Montgomery Clift

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Monty Last Updated: 6/22/22
Real Name: Edward Montgomery Clift
Born: October 17, 1920
Died: July 23, 1966 (aged 45)
Height: 5' 9"

Grade: B-
Actor/Movie Star: 80%-20%
Prime Years: 1948-53
Most Famous Film: From Here to Eternity (1953)
Most Infamous Films: Raintree County (1957) and The Misfits (1961)
Masterpiece: From Here to Eternity (1953)
Outstanding: Lonelyhearts (1958)
Honorable: The Heiress (1949)

Opinion: Nominated for four Oscars with zero wins despite appearing in only 17 motion pictures because of his extreme selectivity, calling over 99% of the scripts that came his way "crap," Montgomery Clift gave the best performance of his career in From Here to Eternity. Nothing else had ever been that good, and it's the only one I think the most of him as an actor. In fact, he should've won the Oscar in a tie with Burt Lancaster, not William Holden of Stalag 17 who frankly admitted they were better than him.

Unfortunately, Montgomery Clift was never the same again, having fallen off precipitously. Heavy theatrical training was evident, but he tended to be too serious while displaying a lot of artificialness and did the same type of role over and over. Therefore, he should've done more films, especially in different genres like horror and comedy. Starting with Raintree County and all the way to the end, he seemed brain-damaged much of the time.

Confirmed: Nicknamed "Monty." Had a twin sister. Was hirsute. Could've won Tom Cruise look-alike contests for a period of time. Spoke German and French fluently. Was very proficient at ice skating. Started acting in theaters at a young age and did broadway plays with some well-known thespians. Had great success with plenty of acclaim, receiving offers from MGM, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox but turned them all down. Was a perfectionist at heart in everything he did. Met Van Johnson once during high school.

Elizabeth Taylor always wanted to marry Montgomery Clift, but he kept turning her down. Despite their close friendship, he and Kevin McCarthy were never homosexual lovers. However, they stopped being friends by the time The Misfits was underway (Montgomery Clift thought Kevin McCarthy was using him to advance his career; then again, he thought of the same thing for many others). Was bisexual, not strictly homosexual as believed. Solicited male prostitutes for a long time. Was derisively nicknamed "Princess Tiny Meat" because of his small penis.

Described as a Renaissance man. Was a big movie buff who often went to theatres to stay on top of his peers. Struggled with amoebic dysentery all his life and never found a cure for it. Didn't get along with John Wayne (who called Montgomery Clift an "arrogant little bastard") or Olivia de Havilland while making Red River and The Heiress, respectfully. Got stepped on his toes very hard by Paul Douglas for purposefully squeezing him out of the frame during the filming of The Big Lift. Redid most of the dialogue for The Search which angered two replacement writers but ironically won them an Academy Award for Best Story. Came up with the idea for West Side Story by thinking of Romeo and Juliet but with rival gangs that's set in New York City.

Sunset Boulevard was originally written for Montgomery Clift in mind, but he decided to back out of it at the last minute, enraging Billy Wilder. Became a full-blown pill-popping alcoholic by 1949, hence his constant jumpy, restless, and bizarre behavior. Was prone to frequent hallucinations and blackouts. Often lost balance and fell down yet could stay completely sober from start to finish during filming, no matter how long it took, because he cared about his craft. Very self-absorbed and liked to talk about himself a lot. Was invited to a party for author James Jones, and they started to converse which led him to be cast for From Here to Eternity that hadn't started filming until two years later. Reached the pinnacle of his career when the movie was theatrically released, but he completely fell apart afterwards.

Didn't do anything for three years until Raintree County came along. Knew it was a bad movie to begin with but did it for only two reasons: a chance to work with Elizabeth Taylor again and he was flat broke. On May 12, 1956, she, along with her husband Michael Wilding, pressured him to attend their small party, but he kept saying "no" over and over until the last minute because he was too tired. Then, the car accident happened, smashing his face which resulted in broken teeth. Believe or not, he wasn't drinking heavily that night, having only one glass of wine.

Afterwards, his jaw was wired for weeks while the left side of his face became permanently immobile. Some said it was the beginning of the end for Montgomery Clift, but the truth is: he was already falling apart long before then. Never had a plastic surgery during the whole ordeal (the rumor is that he did, but if you compare his face between before and after the accident, it looks essentially the same).

Although rivals, he and Marlon Brando had a healthy respect for each other, and the latter, like many, tried to get the former to stop destroying himself and begged him to join Alcoholics Anonymous. When Montgomery Clift refused to, saying that he didn't have a drinking problem, Marlon Brando conclusively labeled him as a "lost cause." It would be clear that things were getting bad for Montgomery Clift when Marilyn Monroe said: "He's the only person I know who's in worse shape than I am."

Because of constant problems on Freud, Hollywood finally had enough of Montgomery Clift who got sued for misusing his disability claim re cataracts, but he won the lawsuit. As a result, he was deemed "uninsurable" and barely got work anymore. Was also turned down for Alan Arkin's role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

Only did The Defector, in spite of the horrible script, to prove he could still act and had plans to star in Reflections in a Golden Eye but was found to be a physical wreck by then. Lost a lot of weight and literally looked dead toward the end of his life. Asked by his caretaker at 1 AM if he wanted to see The Misfits on TV, and Montgomery Clift angrily responded back, "Absolutely not!" Five hours later, he was found dead of a heart attack.

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