, he is still going strong as a director par excellence. Some of the best and most acclaimed Hollywood movies of the last decade have come from the Eastwood stable – award-winners like Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Changeling and, most recently, J Edgar.
Having read scores of articles, books and interviews about Eastwood and his films, it has been pretty easy for me to identify his trademark touches as a director – Eastwood always brings his movies in under budget, he works quickly and efficiently, he always collaborates with his long-term crew, he keeps everything and everybody relaxed on set and almost every movie he makes gets done with the minimum of fuss and with maximum economy. Eastwood tackles some very interesting subjects in his films – ranging from his favourite passions (jazz, the Western, the cop drama) to biopics and adaptations of popular novels.
For those who would like to know more about Eastwood the auteur, the logical film to start with is a little-known suspense film from 1971, called Play Misty For Me. This psychological crime thriller, which had a tinge of European art-house sensibility, was Eastwood’s first directorial venture and I would rate it as one of his best. Misty was modest in scale and had no great ambitions but it was very effective. It was made for just US$700,000 – a small amount even for 1971 – but at no point does the movie look cheap or shoddy.
Eastwood plays small-town DJ Dave Garver in the film who is stalked by a psychotic fan called Evelyn Draper (played by Jessica Walter) who repeatedly phones and asks him to play the song Misty on air. She orchestrates a meeting with him one evening at a bar and he has a casual fling with her. Casual for him, but not for her, as it turns out! Things go wrong quickly from this point onwards – Evelyn goes after Garver with a vengeance when she finds herself sidelined after his serious girl-friend comes back into the picture.
Walter, who plays the role of the murderous admirer, gives the performance of her life and she is electrifying to watch. This must be one of the few occasions when Eastwood was eclipsed on screen at the peak of his popularity as a megastar. Walter goes from sexy fan to an obsessive killer psycho with ease and she is absolutely terrifying in this role. A pity she was never heard much from after this Oscar-worthy portrayal of a woman spurned.
Misty evokes the charm of small-town life perfectly – this is one place where it’s logical to find a DJ as the big local celebrity. Eastwood chose to shoot the movie in Carmel-by-the-Sea (California), the town where he has been based for decades now, and of which he would go on to become the mayor briefly in the mid-1980s. There are some great shots of the lovely locales and the beautiful topography throughout as the movie unfurls in the typically unhurried and languid Eastwood manner.
Misty is, by no means, a perfect thriller. There are a couple of interludes – one is a love-making scene, the other is a sequence from a jazz festival – that go on for far too long and tests the viewer’s patience. Also, there is the question of why a big tall fellow like the hero is repeatedly unable to defend himself against a woman who is about half his size! But then this is a movie after all and sometimes, as we all know, reality is put aside. Eastwood is also typically wooden in some scenes and, as many critics commented at the time, seemed far more keen to show off his body than his acting chops.
Misty had a lovely soundtrack also – besides the title song, it created a hit out of Roberta Flack’s moving interpretation of the ballad, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Another reason Misty is remembered for is for the guest appearance of Eastwood’s directorial mentor, Don Siegel, in a small starring role as a bartender. Siegel’s presence was vital for the movie’s creation as Eastwood wanted him around on the set for support and help.
Not many people know Misty was the forerunner of and the inspiration for other stalker movies like the smash hit Fatal Attraction (1987). Misty was received warmly by most critics of the day, though it never really caught fire at the box-office. But it remains an essential movie of the early 1970s and a must-watch for anybody interested in anything to do with Eastwood. It was his kind of homage to Alfred Hitchcock, in a way, and it works well, in its own modest manner. So check this under-rated gem out now, if you haven’t … and see how Eastwood’s directorial journey started, more than 40 years ago.