PLAY MISTY FOR ME (USA, 1971) ****
Distributor: Universal Pictures (USA), Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (UK); Production Company: The Malpaso Company; Release Date: 20 October 1971 (USA), 28 January 1972 (UK); Filming Dates: 14 September 1970 – October 1970; Running Time: 102m; Colour: Technicolor; Sound Mix: Mono (Westrex Recording System); Film Format: 35mm; Film Process: Spherical; Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1; BBFC Cert: 15 – strong violence.
Director: Clint Eastwood; Writer: Jo Heims, Dean Riesner (from a story by Jo Heims); Executive Producer: Jennings Lang; Producer: Robert Daley; Associate Producer: Bob Larson; Director of Photography: Bruce Surtees; Music Composer: Dee Barton; Film Editor: Carl Pingitore; Art Director: Alexander Golitzen; Set Decorator: Ralph S. Hurst; Costumes: Helen Colvig, Brad Whitney; Make-up: Jack Freeman; Sound: Robert L. Hoyt, Robert Martin, Waldon O. Watson.
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), Duke Everts (Jay Jay), George Fargo (Man), Mervin W. Frates (Locksmith), Tim Frawley (Deputy Sheriff), Otis Kadani (Policeman), Britt Lind (Anjelica), Paul E. Lippman (2nd Man), Jack Kosslyn (Cab Driver), Ginna Patterson (Madalyn), Malcolm Moran (Man in Window).
Synopsis: A brief fling between a male disc jockey and an obsessed female fan takes a frightening, and perhaps even deadly turn when another woman enters the picture.
Comment: Slick, effective psychological thriller with an un-nerving performance from Walter as the obsessive fan who stalks Eastwood after having become his lover. Eastwood directs confidently and elicits strong performances from a talented cast. Riesner rewrote Heims’ original script, which included relocating to Carmel from San Francisco. It is a lean script with a taut narrative. The film only slows in an unnecessary detour to the Monterey Jazz Festival, indulging Eastwood’s love of music. The locations are sumptuously photographed by Surtees and Barton’s score, whilst sounding a little dated, adds an element of class. A major inspiration for 1987’s more celebrated FATAL ATTRACTION.
Notes: Eastwood’s directorial debut. The first scene he shot was his former director Don Siegel’s cameo as a bartender. The concert scenes were filmed live at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Songs: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” music and lyrics by Ewan McColl, sung by Roberta Flack, produced by Joel Dorn for Atlantic Records; “Hand Jive,” music and lyrics by David Lanz and E. Lightborn; “Misty” composed and performed by Erroll Garner, by arrangement with Octave Music Publishing Corp.; “Squeeze Me” by Duke Ellington.