It's strange but PLAY MISTY FOR ME influence didn't seem to have an effect on Hollywood until many years later when every studio seemed to be making " person from Hell thrillers " every week . This is the first movie to use the plot and dare I say it's possibly the best ?
Clint Eastwood is not a great character actor and it's difficult not to think of him as anything other than Clint Eastwood but in PMFM he plays one of his most affable roles as Dave Garver a radio DJ who has a one night stand with Evelyn a fan . Come on guys it's not like he's married and we'd all probably do the same so he's easier to empathise with unlike say Michael Douglas in FATAL ATTRACTION or Bill Clinton in The White House who probably did bring their troubles on themselves , so to all intents and purposes Dave is a relatively " innocent " victim
There is some sex and violence but since we're talking 1971 it's not as naseauting or as explicit as it would be in late 80s/early 90s with only the last ten minutes being anywhere over the top . It's a film whose dialogue keeps you entertained than than ridiculous set pieces as in : " Why don't you chase some sailors ?
" I hate sea food "
or
" What is this ? Be kind to seniir citizens week ? "
or
" Why don't you play some Al Monte "
" I never knew you liked the show "
" I don't . I just like Al Monte "
Ah the days when dialogue was well written without being post modernist
Eastwood's directing while not exactly being Oscar standard does at least show signs of great competence and manages to wring most of the potential tension from the story but there's one sequence that is every bit as influential as the premise when the story stops and we see a montage disguised as a pop song . I don't know if Eastwood should take the blame/credit for this but we'd see the same thing in APOCALYPSE NOW followed by just about every single movie of the 1980s having several musical montages
PLAY MISTY FOR ME is a very memorable thriller , though since the premise has been stolen by literally dozens of movies in the last 30 years the familiarity of the story perhaps lessens the impact it originally had
Clint Eastwood is not a great character actor and it's difficult not to think of him as anything other than Clint Eastwood but in PMFM he plays one of his most affable roles as Dave Garver a radio DJ who has a one night stand with Evelyn a fan . Come on guys it's not like he's married and we'd all probably do the same so he's easier to empathise with unlike say Michael Douglas in FATAL ATTRACTION or Bill Clinton in The White House who probably did bring their troubles on themselves , so to all intents and purposes Dave is a relatively " innocent " victim
There is some sex and violence but since we're talking 1971 it's not as naseauting or as explicit as it would be in late 80s/early 90s with only the last ten minutes being anywhere over the top . It's a film whose dialogue keeps you entertained than than ridiculous set pieces as in : " Why don't you chase some sailors ?
" I hate sea food "
or
" What is this ? Be kind to seniir citizens week ? "
or
" Why don't you play some Al Monte "
" I never knew you liked the show "
" I don't . I just like Al Monte "
Ah the days when dialogue was well written without being post modernist
Eastwood's directing while not exactly being Oscar standard does at least show signs of great competence and manages to wring most of the potential tension from the story but there's one sequence that is every bit as influential as the premise when the story stops and we see a montage disguised as a pop song . I don't know if Eastwood should take the blame/credit for this but we'd see the same thing in APOCALYPSE NOW followed by just about every single movie of the 1980s having several musical montages
PLAY MISTY FOR ME is a very memorable thriller , though since the premise has been stolen by literally dozens of movies in the last 30 years the familiarity of the story perhaps lessens the impact it originally had