The Misfits
United Artists | Release Date: February 1, 1961 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsKate Cameron
The film moves at a leisurely pace at first, but it accelerates as it moves towards its exciting climax. Read full review
100
The TelegraphTim Robey
What a multiple swansong and beautiful accident The Misfits is. Read full review
100
CineVueCraig Williams
It’s a picture so precariously balanced on the edge of poetry and sentiment, of defiance and self-pity. Read full review
90
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
At face value, The Misfits, is a robust, high-voltage adventure drama, vibrating with explosively emotional histrionics, conceived and executed with a refreshing disdain for superficial technical and photographic slickness in favor of an uncommonly honest and direct cinematic approach. Within this framework, however, lurks a complex mass of introspective conflicts, symbolic parallels and motivational contradictions, the nuances of which may seriously confound general audiences. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
For me, the film is itself a bit of misfit, full of big stagey speeches, contrived moments and some overemphatic performances, but opened out with muscular style by Huston. The faces of Gable, Clift and Monroe together in closeup have a Mount Rushmore look to them. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Many have called this film a brilliant mood piece of a dying Old West; that doesn't make it a masterpiece, but the ghosts of its cast do still haunt one's viewing experience. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
An original script from Arthur Miller, The Misfits turns on the playwright’s usual concern: that of the individual trying to maintain his identity in a changing world. Read full review
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The final screen outing for stars Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, this is a sparky but rather shallow story of emotional frailty in the Nevada desert. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
Mr. Huston's direction is dynamic, inventive and colorful. Mr. Gable is ironically vital. Miss Ritter, James Barton and Estelle Winwood are amusing in very minor roles, and Alex North has provided some good theme music. But the picture just doesn't come off. Read full review
60
The New YorkerPauline Kael
An erratic, sometimes personal in the wrong way, and generally unlucky picture that is often affecting.
50
Slant MagazineChris Cabin
A perplexing misfire more than a complete dud, The Misfits‘s true legacy remains in the personal histories of those involved with the production rather than in the far more exceptional careers of the artists who brought it to its dull fruition. Read full review
More From This Movie

77 Critic Reviews

6.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL