Movies - TV
Clark Gable Fought John Huston To Save Marilyn Monroe’s The Misfits Role
By ANTHONY CRISLIP
The 1961 psychological Western movie, “The Misfits,” would be Marilyn Monroe’s last, and tragically, the film’s production was plagued with issues. Monroe was suffering from health and addiction issues, her marriage to the film’s screenwriter Arthur Miller collapsed, and if it hadn’t been for Clark Gable, her role in the film was almost cut out in rewriting.
While on the set of “The Misfits,” Miller, director John Hurston, and Monroe’s co-star Eli Wallach conspired to rewrite the film to significantly diminish Monroe’s role as Roslyn while turning Wallach’s character into the film’s hero. However, their plans were foiled by Clark Gable, who as part of his contract had final script approval, giving him the power to veto the rewrites.
Reportedly, Hurston spent two hours attempting to get Gable to accept the rewrites, but the actor was adamant and eventually, he won out. During production, Gable had grown fond of Monroe because of her childhood crush on him, and as part of a cast and crew that seemed set on sabotaging Monroe, Gable turned out to be one of her closest allies.