Overview
A woman's journey of self-discovery intertwines with the rugged lives of cowboys in the Nevada wilderness.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- melancholic
- intimate
- brooding
- classic film evening
- quiet reflective viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the intense performances, emotional seriousness, and unsentimental desert atmosphere while finding the film uneven, overlong, and narratively erratic.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Nevada desert and mountains dwarf Roslyn, Gay, Guido, and Perc as they pursue unstable relationships and precarious work.
The aging cowboy, itinerant rodeo rider, and wild-mustang capture dramatize lives losing their economic and cultural place.
Roslyn's arrival tests whether Gay, Guido, and Perc can preserve their friendship and business arrangement.
Roslyn, Gay, Guido, and Perc are lonely outsiders whose desires repeatedly collide with fear, grief, and limited communication.
Films like The Misfits, and why
Hud
shared melancholic western atmosphere, aging outsiders, romantic instability, and critique of a vanishing frontier lifestyle
The Lusty Men
shared black-and-white western drama, lonely damaged characters, emotionally raw relationships, and moral tension around animals
Paris, Texas
shared desert setting, alienated adults, romantic disconnection, and intimate existential drama
Lonely Are the Brave
shared ensemble of emotionally stranded people, stark landscapes, and painful attempts at connection
Movie Details
- Director
- John Huston
- Release Date
- 1961-02-01
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (452)
Cast
- Clark Gable
- Marilyn Monroe
- Montgomery Clift
- Thelma Ritter
- Eli Wallach
- James Barton
- Kevin McCarthy
- Estelle Winwood
- Rex Bell
- John Huston
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Misfits about?
- In a stark Nevada landscape, a newly divorced woman unsettles three lonely men whose fragile friendships and fading cowboy lives cannot withstand desire and compassion.
- What is The Misfits like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Misfits as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Misfits violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Misfits as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Misfits?
- Critics broadly praised the intense performances, emotional seriousness, and unsentimental desert atmosphere while finding the film uneven, overlong, and narratively erratic.
- Which films are like The Misfits?
- Films with a similar feel include Hud, The Lusty Men, Paris, Texas, and Lonely Are the Brave.
- How long is The Misfits?
- The Misfits runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Misfits?
- In United States, The Misfits streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
