Play Misty for Me is an essential watch for Clint Eastwood fans for a number of reasons. First of all, it marks Eastwood’s directorial debut. Second of all, it was written by Dirty Harry writers Jo Heims and Dean Riesner. And thirdly, with its gripping storyline and Jessica Walter’s Golden Globe-nominated performance, it’s one of the best thriller movies of all time.
Starring Eastwood as Dave Garver, a radio disk jockey, the film focuses on a female fan’s dangerous obsession with him (Jessica Walter), which soon develops into stalking after they have a one-night stand.
With an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the Clint Eastwood movie was a critical win. However, because it was released the same year as Dirty Harry, another one of Eastwood’s best movies, Play Misty for Me was somewhat overshadowed. So, it’s just as well that the film is now new on Amazon Prime.
In an interview with author Stuart Kaminsky, which formed part of his book ‘Clint Eastwood’, the actor and director explained what exactly attracted him to his best drama movie in the first place, as well as its surprising origin.
“Play Misty for Me was taken from a true story,” he explained. “Jo Heims, who wrote the story, worked it up, fictionalizing it. What appealed to me about the script is that there are incidents like this in everyone’s life, to some degree, this whole thing of interpretation of commitment, or misinterpretation of commitment.”
“A girl may say: Sure, I feel the same way; I don’t want any part of marriage. But then next week, slowly, there’s that kind of throwing a blanket over a person. ”
He continued, “This is a very important part of the film because that’s the thing that makes it personal to the audience as opposed to just a horror movie. If you’ve had any kind of experience in your life where somebody has just tried to move in too fast, or has just held on too hard; I think everybody has had something like that. It’s something that could happen.”
If you want to read more about all-consuming love stories, check out our lists detailing the best romance movies, best Valentine’s Day movies, and best rom-coms of all time. Or, if you’re after something a little darker, you might be more into our list of the best horror movies.