
Disc jockey Dave Garver (Clint Eastwood) attracts the amorous attentions of a demented fan named Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter). Evelyn lets Dave pick her up at a bar. Later at her apartment, Evelyn admits that she is the cooing caller who repeatedly asks Dave to play the Erroll Garner classic "Misty". From then on, this movie is a lesson in how one casual date can turn your whole life around. Evelyn stalks Dave everywhere, ruins his business lunch, assaults his maid, mutilat... (Full plot summary below)
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Disc jockey Dave Garver (Clint Eastwood) attracts the amorous attentions of a demented fan named Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter). Evelyn lets Dave pick her up at a bar. Later at her apartment, Evelyn admits that she is the cooing caller who repeatedly asks Dave to play the Erroll Garner classic "Misty". From then on, this movie is a lesson in how one casual date can turn your whole life around. Evelyn stalks Dave everywhere, ruins his business lunch, assaults his maid, mutilates his house and all of his belongings, and finally threatens to butcher his girlfriend Tobie Williams (Donna Mills). You'll never be able to hear that song again without looking over your shoulder.
Leave your thoughts about Play Misty for Me.
| Nolan's Pop Culture ReviewMichael A. SmithEarly Clint behind the camera shows the promise to come. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertPlay Misty for Me is not the artistic equal of Psycho (1960), but in the business of collecting an audience into the palm of its hand and then squeezing hard, it is supreme. It doesn't depend on a lot of surprises to maintain the suspense. There ARE some surprises, sure, but mostly the film's terror comes from the fact that the strange woman is capable of anything. |
| CinePassionFernando F. CroceClint Eastwood's first film as a director, and first investigation into the anxiety at the root of the Eastwood persona |
| The DissolveKeith PhippsEastwood didn’t overreach with Play Misty For Me. It’s a tense thriller that’s inside his comfort zone in more ways than one. But he does overdeliver in the best way. Co-star Jessica Walter plays an obsessed fan, and Eastwood wrings every ounce of tension from a scenario in which a casual affair turns into a life-threatening mistake, and the film executes a potentially trashy scenario with respect for its audience. |
| eFilmCritic.comRob GonsalvesClint's direction is sometimes shaky but usually assured, and he gets a bold performance from Jessica Walter. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrClint Eastwood wisely chose a strong, simple thriller for his first film as a director (1971), and the project is remarkable in its self-effacing dedication to getting the craft right—to laying out the story, building the rhythm, putting the camera in the right place, and establishing small characters with a degree of conviction. |
| Empire MagazineRob FraserThe Man With No Name faces a whole lot of pain in Clint's thrilling directorial debut. |
| Flipside Movie EmporiumRob VauxAs syrupy as it plays at times, it did spawn the genre of Obsessed Stalker movies, and showed the first signs that Eastwood could do more than act. |
| TimeJay CocksOn an informal Richter scale of movie terror, Play Misty for Me registers a few gasps, some frissons and at least one spleen-shaking shudder. A good little scare show, in other words, despite various gaps in logic and probability. |
| VarietyVariety StaffFor that 80% of the film which constitutes the story, the structure and dialog create a mood of nervous terror which the other 20% nearly blows away. |