Tragically self-destructive

Just a few weeks after the Freep Film Fest comes the Cinetopia Film Festival. The big difference between the two is the Freep Fest is only documentaries and the Cinetopia Fest includes feature films, though the four I plan to see this year are all documentaries.

The one I saw today was Making Montgomery Clift made by his nephew Robert Clift. The actor had a film career from 1948 until his early death in 1966 at age 45. He was quite handsome, which attracted Hollywood’s attention. But towards the end of his career he was described as “tragically self-destructive,” “tormented,” and, because of his drinking, committing “the longest suicide in Hollywood history.” Robert Clift made the film to find the truth.

The filmmaker had a lot to work with. His father and Monty’s brother, Brooks Clift, recorded everything and saved all the memorabilia about Monty.

The reason for the “torment” was Monty was bisexual, having affairs with women and men, with his final live-in lover a man. In the early 1960s gay men were supposed to be tormented. And Monty’s first biographer set out to prove exactly that. He even pulled in all the “reasons” why men become gay, such as being too closely attached to his mother. Brooks found that one to be weird – so why was Brooks not gay?

So when a second biographer wanted to write Monty’s story Brooks became quite involved. He wanted to protect his brother’s reputation. But he was ultimately betrayed by the publishers. It was better than the first biography, but still not good.

That “longest suicide” supposedly happened after a car crash in 1856 that severely injured Monty. He relied on pills and alcohol for the rest of his life, as the Hollywood story goes.

But Robert says not so fast. Monty made as many movies after the accident as he did before. He wasn’t suicidal. He had a lot to live for. He wasn’t tormented over his sexuality. Robert thinks the decline didn’t happen until after Monty appeared in a film directed by John Huston. Robert thinks Huston was appalled that Monty had a gay tryst after one of Huston’s parties and Huston blamed all the production difficulties on Monty.

As for the reputation of “troubled” Robert says it is from the 1961 movie Judgment at Nuremberg. Monty’s character has a mental breakdown onscreen. A lot of Hollywood thought Monty played the scene so well because the actor was having a mental breakdown.

One other aspect of Monty’s career was discussed. While young he was a well known stage actor. But he continually refused Hollywood’s riches because those came with multi-year contract that required him to take whatever role the studio handed him. But Monty wanted full control of the roles he played.

That even included rewriting dialog, both his own and that of other characters. In his first film, The Search, Monty rewrote a lot. That must have been to great effect because Monty was nominated for best actor in a leading role and the writers won for best screenplay. Monty didn’t share that win because he wasn’t a credited writer.

When the Judgment move came along the studio wanted Monty for the lead. Monty wasn’t interested in that character – too boring. But he was so fascinated with the character who has the breakdown he offered to do the role for free.

This particular film was shown in Ann Arbor. The others I plan to see will be in Royal Oak and Detroit. After the late afternoon movie I planned to go to a small restaurant for supper. As I got close to it I saw the street was blocked off to cars for a street fair, another part of Cinetopia. And a band, on a stage just outside the restaurant, was starting to play. It was going to be way too loud for me in that restaurant. I went home.