Play Misty For Me (Clint Eastwood, 1971): U.S.

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy. Viewed on DVD.

Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut was in 1971 with a real gem of a thriller and one of his best films to date. The precursor to Adrian Lyne’s 1987 Fatal Attraction, Play Misty for Me  was much more stylistic, set against the backdrop of the Monterey Jazz Festival and filmed entirely on location in and around Carmel, California.

Clint is Dave Garver, the smooth-talking DJ at a local jazz station, who seems to get a lot of action in the female department.  Enter Evelyn Draper a fun-loving fan, stalker, and psychopath, played to perfection by the much underrated Jessica Walter.

Evelyn is a frequent caller to the station and asks Dave to “play misty for me,” which is a haunting piano melody.  She follows Dave to his local hangout and stages herself to be picked up by him. The two engage in a one-night stand in which Dave is satisfied and moves on, until Evelyn shows up unannounced at his door with steaks and more free sex – how could Dave say no to that?

Evelyn manages to swipe Dave’s car keys, make copies of his house key, shows up nude on his doorstep, and stalks him at a lunch date, before Dave gets the clue that maybe something isn’t quite right with her.  A deeper commitment with his ex-girlfriend, Tobie, played by cutie Donna Mills, begins to look much more appealing.

Needless to say, Evelyn goes berserk tearing up Dave’s apartment, slashing his clothes and his cleaning lady, until the cops come and take her away – but not for good!

In the midst of all of this mayhem there is a montage of tender love scenes between Dave and Tobie, effectively portrayed in sync to the iconic 70’s hit The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face sung by Roberta Flack.

True to 70’s form, the film is gritty, shocking and contains a bit of a twist in the plot.  Some scenes are shot on location at the actual Jazz Festival using a single hand-held camera efficiently.