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While filmingThe Search,he asked the director to reshoot a scene for one baffling reason: He called a boy dear. But that wasnt all. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. Sensitive. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity. He wasnt a young rebel, an old rebel, a tired rebel, or a rebellious rebelall he cared about was re-creating a slice of life on the screen. However, even with all the negative hubbub surrounding this shoot, it was nothing compared to the darkness of one of Clifts next projects. Just look at the fan magazine titles: Making Love the Clift Way, Two Loves Has Monty, Montgomery Clifts Tragic Love Story, Is It True What They Say About Monty? Who Is Monty Kidding? Hes Travelin Light, The Lurid Love Life of Montgomery Clift, and, perhaps most flagrantly, Monty Clift: Woman Hater or Free Soul?. Whether this captivating story is real or not remains to be seen. The old Hollywood system was breaking apart and he was a major part of that., The first role Clift took, opposite John Wayne in Red River in 1948, offered a stark contrast in masculine presentations. ufff q hombre tan guapo y atractivo, y grn actor ademas, como me hubiese gustado conocerlo con unos ojos maravillosos. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole's shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. Montgomery Clift Net Worth, Height, Age, and More Nearly all his good looks are gone, Isherwood wrote. His other side was mostly hidden and only became widely known after he passed on, thanks to his friend and colleague Elizabeth Taylor. And yet, the mystery persists. Montgomery Blair - Wikipedia Picture Information. The Life and Sad Ending of Montgomery Clift - YouTube But 1961 audiences were too close to the day-to-day deterioration of its stars to see the meditative genius of The Misfits. It was a flimsy speculation built on shaky evidence, but with no sign of any real lovemaking in Clifts life, it was all the fan magazines had. Clift's last 10 years prior to his death from his 1956 car accident were called the "longest suicide in history" by famed acting teacher Robert Lewis. Regardless of the veracity of this story, one thing remains true: theres not a single picture of Clifts broken face. His beat-up car was 10 years old, and his best friends were all outside of the movie business. In The Young Lions (1958), released just two years after the accident, the pain and resentment seem almost visible. You see, Clift wasnt just a pretty face, he also had a bunch of quirks that made him incredibly singular in comparison to other leading men. Their. I thought he was dead. He immediately returned to Taylors house to notify the party of the bloody disaster. Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock. But after an initial flurry of coverage, he retreated from public view entirely. The entire experience had a cursed tinge to it, and before long, it left disaster in its wake. Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman Dean Martin as Michael Whiteacre Hope Lange as Hope Plowman Barbara Rush as Margaret Freemantle May Britt as Gretchen Hardenberg Maximilian Schell as Captain Hardenberg Dora Doll as Simone Lee Van Cleef as First Sergeant Rickett Liliane Montevecchi as Franoise Parley Baer as Sergeant Brandt For somewhat mysterious reasons, Robert Clifts father Brooks taped endless conversations with his famous brother, as well as with their mother and other figures relevant to the story. Taped interviews with his brother reveal that the actor felt those roles werent quite right for him and he didnt want to make the wrong first impression. Although hed only been away from Hollywood for four and a half years, the handsome Montgomery Clift looked incrediblyoldand the reason was downright heartbreaking. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. When it came to the lengthier scenes, the actor just couldnt deliver; they had to be divided into smaller cuts just so he could see them through. "Monty," as the performer was known to family and . Their claims were deemed reliable because one of the biographers was certified by one of Clift's confidants. He looked about ten years older than the Montgomery Clift audiences remembered and adored. Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in a . Courtesy Everett Collection Elizabeth was more visible than the publicity-shy Monty. I Confess - Hitchcock - His Life in Pictures Magazine Pictorial [United Kingdom] (June 2022), Montgomery Clift - Retro Magazine Pictorial [Poland] (May 2022), Montgomery Clift - Pani domu Magazine Pictorial [Poland] (August 2011). Teach, I loved the way how he played in A Place in the Sun. For over 30 years, scripts have floated around Hollywood promising to tell the story of Montgomery Clift, one of the most innovative and handsome actors in history. Grasping at straws, the media decided to do what little they could to sensationalize the actors non-existent, One of Clifts closest friends was a woman named Myra Letts, and for the ruthless gossip columns, it wasnt a huge leap from friend to girlfriend. Clift didnt entertain this for a second and shot the sordid speculations down immediately, saying that there was zero intimacy between them: those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us.. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. / Is he alive? His first two films were smashing successesand for veryimpressive reasons. In its May 28, 1951, issue, meanwhile, LIFE magazine wrote of A Place in the Sun: It is easy for an ambitious young man to get himself involved simultaneously with a simple-hearted girl who lives in a cheap boarding house and an extravagant rich girl who gives gay parties. Little did he know, he was always destined for something more. Apparently, Burt Lancaster's From Here to Eternity co-star Montgomery Clift intimidated himso much so that in their first scene together you can see Lancaster shaking. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. Clift simply wasnt cut out for school, and unlike his siblings, turned his back on higher education. While on his way back, he had an accident. Moments after the accident, actor Kevin McCarthy, driving in front of Clift, ran back to check on him, seeing that his face was torn awaya bloody pulp. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" romance and drama movie produced in Italy and USA and released in 1953. Montgomery's ancestry was English, as well as more distant Scottish, Dutch, German and French. However, this was no quick fix. 3.80. (1936), Ghostwriting Gloria Swanson: The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of a Legendary Autobiography, A New Power Generation: Radhika Jones Introduces the 2023 Hollywood Issue, Salma Hayek Pinault Explains How She Got Hollywood to Stop Typecasting Her as Sexy. However, his worry began to mount when the actor didnt respond to his insistent knocking. [view couple] # 8 Carlo Fiore 12 28. The director, John Huston, supposedly brought in Clift because he thought hed have a soothing effect on Monroe, who was deeply embroiled in her own addictions, with her own personal demons. Soon, the washed-up actor was completely out of work. From the Archives: Montgomery Clift, 45, Dies of Heart Attack in New Years before, Clift had battled dysentery, which introduced him to the sinister side effects of pain management. They took a risk on the troubled actorand it endedbadly. On the morning of July 23, 1966, Montgomery Clift's housemate couldn't wake the actor. The subject matter, which involved him assisting in the cover-up of a dead mans apparent homosexuality, must have sparked mixed emotions. The decline continued. She once lovingly described how she was in awe of the star actor's perfect facial features. Montgomery Edward "Monty" Clift (October 17, 1920 - July 23, 1966) was an American movie, television, radio, and stage actor who is known for his roles in From Here to Eternity, A Place in the Sun, The Misfits, Red River, and in Judgement at Nuremberg.He was nominated four times for an Academy Award.His great-great-grandfather was politician Francis Preston Blair. Tellingly, theyre always pitched under working titles like Beautiful Loser and' Tragic Beauty. However, he became more comfortable with her and eventually found it easy to open up about his sexuality. But for 12 years, he set Hollywood aflame. The true story of Montgomery Clift, as told by his youngest nephew The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. He called it as he saw it, describing himself as an ordinary, second-class wolf.. Benign to most but, in hindsight, highly suggestive. Over the next 10 years, he earned prominent roles in plays by Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder, opposite stars like Fredrick March and Tallulah Bankhead. His mother wanted all of her children to be raised as distinguished aristocrats, and as such, little Clift and his siblings received an elite upbringing: private tutors, extensive travel, and language lessons. is the hero of a long, oppressively powerful movie called A Place in the Sun. Directed by George Stevens for Paramount, it gives three young actors [Shelley Winters brilliantly played the poor girl] the chance to give the most natural performances of their careers. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity.. The Big Lift (1950) Approved | 120 min | Drama, War 6.4 Rate Part of honoring someone is being open to that person not being just one, reductive thing., Making Montgomery Clift is showing at NewFest with a release date yet to be announced, Tab Hunter: how Hollywood's boy next door became a gay icon, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Clift was off the Hollywood scene for four years, within which his career declined. This made him an A-list actor and a multi-award-winning star. Were always looking for your input! Who Is Montgomery Clift? - Facebook He died in 1966 at the age of 45. Lorenzo was one of the reasons.. Who is Montgomery Clift dating? So finely While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. Thanks for your time! For example, in 1956 Taylor likely saved Clifts life when, after he crashed his car leaving a party at her home, she raced to the wreck and literally pulled from his mouth broken teeth on which he had begun to choke. Montgomery Clift is American by birth. Elizabeth Taylor (all of 17 years old) and Montgomery Clift posed together at Paramount Studios during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. Whisked away to the morgue, Clifts body underwent an autopsy that shed some light on his sudden demise. Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. Author Christopher Isherwood tracked Clifts decline in his journals, and by August 1955, he was drinking himself out of a career; on the set of Raintree, the crew had designated words to communicate how drunk Clift was: bad was Georgia, very bad was Florida, and worst of all was Zanzibar. The film went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay, and is now hailed as a (flawed) classic. A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the 90s, the actor said of her career. Oh dear. That said, he kept his sexuality a secret: The prejudices of the time left him no choice. Unlike Rock Hudson, whose affairs were very nearly exposed to the entire nation by Confidential, Clift never made the pages of the scandal rags. Other testimonies to Clifts gayness abound: early in his film career, he had purportedly been warned that being gay would ruin him; he was so conscious of being seen as feminine or fey in any way that when he ad-libbed a line in The Search, calling a boy dear, he insisted that director Fred Zinnemann reshoot the take. After all, his leading lady was none other than the beguiling Elizabeth Taylor, and together, these two stars were pure fire. It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. He pointed out that she just let the director determine her every move. Allegedly, hed been forewarned that the truth would destroy his career, and as a result, the actor became increasingly wary of appearing feminine in any way. When The Heiresscame out, Clifts loyal fanatics came with their claws out and wrote vicious letters to Olivia de Havilland for rejecting Clifts character in the film. He played the desperate, the drunken, and the deceived, and the trajectory of his life was as tragic as that in any of his films. He was a great talent but the male counterpart to Monroe, lonely, sad, and pitiful. He was, at least in the press, something approaching asexualthe title of a Motion Picture article, authored by Clift, declared simply, I Like It Lonely!. Montgomery Clift was in relationships with Sal Mineo, Paul Newman, Henry Willson, Jack Larson, William LeMassena, Libby Holman, Maurice Leonard and Arnold Saint Subber. A portrait of Elizabeth Taylor And Montgomery Clift from the film "A Place In The Sun", 1951 | Photo: Getty Images. He had a close friendship with a woman named Myra Letts, whom the gossip columnists tried arduously to frame as a love interest. There were even speculations that he was warned about being gay. Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, he'd cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. RIP GEORGOUS MONTY. According to two A-list biographers, the late star was gay. Clift, however, lived a two-faceted life concerning his sexuality. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift goofed around during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River. Montgomery Clift Hid His Sexuality for Years but Elizabeth - AmoMama Adopted at the age of one, his mother was told by a well-intentioned doctor years later that she was the offspring of Southern aristocrats, so she chose to raise her own children accordingly. Well, in 1955, he had a chance to reunite with his old friend and co-star, Elizabeth Taylor, in Raintree County. Montgomery Clift Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family (1950), (originally written specifically for him; the story perhaps hitting a little too close to home) and High Noon (1952).His long apprenticeship on stage made him a thoroughly accomplished actor, notable for the intensity with which he researched and approached his roles. Curtis's relationship to the term nepo baby has evolved over the last few months. About You see, the reason behind Montgomery Clifts barren dating life was rather simple: He was gay. The accident changed his appearance, and many biographers assumed Clift felt ruined by it and, so, drank more. After the success of 1953sFrom Here to Eternity, Montgomery Clift suddenly stopped making films. Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. A wild exclusive excerpt from the new book, Oscars 2023: Yes, Some Awards Movies Flopped, but Art Matters, How in the F--k Does Anyone Live Here?: Bret Easton Ellis on Life, Art, and What the Hell Happened to Manhattan, Todd Field on 2 Decades of Oscar Campaigns, From, I didnt realize the deadly minefield of a campaign season, the Oscar nominee says in a career-spanning interview. It was reported that Taylor even tried to help him find a partner. If you have a story that tracks along that line, that will feel true to people. But the troubled star. Making Montgomery Clift - Wikipedia Montgomery Clift, in full Edward Montgomery Clift, (born October 17, 1920, Omaha, Neb., U.S.died July 23, 1966, New York, N.Y.), American motion-picture actor noted for the emotional depth and sense of vulnerability he brought to his roles. Carlo Fiore and Marlon Brando were in . Will she ride the term to Oscar gold? She had always been there for him, and once said, Monty couldve been the biggest star in the world if he did more movies. But Taylors dedication to her friend went above and beyond. Clift had a rather negative notion about Taylor even before meeting her. But when he climbed into the room, he discovered something absolutely gut-wrenching. Of course, Clifts words had always been futile in the face of Hollywood. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. In his words, I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with.
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