I Need More Monty!

Why is it every where I turn I see James Dean..calendars, posters, mousepads? I enjoy all 3 of his films but there might be some truth behind what has been said about all 3 characters being..well basically the same character. Don't get me wrong, he was one of a kind...a rebel. Does this thrill of him come from the mystery of him? What would have happened if he survived his car accident? What if his looks were damaged? Coul dhe have "survived" in Holloywood as an actor? Another question I would like to put out there is what would have happened if Montgomery Clift HAD died in his car crash in 1956? Would he have been an ICON as big as Dean, Monroe, Elvis? Think of all the movies he released prior to the accident: The Search, Red River, The Heiress, The Big Lift, A Place in the Sun, I Confess, From Here to Eternity and Indiscretion of an American Wife. Great films and all very different characters! But why isn't there more of Monty? Why doesn't he get the respect he deserves? He was the 1st! It was CLift, Brando then Dean. I've read much about Clift and brando hating Dean and was even bothered by this "kid". Why can't I find a Monty lunch box or mug like I can of Dean? Can't say it's his questionable sexuality...Dean had that too. Maybe we know too much of Monty...his addictions and distaste for the Hollywood" lifestyle. I don't really know...but I wish there was more love for Montgomery Clift...and just plain more Monty out in the world. I would really LOVE that Monty lunchbox...oh and a calendar...even better, Monty bed sheets. I'd love to "sleep" with Monty what about Clift coasters for my Monty tumbler full of "orange juice" (as he liked to put it). I just need MORE Montgomery Clift!!!!

Just had to share this...

Adele Mailer Interview: Glimpses of Monty

interviewed by American Legends

Adele married Norman Mailer whose first novel, The Naked and the Dead, had skyrocketed him to fame in 1948.Their stormy marriage was partly fictionalized in The Deer Park, Mailer's 1955 novel which he later adapted as a play. During the marriage, Adele and Norman met and entertained many of the writers and actors who were part of the intellectual life of the city. Adele deals with some of these friendships in her own memoir of that period, The Last Party. Here, in an exclusive interview with American Legends, conducted via telephone from her home in New York, Adele Mailer recalls a glimpse of a friend named Montgomery Clift.


AL:
How did you first meet Monty Clift?

AM:
It was a party at Libby Holman's brownstone in New York. She had been a nightclub singer in the thirties. Libby was ambitious and very beautiful. Truman Capote brought us there. Clift and Holman were going together. She and Monty seemed close. Most people thought they were lovers. He picked these mother figures.

AL:
What was the young Monty Clift like?

AM:
He was shy, soft spoken, almost halting. Very much like he was on the screen. I thought he was very sweet.

AL:
Clift later visited you and Norman in Provincetown.
AM:
Monty came up for a weekend. He was with Mira Rostova--his acting coach. She was Russian. They spent a lot of time together. Monty was then a big star. He drew these huge crowds everywhere he went. It was wild. People would come up to the table while we were eating lobster. Monty wasn't annoyed. He was nice about it. He had class.

AL:
Did you see Monty after Provincetown?

AM:
He was usually on the coast. But when Norman was casting The Deer Park, Monty read for one of the parts. I think it was for Charles Eitel, the blacklisted director. He gave a good reading. This was at our apartment on Perry Street, in the Village. I hadn't seen Monty since the terrible car accident he had had in Hollywood. When I opened the door, I didn't recognize him. I was shocked. It was a different face. You see it in the film, Raintree County, his face was all patched together. But the accident was something you didn't talk about. You didn't bring it up, and he didn't bring it up.

AL:
Monty wasn't cast in The Deer Park.

AM:
Mailer liked Clift a lot. But I don't know what happened. I don't know whether he couldn't do it, or he wasn't interested. He always had a movie.

AL:
You and Norman once gave a party that both Monty and Marlon Brando attended. How did they get along?

AM:
I was busy hostessing, so I just caught a glimpse of Monty. He and Marlon seemed wary of each other. In fact, they ignored each other. Brando was competitive with Monty, I heard. Didn't that make sense? They were the two comers.

AL:
So much has been written about Montgomery Clift's self-destruction and his ambivalence about women.

AM:
At parties, most of the time he was drunk. Most of us were too. He was a good kisser--I can tell you that. Certainly, he was interested in women. He may have been bi.

AL:
How would you describe Monty Clift at a glimpse?

AM:
God, he was tortured. He was driven. You felt an underlying sadness. Even without knowing anything about him. Some people you know without knowing anything about them.


So interesting what she said about Monty and Brando....I've read so much about them being friends.

The Passion of Montgomery Clift by Amy Lawrence is due out March 2010! I'm looking forward to it. Monty is MY passion. Such a great actor and so incredibly handsome.

Here's a description on the new book:

From his 1948 film debut in Red River through such classics as The Heiress, A Place in the Sun, and From Here to Eternity, Montgomery Clift exemplified a new masculinity and—leading the way for a generation of actors, including Marlon Brando and James Dean—epitomized the new naturalistic style of acting. Clift's impact was such that, both during his troubled life and after his untimely death, fans described the actor in religious terms, characterizing Clift as a vision, acolyte, and martyr. In The Passion of Montgomery Clift, Amy Lawrence challenges the myth of Clift as tragic victim by examining Clift's participation in the manipulation of his image, his collaborations with directors, his relationships with costars, and his interactions with writers.

I've already pre-ordered my copy!!!

Hugs & Kisses to you Monty