Reno, Nevada (The Misfits), from the portfolio "Master Prints Volume II"
1960; portfolio 1980
20th century
20 x 23 7/8 in. (508 x 606 mm)
Elliott Erwitt,
American,
b. 1928
Object Type:
Photographs
Creation Place:
North America, United States
Medium and Support:
Gelatin silver print on paper
Credit Line:
Carleton College Art Collection, gift of Arthur D. Kowaloff, class of 1968
Accession Number:
1997.104.09
Master Prints Volume II
Elliott Erwitt (born 1928, France)
The Cast of the Misfits
1960
Silver Gelatin Print
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Kowaloff
The Misfits was filmed in the Nevada desert in 1961. Produced and directed by John Huston with a script by Arthur Miller, and starring Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and Eli Wallach, this film represents a watershed moment in the decline of the Hollywood star system. It is remarkable that The Misfits was ever completed. The production was plagued ill health, alcoholism and general disfunction among the principals. Monroe was battling drug and alcohol addiction. Her marriage to Miller, who had written the screenplay in service of her ambition to be a ‘serious actress’, fell apart during the shoot. Huston’s epic drinking and eccentric work habits also contributed to the troubled filming. Clark Gable died of heart failure less than two weeks after filming was completed; Monroe never finished another film and died within 18 months. Of the principal stars, only Eli Wallach continued to be a prolific actor.
The enormous prestige of the project prompted Magnum Photos to send twenty photographers to document the production. Magnum Photos is a photographic cooperative founded in 1947 by Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others. In addition to Erwitt, Eve Arnold, Cornell Capa (brother of Robert), Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Inge Morath and Dennis Stock also worked on this project. Many of The Misfit photographs were published in Look and Life magazines, the dominant photojournalism outlets of the time. Serge Toubiana’s 2000 book, The Misfits: Story of a Shoot, documents the Magnum response to this important film.
On view in Gould Library Atheneum 2012