Milton Lanyon
Album of Original Drawings and Photographs from the Set of The Misfits, 1961
Photo album; with drawings (9), color photographs (10), and silver prints (3)
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Milton Lanyon, a painter and photographer who taught at San Jose State College for a number of years, assembled this album of his photographs and paintings from the set of...
Milton Lanyon, a painter and photographer who taught at San Jose State College for a number of years, assembled this album of his photographs and paintings from the set of John Huston’s 1961 western "The Misfits", written by Arthur Miller and starring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, and Marilyn Monroe. Lanyon’s connection to the film, if he had any sort of official connection, is unclear. He is neither listed in the film’s credits nor is he included among the cast and crew on IMDB. What is irrefutable is that he spent some of September, 1960 on set, capturing the actors, crew, and the location.
The drawings, which were accomplished in a variety of media, primarily show cowboys on horseback and at the saloon. One particularly striking piece, accompanied by a photograph of the same location on the opposite page, depicts three cowboys standing outside the town church, the Nevada hills and mountains in the background. "The Misfits" would be the last completed film for Gable, who died early the next year. Two photographs capture Gable in conversation with Miller, and he is the subject of three drawings, including an unmistakable profile portrait with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
It is not surprising to note that Monroe does not appear in any of the photographs. "The Misfits" was her final completed film, too, and was filmed as her marriage with Miller was dissolving. At the time of filming, she was a heavy drinker and using drugs. The final page of the album includes a typewritten poem from Lanyon which refers to Monroe as “a shut-in.” Huston said in a 1981 interview that he was “absolutely certain that [Monroe] was doomed. There was evidence right before me almost every day. She was incapable of rescuing herself or of being rescued by anyone else.”
The drawings, which were accomplished in a variety of media, primarily show cowboys on horseback and at the saloon. One particularly striking piece, accompanied by a photograph of the same location on the opposite page, depicts three cowboys standing outside the town church, the Nevada hills and mountains in the background. "The Misfits" would be the last completed film for Gable, who died early the next year. Two photographs capture Gable in conversation with Miller, and he is the subject of three drawings, including an unmistakable profile portrait with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
It is not surprising to note that Monroe does not appear in any of the photographs. "The Misfits" was her final completed film, too, and was filmed as her marriage with Miller was dissolving. At the time of filming, she was a heavy drinker and using drugs. The final page of the album includes a typewritten poem from Lanyon which refers to Monroe as “a shut-in.” Huston said in a 1981 interview that he was “absolutely certain that [Monroe] was doomed. There was evidence right before me almost every day. She was incapable of rescuing herself or of being rescued by anyone else.”