Play Misty for Me

"The scream you hear may be your own!"

1971 1h 42m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 593

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A brief fling between a late-night radio disc jockey and an obsessed female fan takes a frightening turn when another woman enters the picture.

“The scream you hear may be your own!”

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Dave
Jessica Walter
Evelyn
Donna Mills
Tobie
John Larch
Sgt. McCallum
Jack Ging
Frank
Irene Hervey
Madge
James McEachin
Al Monte
Clarice Taylor
Birdie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Jo Heims, Jo Heims, Dean Riesner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $11M — a 14.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dee Barton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carl Pingitore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walter and Donna Mills carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The scream you hear may be your own!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clint Eastwood directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Dee Barton scores. Carl Pingitore cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $11M — a 14.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
355 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dee Barton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Carl Pingitore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walter and Donna Mills carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The scream you hear may be your own!".
9IMDB entry: tt0067588 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "disc jockey", "stalker", "obsessed fan", "jaguar car".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruce Surtees
Original score: Dee Barton
Editing: Carl Pingitore
Costume design: Helen Colvig
Makeup / hair: Ginger Bishop
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $725,000
Box office: $10,600,000
Return: 1462% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Play Misty for Me (1971)

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Clint Eastwood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-06
★ 8/10
Well if you are going to play away Dave... Dave Garver (Clint Eastwood) is a late night disc jockey in Carmel, California. Whilst his girlfriend is out of town he meets and beds a fan named Evelyn (Jessica Walter) who turns out to be the mystery caller to his show who sexily requests the Errol Garner classic tune "Play Misty For Me". Thinking that his night of passion with Evelyn is purely a one off, he starts to become concerned as Evelyn refuses to leave him alone, and things are about to get very out of hand and become very disturbing for all involved. This was Clint Eastwood's first stab (hrr hrr) at directing and it proved to be a very commendable effort as he directs himself in the picture, polishes the production across the board, and then wrapped the film on time and under budget, quite an achievement and it's no surprise that he went on to be a big hitter from behind the camera right up to this present day. Play Misty For Me is a truly tight and engrossing picture, and certainly more of a character study than its slasher shell would suggest. Eastwood (playing against type) plays Garver perfectly weasel like, and it's because of his selfish sexual proclivities, and all round disdain for his actions, that the maelstrom that comes his way is kind of like the reckoning. The picture firmly belongs to Jessica Walter, though, her turn as the irrational psychotic in waiting, Evelyn, is truly magic, lacing sympathetic sadness with outright moments of terror, believable to the point of forcing the audience into an uneasy understanding. It's a mystery (and a crying shame) that Walter didn't go on to be a big star because the marker for major talent was right here. Edgy and darkly fascinating, Play Misty For Me stands up today as a right on the money thriller, and not even the sight of Clint in his over large white underpants can dim the films appeal. 8.5/10
r96sk2022-01-27
★ 8/10
Not convinced it's necessarily a great film per se, but <em>'Play Misty for Me'</em> really does a very good at unsettling the viewer! Jessica Walter is the sole reason for that. As good as Clint Eastwood is, as he makes his directorial debut, Walter gives a superb performance as the unnerving Evelyn Draper - one that'll live in the memory, for sure. Elsewhere on the cast, it's neat to see Don Siegel - one of Eastwood's long time collaborators - make a cameo. I have some minor remarks about this, like the editing is a tad iffy in parts, but all in all nothing important. I'd recommend this, to put it simply.