Play Misty for Me

Infobox Film
name = Play Misty for Me


caption = "Play Misty for Me" movie poster
director = Clint Eastwood
producer = Robert Daley
Jennings Lang
writer = Jo Heims
Dean Riesner
starring = Clint Eastwood
Jessica Walter
Donna Mills
John Larch
music = Dee Barton
Ewan MacColl (song "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face")
cinematography = Bruce Surtees
editing = Carl Pingitore
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = November 3, 1971 (U.S. release)
runtime = 102 min.
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:38349
imdb_id = 0067588

"Play Misty for Me" is a 1971 psychological thriller film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, in his directorial debut. The original music score was composed by Dee Barton.

Plot overview

Eastwood plays David "Dave" Garver, a radio disc jockey who becomes the target of Evelyn Draper, an obsessed female fan, played by Jessica Walter. Donna Mills plays his re-acquainted girlfriend, Tobie Williams. The title comes from Draper's habit of phoning in to Garver's radio show and asking him to play the classic Erroll Garner ballad "Misty".

The film paved the way for later stalker films such as "Fatal Attraction", particularly those with a female antagonist, and also those where the villain "appeared" to have died prematurely. It is also notable for its use of location shooting, mostly in the area of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where Eastwood has long made his home, and where he was elected Mayor in 1986. Additional scenes were shot at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1970, featuring jazz greats Johnny Otis, Cannonball Adderley, and future Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul.

The film features a romantic montage backed by Roberta Flack's recording of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

Characters

* David "Dave" Garver - A radio disc jockey who is stuck in a bad situation when Evelyn Draper enters his life.
* Evelyn Draper - A female fan of Dave who enters his life and tries to force him into making her his girlfriend. As he tries to distance himself from her,she becomes more possessive and eventually, very dangerous. She always asks him to play "Misty." Evelyn takes the name Annabel in order to become a roommate of Tobie so Evelyn can hold Tobie hostage. Evelyn took the name from the poem "Annabel Lee." Dave figures out "Annabel"'s identity after reading "Annabel Lee" while in the radio room; this causes Dave to call Tobie to warn her that her roommate is Evelyn, only to receive Evelyn's "invitation" to Tobie's house where Tobie was already bound and gagged,with her hair cut off.
* Tobie Williams - Dave's re-acquainted girlfriend and an aspiring artist. There is quite a romantic part of the movie- when Evelyn is supposedly in the mental institution. The scenes are set to Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and include Dave and Tobie on the beach, in the woods, and generally exploring their relationship.
* Sergeant McCallum - The policeman in Dave's town who assists him in getting out of Evelyn's stranglehold.
* Birdie - Dave's housekeeper, who suffers from the wrath of Evelyn. Birdie is injured after being stabbed many times.

Cast

*Clint Eastwood ... Dave
*Jessica Walter ... Evelyn
*Donna Mills ... Tobie
*John Larch ... Sgt. McCallum
*Jack Ging ... Frank
*Irene Hervey ... Madge
*James McEachin ... Al Monte
*Clarice Taylor ... Birdie
*Don Siegel ... Murphy (as Donald Siegel)
*George Fargo ... Man
*Mervin W. Frates ... Locksmith
*Tim Frawley ... Deputy Sheriff
*Otis Kadani ... Policeman
*Brit Lind ... Anjelica

Trivia

* The role of the bartender is played by Don Siegel, a friend of Eastwood and the director of films such as "Dirty Harry".
* "Play Misty For Me" is the film showing at a movie theater seen at the beginning of "Dirty Harry".
* When the Comedy Central channel showed "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the mid-1990s, they encouraged viewers to vote online for which episode they wished to see and they called it "Play MiSTie for Me".
* "Play Misty for Me" was number 26 on Bravo's 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments.
* The plot was reworked for the third season "Starsky & Hutch" episode "Fatal Charm", in which a woman becomes obsessed with Detective Ken Hutchinson (David Soul). Soul appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in "Magnum Force" (1973).
* The movie is referenced in the videogame "Grand Theft Auto III", where the first mission is called "Drive Misty For Me".
*Served as the inspiration for the USA version of the video clip for Crazy by Icehouse

External links

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