I enjoyed it too, being someone who usually gets a kick out of any Huston film I see.

All of the characters felt well-drawn, except toward the end when the animal rights issue that you mention came up, and Monroe started shrieking to her buddies about their transgressions. Her dialogue sounds forced and wrong for her in that part of the film!! It's like, at least for me, Marilyn's overarching image as an (I hate to say it) airhead is so strong that her outraged, moralizing dialogue in the scene doesn't seem to fit her. In real life, Marilyn was really sharp as a tack, (EDIT) and her acting is fine in the film but I just can't shake the type.

Good flick....

Apparently Monroe was angry because her hubby Arthur Miller had essentially made the character similar to her, or portrayed aspects of her real character - something he'd allegedly promised not to do. She just drifts along in this as a bubbly sort, but as you say this may not have been anything like her in reality.

I loved the whole animal rights aspect as a vehicle for driving the three main male protagonists characters. Plus, with the bucking bronco scene earlier it was made pretty clear Monroe's character hated animals in distress and could get pretty hysterical about it.

spoilers

The ending gets some stick but I love that Gable's character is repeatedly given an out to abandon his career under pressure from others, and refuses. Then gets all pig headed and completes the job at great physical expense, before then quitting on his own terms. If he'd have quitted under pressure from others he'd have had a nagging doubt about it and Monroe's character couldn't have known if he'd genuinely changed or not. Just really good stuff about human mentality.

@Fergoose said:

Apparently Monroe was angry because her hubby Arthur Miller had essentially made the character similar to her, or portrayed aspects of her real character - something he'd allegedly promised not to do. She just drifts along in this as a bubbly sort, but as you say this may not have been anything like her in reality.

Right, what I was alluding to is a persona linked to Monroe that has much to do with a certain time period--the "airhead" type, I would say, mostly fostered by her role in The Seven Year Itch. You probably know: the voice and as you state, the "bubbly" personality, along with the iconic image of Monroe standing over the grate in her white dress as the air blows it up around her thighs. Today's younger folk might not even be aware of these aspects of Marilyn Monroe.

I didn't know that about Miller's characterization of the role.

The ending gets some stick but I love that Gable's character is repeatedly given an out to abandon his career under pressure from others, and refuses. Then gets all pig headed and completes the job at great physical expense, before then quitting on his own terms. If he'd have quitted under pressure from others he'd have had a nagging doubt about it and Monroe's character couldn't have known if he'd genuinely changed or not. Just really good stuff about human mentality.

Agreed, but did you know that (IIRC) Gable died from a heart attack after filming The Misfits? That's a really interesting bit of irony considering what his character in this was about.

You post very articulately even at roughly 4 a.m. I don't know if I have it in me to do that now.

@Fergoose said:

To be avoided if you don't like animals in distress (even though it is utterly meaningful in this film - this isnt shooting kangaroos for a giggle).

8/10

Wanted to chime in on that note (because I can't stand animal abuse on set), I researched how they shot that scene and this is what I learned.

The scene was shot over a long period of time, using several different horses. An (AHA approved?) veterinarian was monitoring the action the whole time and would order them to stop if the horse was ever actually getting distressed or exhausted. So what we see is a brilliant job in the editing room. Quick cuts of a 'panicked' horse in rapid succession give us that disturbing feeling, even though the actual shoot might've been: horse rears up...cut... take a break...roll camera wait for horse to rear up again...cut... get a different horse...etc, over the course of a few hours. Add sound effects and voila "panicked horse".

I believe the film ended up winning the 1st Genesis Award (for humane treatment of animals) in Hollywood history, so that says something. It marked a huge step forward from the trip wires and actual horse beatings from earlier films.

@rooprect said:

@Fergoose said:

To be avoided if you don't like animals in distress (even though it is utterly meaningful in this film - this isnt shooting kangaroos for a giggle).

8/10

Wanted to chime in on that note (because I can't stand animal abuse on set), I researched how they shot that scene and this is what I learned.

The scene was shot over a long period of time, using several different horses. An (AHA approved?) veterinarian was monitoring the action the whole time and would order them to stop if the horse was ever actually getting distressed or exhausted. So what we see is a brilliant job in the editing room. Quick cuts of a 'panicked' horse in rapid succession give us that disturbing feeling, even though the actual shoot might've been: horse rears up...cut... take a break...roll camera wait for horse to rear up again...cut... get a different horse...etc, over the course of a few hours. Add sound effects and voila "panicked horse".

I believe the film ended up winning the 1st Genesis Award (for humane treatment of animals) in Hollywood history, so that says something. It marked a huge step forward from the trip wires and actual horse beatings from earlier films.

Happy to be read that. I don't know horses at all but wrestling and tying up one on film might still be upsetting for some viewers.