Play Misty for Me

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Play Misty for Me

R

1971

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Popular radio show host Dave Garver becomes restless in his relationship with his girlfriend. Impulsively, he goes out and sleeps with a woman he meets at a nightclub. After the fact, he finds out she was not an anonymous hookup, but an obsessive fan who has called in repeatedly to request he play the song "Misty." Garver soon discovers extricating himself from the woman will be no easy feat as she becomes increasingly psychotic.

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Critics Consensus

A coolly calculating psychological thriller that manages to scare the audience even if it is just using textbook thrills.

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Jay Cocks

TIME Magazine

Aug 30, 2009

Eastwood displays a vigorous talent for sequences of violence and tension. He has obviously seen Psycho and Repulsion more than once, but those are excellent texts and he has learned his lessons passing well.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Apr 8, 2008

For that 80% of the film which constitutes the story, the structure and dialog create a mood of nervous terror which the other 20% nearly blows away.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Apr 8, 2008

Clint Eastwood wisely chose a strong, simple thriller for his first film as a director, and the project is remarkable in its self-effacing dedication to getting the craft right.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Mar 9, 2023

3.5/5

While it’s hardly (Eastwood's) best directed film, you get good tastes of the filmmaker he would become all throughout “Misty”.

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Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

Jan 28, 2023

Look, if you’re an up-and-coming actor directing a film for the first and possibly last time, why wouldn’t you devote 4.2% of the total running time to Donna Mills having sex with you under a waterfall?

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Dec 28, 2021

6/10

The sexual politics may be terribly dated, and its portrayal of mental illness typically inaccurate, but there is a solid, old-fashioned potboiler at work here.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 5, 2026

Play Misty For Me is a *4* star Movie!

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Huntin P

@PaxVobiscum80 Sep 20, 2026

Clint's directorial debut was Fatal Attraction for the 1970s. Tense and genuinely alarming, but also romantic and tender by turns. It helped market Roberta Flack's then mostly overlooked (now immortal) rendition of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. For my part, I could have done without the long sequence at the jazz festival, but I understand why it's there. The moral of the story? Don't do one night stands, but if you must, always go to her place.

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Claudio C

@Claudio666 Sep 5, 2026

One of the Best Thrillers of the 70's (12,663 – 17 Jun 1998 / 13 Oct 2005 / 04 Sep 2026) The debut of Clint Eastwood as director could not have been better. The low budget "Play Misty for Me" (1971) has a simple, but frightening story, which was ripped off at least in the famous "Fatal Attraction" (1987) and the teen version "Swimfan" (2002). The magnificent landscape and locations in the beautiful city of Carmel are another attraction. The performance of Jessica Walters is awesome, changing naturally her behavior from a sweet to an aggressive person, really incorporating her character. Clint Eastwood is very cool and Donna Mills very gorgeous. The break of tension when Evelyn is arrested and Dave and Tobie's routine returns to normal is magnificent, with the couple dating, going to festival, making love, increasing the suspense after the plot point in this classic and one of the best thrillers of the 70's. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Perversa Paixão" ("Wicked Passion")

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Matthew L

@Mattog1 Jun 14, 2026

Amazing thriller. Cast and story was great.

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Hans H.

@HansHans Jun 2, 2026

Loved the scene’s of Carmel by the Sea. Clint was Mayor of this city. Movie builds at a decent pace. His acting is superb and so is the want to be girlfriend who slowly shows how wacky she is. Sit back and enjoy Mr Eastwood. He’s a giant of an actor.

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown May 30, 2026

Psycho fan of radio host (Eastwood) will do anything to be with him. Spot on crazy. Film gets lost here in there in the 2nd half with random jazz festivals and the like.

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Clint Eastwood

Director

Clint Eastwood

Dave

Jessica Walter

Evelyn

Donna Mills

Tobie

John Larch

Sgt. McCallum

Irene Hervey

Madge

Play Misty for Me: Official Clip - Home Invasion

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Synopsis

Popular radio show host Dave Garver becomes restless in his relationship with his girlfriend. Impulsively, he goes out and sleeps with a woman he meets at a nightclub. After the fact, he finds out she was not an anonymous hookup, but an obsessive fan who has called in repeatedly to request he play the song "Misty." Garver soon discovers extricating himself from the woman will be no easy feat as she becomes increasingly psychotic.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Robert Daley
Screenwriter: Jo Heims, Dean Riesner
Production Co: Malpaso Company, Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 1h 42m

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