1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome fans of movie history and true crime to Hollywood Land, 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: where we are once again rewinding the tape in our 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: archive of stories to bring you this episode on the Misfits. 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about the horror punk band led by 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: Glenn Danzig, although that is where they got their name. 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: I'm talking, of course, about the nineteen sixty one film 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: directed by John Houston with a script by famed American 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: playwright Arthur Miller. The film starred Miller's wife at the time, 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe, and what would be her final film before 10 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: her untimely death the following year, did over her co 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: star Clark Gable, who died shortly before The Misfits had 12 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: its official theatrical premiere. Their third co star, Montgomery Cliff, 13 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: died a few years later in nineteen sixty six, and 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: much has been written about the Curse of the Misfits, 15 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: a film which led to the downfall and deaths of 16 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: its stars, and a film that also notably had a 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: chaotic set, whether it was the director gambling away the 18 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: budget a nearby casino or its lead actress being hospitalized 19 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: halfway through the production. We sort out the true and 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: false parts of this so called curse. What is myth 21 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: in what is Stranger than Fiction? In this episode all 22 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: about the Misfits. I hope you dig it, and then 23 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: I hope you also check out my discussion of cursed 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: movies in the Rap Party on Wednesday and then finally 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: on Friday, join me in the screening room here in 26 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: Hollywood Land when I flipped the script and do a 27 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: deep dive into the two thousand and nine Sam Raimi 28 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: film Drag Me to Hell, which is itself a film 29 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: about a curse. 30 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 2: Hollywood Land is a production of Double Elvis. 31 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 3: You you know these hor straighter are? You know their 32 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 3: plans dragging around from town to town and pulling through 33 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 3: the sound on the. 34 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 2: The stories about the nineteen sixty one film The Misfits 35 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: are insane. The director John Houston lost to the film's 36 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 2: entire production budget at a craps table while on location 37 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 2: in Nevada. The film's three lead actors were victims of 38 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 2: equally bad luck. Montgomery Cliff suffered a car wreck so 39 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 2: horrific that it permanently altered his appearance and put him 40 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 2: on a path towards what has been called the longest 41 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 2: suicide in Hollywood history. Clark Gable had a heart attack 42 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 2: the day after the grueling shoot wrapped and died less 43 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 2: than two weeks later. Marilyn Monroe was blamed for Clark 44 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 2: Gable's death by tabloids and fans, who said her behavior 45 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 2: on set led her co star to an early grave. 46 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 2: And although it was remembered for decades mostly as the 47 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 2: last film of two of its stars, a film that 48 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 2: some even said was cursed, in recent years The Misfits 49 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 2: has been reevaluated by many as a great film, unlike 50 00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 2: that clip I played for you at the top of 51 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 2: the show that wasn't from a great film. That was 52 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: a fair use. Sample from the Library of Congress of 53 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 2: Frank Pipkin performing The Horse Trader in nineteen forty one. 54 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 2: I played you that clip because I can't afford a 55 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 2: clip from William Wiler's Ben Hurr. And why would I 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 2: play you that specific slice of chariot wreckage cheese? Could 57 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 2: I afford it? Because that was the number one movie 58 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 2: in America on November fourth, nineteen sixty And that was 59 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 2: the day the production wrapped on The Misfits, the day 60 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 2: before things really fell apart for its three major stars, 61 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 2: all of whom would be fatally struck down by the 62 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 2: films so called curse. On this episode, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, 63 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 2: Montgomery Cliff and the Curse of the Misfits. I'm Jake 64 00:03:54,560 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 2: Brennan and this is Hollywood Landing. Thirty nine year old 65 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: Montgomery Cliff was barricading himself in knocking back swigs from 66 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 2: his hip flask bourbon and juice spiked with crushed up 67 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 2: demroll in hopes that the mixture of spirits and tablets 68 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 2: would keep the indignities of life at Bay nineteen sixty. 69 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 2: Manty knew he was different. The experiences that he craved, 70 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 2: the people he was attracted to. These were not the 71 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 2: same people or the same experiences that got John Wayne's 72 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 2: red blood pumping MANI didn't want what the Duke had 73 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 2: that forced macho stuff men who were really just boys 74 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: stuck in a perpetual state of arrested Devi. Monty was 75 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 2: a man, a sensitive and vulnerable man. But who was 76 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 2: this looking back at him, this reflection in the mirror? 77 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 2: Was he a man? Not a man Monty recognized, not 78 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,799 Speaker 2: the impossibly handsome man who shared the screen with Elizabeth 79 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 2: Taylor and Frank Sinatra in a place in the sun, 80 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,600 Speaker 2: and from here to eternity. The man nominated for an 81 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 2: Academy Award three times over. This man was twisted, bent, crooked, 82 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 2: his nose, his mouth, his jaw. They were grotesque echoes 83 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 2: of what once was and what would never be again. 84 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 2: Montgomery Clift was a misfit, and he was all too 85 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 2: aware of this fact that people talked about him behind 86 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 2: his back. Look at this guy, See all right, sure 87 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 2: looks funny. Hey, that's Montgomery Cliff, honey. He drank to 88 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 2: forget about it all, and he popped pills whatever the 89 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 2: drug score clerks were willing to fork over on account 90 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 2: of his God given charm. He self medicated so that 91 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,559 Speaker 2: he didn't have to think about that awful night four 92 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 2: years prior, in nineteen fifty six, back when he was 93 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 2: still beautiful on the outside, doing the things beautiful people 94 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 2: did up in the hills of Coldwater Canyon above Beverly Hills, 95 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 2: at Elizabeth Taylor's place, the jazz on the High five, 96 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 2: it swag and the rose was roomed ten. But though 97 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 2: Liz and Mani were the best of friends, the little 98 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 2: party she was throwing was admittedly lackluster. Monte felt a 99 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 2: wave of melancholy, the kind only a man's society won't 100 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 2: allow it to be his true self, even in the 101 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 2: presence of his best friend, can truly experience. So around 102 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 2: eleven thirty that night, Monni said his goodbyes and left. 103 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 2: He got behind the wheel of his brand new Chevrolet 104 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 2: bel Air four door sedan. It was dark and Monnie 105 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 2: was tired, and he struggled to keep his eyes open 106 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 2: as his car hugged the winding curves of the road, 107 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 2: beating down to sunset. He began to nod off. The 108 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 2: bell Air began to pick up speed, and Monnie's eyes closed, 109 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:19,239 Speaker 2: and in that instant, his friends from the party found 110 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: the bel Air wheezing and reeking of gasoline, accordioned around 111 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 2: a telephone pole. Monni's body was stuffed beneath the dashboard, 112 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 2: but when they pulled him out, they hardly recognized him. 113 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 2: His face was gone, the blood was everywhere, and Liz 114 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 2: Taylor pulled his head onto her lap and cradled him 115 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 2: like a baby while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. 116 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 2: Manti started to choke. He tried to gasp, but made 117 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 2: no sound. He pointed at his neck and opened his 118 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 2: mouth and Liz Taylor stuck her hand there inside Manni's mouth, 119 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 2: reached down into his throat, then pulled out what was 120 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 2: blocking his airway, two of his teeth. Montgomery Cliffs had 121 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 2: more than just a couple of busted teeth to worry about. 122 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 2: His nose was broken, his jaw was shattered, his cheeks 123 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 2: were lacerated, and his upper lip was split in half. 124 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 2: Doctors didn't give him plastic surgery. Instead, they chose to 125 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 2: sew him back together in a way that would preserve 126 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 2: his appearance. It had the opposite effect. His nose and 127 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 2: mouth were oddly askew, and it wasn't just his looks. 128 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 2: Crash made him weaker. He stumbled, he fell, he twitched uncontrollably, 129 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 2: and suffered from bad vision and memory loss. It seemed 130 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 2: that these things all got worse whenever he was sober. 131 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 2: Mani's solution to that problem was simple. All that boozing 132 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 2: and drugging gave Montgomery Cliff to bad rep He was 133 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 2: a drunk, a pill head, a liability. He couldn't keep 134 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 2: his car on the fucking road, practically uninsurable. And if 135 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 2: he were uninsurable, Hollywood wouldn't touch you. Most directors wouldn't 136 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 2: give him the time of day. John Houston, however, wasn't 137 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: most directors the rogue tight and thought Monty, especially Monty 138 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 2: Cerca now nineteen sixty, was perfect to play Purce Holland, 139 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 2: a broke rodeo rider who teams up with an aging 140 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 2: cowboy played by Clark Gable to go round up wild 141 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 2: mustang's destined to become dog food. The movie was called 142 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 2: The Misfits, name so for the wild horses at the 143 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 2: center of the plot. It was written by a legendary playwright, 144 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 2: Arthur Miller, as a gift to his then wife, Marilyn Monroe, who, 145 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 2: along with Monty and Clark, rounded out the star studded cast. 146 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 2: The shoot was more difficult than anyone bargained for. Arthur 147 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 2: Miller's attempt to make his wife happy by writing a 148 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 2: great part for her was as gifts go too little, 149 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 2: too late. Marilyn found herself permanently in a lonely place, 150 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:02,559 Speaker 2: and like Monty, she self met dedicated. Unlike Monty, she 151 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 2: was always late to set. Clark, meanwhile, that old school crank, 152 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: was constantly irritated by what he saw as the insufficient 153 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 2: work ethic of the method generation, But when it came 154 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 2: to work, director John Houston would rather play cards and dice. 155 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 2: That is, he spent more time at the craps table 156 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 2: in the local casino than he did in the director's chair, 157 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:30,959 Speaker 2: gambling away the film's budget. On location, the air out 158 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,599 Speaker 2: in Nevada around Pyramid Lake had a different field in 159 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:38,079 Speaker 2: the air back in New York, teeming with salt particles 160 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 2: from a dried up salt lake nearby, salt particles in 161 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 2: the air mixing with the sound of frogs or toads 162 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 2: or whatever the hell. They were, little bulbous reptiles, cold blooded, 163 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,319 Speaker 2: leathery things that slithered and hopped around at night, thriving 164 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 2: in the desert conditions. These were conditions that poisoned the 165 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 2: lungs of the crew, even striking down the formidable John 166 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 2: Houston with bronchitis. And the heat was oppressive and the 167 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,079 Speaker 2: work was demanding, and Monte caught a bullshorn in the nose. 168 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 2: His palms were slashed open by a wild horse on 169 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 2: the other end of a rope, but at the end 170 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 2: of it. In a fall of nineteen sixty, after a 171 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 2: planned fifty day shoot that dragged on for nearly twice 172 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 2: as long, a shoot that was grueling, emotionally and physically 173 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 2: taxing from Montgomery Cliff. The proof was in the Hellish Pudding. 174 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 2: Against all odds, he had been the most dependable actor 175 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 2: on set despite that bad rep of his. In fact, 176 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 2: he turned in one of the greatest scenes of his career, 177 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 2: a long distance conversation with his character's mother from inside 178 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 2: a pham booths. John Houston threw him a birthday party 179 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 2: for his fortieth as they wrapped production, and for a moment, 180 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 2: Monty felt like maybe things were turning around after all. 181 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 2: And before he left Nevada, he sat for an interview 182 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 2: and told the reporter quote, I feel like my life 183 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 2: is just beginning. Life was coming to an end. The 184 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 2: day after production on The Misfits wrapped, Clark Gable had 185 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 2: a heart attack. Just ten days later, his chest seized 186 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 2: up again like an angry fist, clinched inside his ribcage, 187 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 2: and the so called King of Hollywood, one of the 188 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 2: town's most iconic stars with a nearly forty year career, 189 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 2: was dead at fifty nine. Clark never got to see 190 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 2: the movie's final cut. On the day of his funeral, 191 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 2: every studio in Hollywood flew its flag at half masted. 192 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 2: President Eisenhower, who recommended his own personal caretaker to watch 193 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 2: over Clark following his first heart attack, wept. So did America. 194 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 2: Clark's fans had been there since, gone with the wind 195 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 2: back in nineteen thirty nine, and perhaps even longer, fans 196 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 2: who read the gossip columns in the papers. Like Luella Parsons' 197 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 2: interview with Gable's grieving widow, published shortly after his death. 198 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 2: What Kay Gable had to say shocked them all. Her 199 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 2: husband didn't die from the three packs of Lucky Strikes 200 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 2: he smoked every day, she claimed, or by the harsh 201 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 2: conditions and the Nevada desert, the same conditions experienced by 202 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 2: Montgomery Clift and all the others. Something else drove him 203 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 2: to an early grave. Someone else, his co star, the 204 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 2: difficult one, Marilyn Monroe, may not have put a bullet 205 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 2: in Clark Gable, what she might as well have. Working 206 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 2: with Marilyn Monroe was a death blow. Just look at her, now, 207 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 2: free to do as she pleased, going around as if 208 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 2: nothing happened. She didn't even attend Clark's funeral. Clark's fans 209 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 2: read through Yella Parsons's juicy column. Frankly, my dear, they 210 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 2: did give it. Damn. They sought Marilyn Monroe out on 211 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 2: the streets of New York City, where she was no 212 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 2: longer straddling a subway great in a white dress, but 213 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 2: walking off an existential crisis from a by or impending 214 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 2: divorce from Misfits screenwriter Arthur Miller. The fans yelled at her, 215 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 2: just like they always did. But these were not the 216 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 2: screams of delight from the past, those delirious requests of 217 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 2: hire that she used to elicit winter dress shot up 218 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 2: into the air as a subway training barrel along below. 219 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 2: In late nineteen sixty, fans were now yelling something different 220 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 2: that Marilyn than Roe not a request but a question. 221 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 2: They all wanted to know the same thing. Hey, Marylyn, 222 00:14:32,080 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 2: what's it feel like to be a murderer? Kay Gable 223 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 2: never said the words Marilyn Monroe killed my husband while 224 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 2: giving an interview to gossip columnist Luella Parsons. She didn't 225 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 2: have to. The accusation was right there, or so it 226 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 2: seemed to millions of Americans, who, in the fall of 227 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty were reading between the lines printed in the 228 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 2: gossip racts, it wasn't the physical exertion that killed him. 229 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 2: Kay was quoted as saying, it was the horrible tension, 230 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 2: that eternal waiting, waiting, waiting. He waited around forever for everybody. 231 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 2: Everybody reading that interview already knew that waiting around was 232 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 2: part of the process on the set of a Marilyn 233 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 2: Monroe film, at least as of late, with newspapers as 234 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 2: trusted as The New York Times spreading Hollywood tattle about 235 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 2: Marilyn's diva behavior holding up production on her previous two films, 236 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 2: Some Like It Hot and Let's Make Love. But on 237 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 2: the set of The Misfits that behavior got worse, so 238 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 2: bad that, according to the press, Marilyn Monroe was to 239 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 2: blame when production came to a screeching halt in August. 240 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 2: For nearly two weeks, the crew and the rest of 241 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 2: the cast waited while Marilyn traded the Nevada Desert for 242 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 2: a hospital bed back in Los Angeles. The party line 243 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 2: was that she was being treated for exhaustion. Marilyn was 244 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 2: always exhausted. When she first arrived on set a month 245 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 2: earlier in July, she didn't know she was coming or going. 246 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 2: The pills she took to wake up every morning, and 247 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 2: the pills she took to go to sleep every night 248 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 2: did what they were supposed to do, perhaps a little 249 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 2: too well. Marilyn Monroe was shutting the world out, puncturing 250 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 2: her second all capsules with a pin so that she 251 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 2: could mainline the powder inside and thus expedite the drug's effects. 252 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 2: Second off Nembatah. They brought Marilyn peace calm, but with 253 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 2: that calm came confusion, depression, mood swings, nightmares, and rashes. 254 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 2: But they also gave her freedom from thinking about the 255 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 2: things she didn't want to think about. Like Arthur Husband 256 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 2: number three, America's most revered living playwright, the man she 257 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 2: married to somehow validate her own feelings of inadequacy, those 258 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 2: deep seated feelings she couldn't shake that she was just 259 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 2: some dumb blonde pin up and not a real actress. 260 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 2: Arthur said he wanted to help when he did so 261 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 2: by writing the screenplay for this movie, The Misfits, a 262 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 2: movie that would show off Marilyn's true acting chops and 263 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 2: proved to the world that she was more than just 264 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 2: the pretty face. But even Arthur Miller had trouble seeing 265 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 2: beyond his wife's public image. To him, Marilyn was just 266 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 2: a girl, a child, actually, an anxious, troubled, needy child 267 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 2: who would never be as sophisticated or highbrow as he was, 268 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 2: no matter how hard she tried, and she tried real 269 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 2: damn herd. She aimed to make The Misfits the moment 270 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 2: of her major transformation from comedic actress to dramatic force. 271 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 2: It also gave her the opportunity to act alongside her 272 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 2: childhood hero, Clark Gable, a man she'd believed for years 273 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 2: to be her own father. She delivered that confession to 274 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 2: Clark the first time they met, some six years earlier, 275 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 2: that her mother once showed her a photograph of her 276 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 2: deadbeat dad and never corrected young Marilyn when she said 277 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 2: that she could hardly believe the dad she never knew. 278 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 2: Just so happened to be one of the biggest stars 279 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,400 Speaker 2: of the silver screen, And now here they were, Marylyn 280 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 2: arguably just as big of a star as Clark. The 281 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 2: thing was, Clark Gable had the respect that Marilyn Monrose 282 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 2: so sorely lacked. She didn't care if Clark Gable liked 283 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 2: her or not, but she did want his respect. She 284 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 2: wasn't here to please men, none of them. Not her 285 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 2: husband Arthur Miller, a card carrying ahead but also a sadist, 286 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 2: rewriting Marilyn's dialogue every night during the shoot, so that 287 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 2: every morning she was forced to learn new lines. And 288 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 2: not the director, John Houston, a man she trusted, perhaps 289 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,119 Speaker 2: the only director who had ever treated her to like 290 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 2: a person and not just a piece of ass. Still, 291 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 2: it seemed even John Houston was out to get her, 292 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 2: forcing her to do take after take in the punishing 293 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 2: desert heat, temperatures soaring into the hundreds. That is, when 294 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 2: he could be found actually doing his job and not 295 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 2: gambling in the local casino. These men sought to undermine her. 296 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 2: She knew it. They sought to make her goal harder 297 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 2: to achieve. They said they wanted what she wanted, that 298 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 2: they were using their talents and their influence, not just 299 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 2: as artists but as men to help her get there, 300 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 2: to a place of respect in professional fulfillment. But it 301 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 2: was all just a ruse. Arthur Miller and John Houston, 302 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,880 Speaker 2: and even Clark Gable forever bitching and moaning about her 303 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 2: devotion to the actors Studio to the capital m method. 304 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:55,160 Speaker 2: These men were roadblocks, big, loud, unmovable roadblocks, and Marilyn 305 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,920 Speaker 2: wanted them out of her way. But there was no 306 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 2: navigating around the these obstacles, so Marilyn shut them out. 307 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,239 Speaker 2: With a hatpin in one hand and a second all 308 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,400 Speaker 2: capsule in the other, she got to work the work 309 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 2: that came before her work as an actress, the work 310 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,920 Speaker 2: that made the other work bearable. She poked a hole 311 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,199 Speaker 2: in the capsule and then held it to her lips, 312 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 2: and the powder had no odor, but the bitter taste 313 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 2: stuck to her tongue, nothing that a glass at don 314 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 2: Perion couldn't fix. Shed down the concoction of barbituates and 315 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,680 Speaker 2: booze and hopes that either she could ignore it all 316 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 2: the scorching heat, the rewrites, the retakes, the lip service. 317 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 2: She was confident that she could beat the men at 318 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:42,959 Speaker 2: their own game. John Houston came up empty again. This 319 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 2: streak of bad luck was unlike any he'd ever experienced, 320 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 2: and he'd experienced plenty, Like many crabstables around the world, 321 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 2: one at the casino inside this Reno, Nevada hotel where 322 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 2: Houston and the crew, where the misfits were staying called 323 00:20:55,359 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 2: out to him. The song was a familiar one, dice chips, 324 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 2: the odds and the rush, and the highs and the lows, 325 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 2: and today's low was especially low. As the hot August 326 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 2: night came to an end, Houston found himself out of 327 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 2: sixteen thousand dollars. He slammed back a shot at Jim 328 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 2: Beam and assessed the situation. Usually he would just work 329 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 2: himself out of the hole, like he did the last 330 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 2: time this happened. Thousand zero to the casino brass, qualified men, 331 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,679 Speaker 2: capable men, men who knew Houston didn't have that kind 332 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 2: of cash to back up his appetite for risk, and 333 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 2: thus made him stay all day and went back the 334 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 2: money he'd lost before he was allowed to walk out 335 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 2: with his life. Tonight was different. Tonight, John Houston was 336 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 2: gambling with the studios money. Tonight's loss of sixteen thousand 337 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 2: dollars was just part of a larger problem. It brought 338 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 2: his total losses to fifty grand. That's fifty thousand dollars 339 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 2: of United Artist's money, and now the casino was calling 340 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 2: in that debt. Houston was fucked. There wasn't enough cash 341 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 2: to cover payroll, which meant that he had to find 342 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 2: money or the production would be shut down indefinitely. Then 343 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 2: they would all hate him, not just Marilyn, but everyone, Clark, Monnie, 344 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,439 Speaker 2: the entire crew. Houston braced himself for the worst. He 345 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 2: was tapped out Sindinero, as this amigo south of the 346 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 2: Order would say. The misfits bank account hit zero. Production 347 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 2: ceased like many on set. Marylyn flew home to la 348 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 2: which gave John Houston an idea. He called the up 349 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 2: hero doctors, told them about her growing addiction to pills 350 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 2: and her concerning behavior, and suggested perhaps she'd take it 351 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 2: easy for a week at a private clinic somewhere until 352 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 2: production was able to resume. On the evening of August 353 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 2: twenty eighth, nineteen sixty, Marilyn Monroe was admitted to the 354 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 2: West Side Hospital on Losienica. News of her hospitalization hit 355 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,160 Speaker 2: the wires, and as Houston had hoped that news spread 356 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 2: like wildfire, Marylyn and Marilyn alone was the sole blame 357 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,880 Speaker 2: for the film's problems. And now it's delay that anxious 358 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 2: troubled needy child, not John Houston, the man in charge. 359 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 2: John Houston wasn't the bad guy. Maybe he had a 360 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 2: problem when it came to gambling, but he wasn't the problem. 361 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: The problem was Marilyn Monroe, laid up in a hospital bed, 362 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 2: recovering from exhaustion, clearly not able to take the heat 363 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 2: out in the desert with the wild horses. Meanwhile, John 364 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 2: Houston strode back into the cooler confines of the hotel casino, 365 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 2: where he sat down at a craps table in LEAs 366 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 2: von Tampoule. He found a tree to shake, scraped up 367 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,480 Speaker 2: a few extra bucks, and over the course of the 368 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 2: evening he turned those few bucks into three grand, and 369 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,199 Speaker 2: he took it as a good omen his luck was 370 00:23:55,280 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 2: finally coming back around. We'll be right back after this. 371 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 2: We're we're where Clark Gable wasn't making good use of 372 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 2: his spare time. He cranked the carjack and watched as 373 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 2: his jeep slowly lifted in the air. It wasn't difficult work, 374 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 2: just changing a flat inside his garage, but in the 375 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,359 Speaker 2: moment it felt tougher than it should. As he wound 376 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 2: the jack, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. 377 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 2: It tightened up and wouldn't let go. Clark dropped to 378 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 2: his knees. He broke out in a cold sweat and 379 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 2: perspiration ran down his forehead. He grit his teeth, bared 380 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 2: the pain. It was in seconds. The sharpness was gone, 381 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 2: but it had successfully ruined his desire for this handyman shit. 382 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,800 Speaker 2: It was a Saturday, one day after the final day 383 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 2: of production for The Misfits, which took place over at 384 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 2: the Paramount Lot in Hollywood. Final day, final scene, a 385 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 2: two shot Clark and Marilyn Monroe sitting in the cab 386 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 2: of a truck, staring out at the night sky. Just 387 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,959 Speaker 2: head for that big star, Clark says in the film's 388 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 2: last few seconds. It'll take us home. Now. Clark Gable 389 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 2: was home, his home, and thank Christ, he was relieved. 390 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 2: Didn't even begin to explain it. Ninety days for a 391 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 2: shoot that was supposed to be over in half that time. 392 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 2: Ninety days of running around the desert, breathing in the 393 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 2: salt in the air, dragged four hundred feet by a truck, 394 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 2: nearly trampled by wild mustangs. John Houston didn't give a 395 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,120 Speaker 2: damn whether Clark Gable lived or died, as long as 396 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 2: he got the shot. Clark was fifty nine, way too 397 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 2: old for the shit. He didn't want to do. The 398 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 2: damn picture in the first place, he knew he should 399 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,639 Speaker 2: have listened to his old Air Force buddy John Lee 400 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 2: Mann was a good friend of Clark's in one of 401 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 2: his favorite screenwriters in Most Trusted Minds. Clark shared Arthur 402 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 2: Miller's script with John before he accepted the role. John 403 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 2: thought it was too a little out of Clark Gables league, 404 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:04,960 Speaker 2: who let's face it wasn't the kind of guy you 405 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:09,439 Speaker 2: immediately thought of for a film with this much heft. Look, Clark, 406 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 2: you're a confident actor, but you're not Spencer Tracy. John 407 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 2: told him people don't come to see you because you're 408 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 2: a great actor. You know that deep down. Clark did 409 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 2: know that, But then what did they come to see 410 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 2: him for? His brutal masculinity, As an early review described him, 411 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 2: his rugged, handsome, macho charisma, the kind that drove his 412 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 2: co star Harmani cliffed up a wall. There was no 413 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 2: denying that Clark was dashing in debonair. But at the 414 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 2: same time he looked like he could be your dad. 415 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 2: Marilyn Monroe, for one, even thought he was her dad 416 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 2: at one point, and Clark Gable in return, didn't think 417 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,439 Speaker 2: much of Marin. To Clark, Marilyn was and I quote, 418 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 2: a self indulgent twat. She wouldn't have lasted two seconds 419 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 2: on Setback the day, back when actors showed up ready 420 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 2: to work, ready to hit their marks and read their lines. 421 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 2: It used to be so simple. None of this getting 422 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 2: into character navel gazing method Horseshit complete waste of everybody's time. 423 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 2: So when he accepted the role, he did so on 424 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 2: the condition that it wouldn't be a waste of his time. 425 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 2: His agent negotiated the highest single picture fee that he, 426 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 2: or any other actor for that matter, had ever received 427 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 2: to date, seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars against ten 428 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 2: percent of gross rentals. His contract further stated that he 429 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 2: would only shoot nine to five Monday through Friday for 430 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 2: sixteen weeks. If production went longer than sixteen weeks, he 431 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 2: would get another forty eight grand per week for as 432 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 2: long as he was needed. Thanks to the addictions of 433 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 2: the film's director and its leading lady, the Misfits went 434 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 2: long while Clark Gable got rich. But today, regardless of 435 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 2: the balance in his bank account, he didn't feel rich. 436 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,479 Speaker 2: He felt like a crumpled up dollar bill the pocket 437 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,960 Speaker 2: of a dirty pair of Marilyn Monroe's jeans. He thought 438 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 2: about what his old buddy John Lee May and said 439 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 2: before cameras rolled on the misfits, You're dead if he 440 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 2: shoot this script. Jesus Christ. Wasn't that some shit? And 441 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 2: by the time he walked from the garage and back 442 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 2: into his house, the pain in Clark's chest had subsided completely. 443 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 2: His face didn't get the memo, though His wife, Kay 444 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 2: gasped at his appearance, cold clammy, white as a sheet. 445 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 2: She wanted to call the doctor, but Clark refused. He 446 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 2: was fine now the pain was gone, and Kay was pregnant, 447 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 2: and the last thing he needed was for her to 448 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 2: get all worked up. Clark went to bed that night, 449 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 2: thinking about taking another pass to the flat tire on 450 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 2: his jeep in the morning, but when he woke up 451 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 2: the following day, the pain came back worse than before. 452 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 2: It latched on, tightened harder, and Clark put a fist 453 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 2: to his chest. Nothing he could actually do to help reflex. 454 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 2: He felt the cold sweat come back, and then a 455 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 2: rush of heat, and Kay scrambled for the phone while 456 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 2: Clark waited in vain for the tension in his chest 457 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 2: let up, Hoping like hell that he wasn't going to 458 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 2: waste some doctor's precious time. Clark Gable, it turns out, 459 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 2: was living on borrowed time. His doctor concluded that the 460 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 2: chest pains were indeed a heart attack caused by a 461 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 2: severe coronary thrombosis. He was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, 462 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 2: which is where he was a few days later when 463 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 2: John F. Kennedy barely eked out a win over Richard 464 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 2: Nixon to become the thirty fifth President of the United States, 465 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 2: and Clark Gable was still there ten days after he 466 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 2: was admitted on November sixteenth, nineteen sixty, his condition, by 467 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,959 Speaker 2: all accounts improving when he had a second heart attack 468 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 2: and died on the other side of the country in 469 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 2: New York City, Marilyn Monroe felt like dying, even if 470 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 2: she was very much alive. She tried to hustle down 471 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 2: East fifty seventh to her apartment without getting noticed. But 472 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 2: there was no not noticing Marilyn Monroe. She was stopped often, 473 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 2: and she was hounded, not for autographs, but for answers 474 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 2: that wanted to know how it felt, and she had remorse. 475 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 2: She quickly made her way underneath the awning outside four 476 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 2: four four East fifty seventh and inside the building to safety, 477 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 2: to silence, up the elevator to the three bedroom apartment 478 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 2: on the thirteenth floor that she used to share with 479 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: Arthur Miller, but now had all to herself. Wants a 480 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 2: love nest, now the place where she spun melancholy records 481 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 2: on the turntable, survived on little more than sleeping pills, 482 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 2: and shed pounds at an alarming rate, and once again 483 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 2: did what she could to shut the world out, but 484 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 2: the world wanted in. She was racked with guilt, harassed 485 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 2: by fans who had turned on her and made it 486 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 2: feel like a killer so called self indulgent twat who 487 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 2: drove the great Clark Gable to his She couldn't help, 488 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 2: but wonder was it her fault? Was she to blame? 489 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 2: Had she subconsciously taken out her anger and resentment at 490 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 2: the man she never knew on another man who didn't 491 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 2: want to get to know her. Was Clark Gable her 492 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 2: whipping boy? The questions never stopped. Months later, Marilyn was 493 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 2: still asking herself questions, Questions about Clark, about Moni, about 494 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 2: John Houston, about the hot Nevada days, and the impossible 495 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 2: to remember Nevada knights, knights of punctured second tablets and 496 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,680 Speaker 2: syringes loaded with thembatah that sank her deep into a 497 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:42,560 Speaker 2: dark recess of unconsciousness. What was it? They said? Unconsciousness 498 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 2: is bliss? Bliss or no? She was awake and alert. 499 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 2: On the evening of Friday, January twentieth, nineteen sixty one. 500 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 2: Not for the party to celebrate the swearing in of 501 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 2: the now former junior Senator from Massachusetts, Jack Kennedy, would 502 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 2: have to wait, and he would wait gladly so while 503 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 2: the good Catholic family man put his hand on the 504 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 2: Bible and probably took oath of office. Two thousand miles 505 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 2: away south of the border in Warres, Marilyn Monroe stood 506 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 2: before a judge alongside Arthur Miller and got her Mexican divorce. 507 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 2: Contrary to gossip, Marilyn Monroe did not kill Clark Gable. 508 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 2: In contrary to the popular narrative, Marilyn Monroe was not 509 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 2: the reason why The Misfit shut down production for nearly 510 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 2: two weeks. But Marilyn Monroe was a scapegoat for many 511 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 2: of the film's troubles, whether it was physical and mental 512 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 2: stress or financial ruin. She was like one of those 513 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 2: wild Mustangs out in the desert, a misfit, unable to 514 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 2: be the thing she wanted to be, a respected peer 515 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:09,239 Speaker 2: and a dramatic actress, instead destined to an unjust and 516 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 2: cruel fate, just like her co star Montgomery Cliff permanently 517 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 2: scarred from that near fatal car accident, an accident that 518 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 2: left him less desirable to the Hollywood elite, the fact 519 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 2: that amplified his self destructed tendencies. He worked on what 520 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 2: his actress studio teacher later called the longest suicide in 521 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 2: Hollywood history at his home, where he could be found 522 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,800 Speaker 2: chasing pills with booze, the offers continuing to dry up. 523 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 2: His only company, a live in personal secretary, Lorenzo James Lonnie, 524 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 2: was doing just that on the evening of July twenty second, 525 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,959 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty six, sitting in his bed inside his New 526 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,719 Speaker 2: York City townhouse on East sixty first Street, just blocks 527 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 2: away from Maryland's place. Only Marylyn wasn't there anymore. Maryland 528 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 2: had been dead for nearly four years. The papers called 529 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 2: it suicide, but just like the case of Clark Gable's 530 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,479 Speaker 2: death and the rumor mill that surrounded it. The facts 531 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 2: around Maryland's passing were far from accurate, and for a 532 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,160 Speaker 2: full deep dive into the conspiracy theories and the truth 533 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,600 Speaker 2: about Marilyn Monroe's death, check out our two part episode 534 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 2: on bad Lands from season one. But back to our 535 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:23,520 Speaker 2: story here. The Misfits was the last film to feature 536 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 2: Marilyn Monroe. It bombed at the box office. Audiences didn't 537 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 2: know what to make of it. Revisionist Western wasn't yet 538 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 2: a recognizable subgenre in nineteen sixty one. Ticket buyer was 539 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 2: looking for a laugh or a sex romp were sorely disappointed. 540 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,359 Speaker 2: It would be decades before the film would be reevaluated 541 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 2: as a work of our far ahead of its time, 542 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 2: but at the time in the nineteen sixties, The Misfits 543 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:52,160 Speaker 2: were seen as a cursed failure. It burned United artists 544 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 2: in John Houston's money, It claimed Clark Gable's life, and 545 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,920 Speaker 2: then it took Marilyn Monroe's life too. About a year 546 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,799 Speaker 2: and a half after from and to montey Cliff, the 547 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,760 Speaker 2: production was just another stain on his increasingly poor record, 548 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 2: the kind of thing you'd rather forget about, which is 549 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,960 Speaker 2: why that evening at Monni's townhouse, but Lorenzo James mentioned 550 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 2: that The Misfits was playing on late night television and 551 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,719 Speaker 2: offered to stay up with Manni to watch it. Manni's 552 00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:23,279 Speaker 2: response was swift and final. Absolutely not. Those are the 553 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:28,120 Speaker 2: last words anyone ever heard Montgomery Cliff speak. The next morning, 554 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:33,160 Speaker 2: Lorenzo found him face up on his bed, naked, glasses on, 555 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 2: fists clenched at his sides, dead at forty five. No 556 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:43,799 Speaker 2: foul play, no excess of pills and booze, nothing out 557 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,360 Speaker 2: of the ordinary, just the final victim of the Curse 558 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,400 Speaker 2: of the Misfits. Asaga so towdry that it ought to 559 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:59,479 Speaker 2: be in pictures. I'm Jake Brennan and this is hollywood Land. 560 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 4: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 561 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:19,360 Speaker 4: in partnership with Double Elvis. Follow like, rate and review 562 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:21,879 Speaker 4: Hollywoodland wherever you get your podcasts and get in touch 563 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,280 Speaker 4: with us on social media at double Elvis. 564 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:26,759 Speaker 2: If you like hollywood Land, check out my other show, 565 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:29,600 Speaker 2: the award winning Disgraceland, which looks at the world of 566 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 2: music through the lens of true crime. Just search for 567 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 2: Disgraceland or wherever you get your podcasts. 568 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:40,960 Speaker 4: Good God, Al