Play Misty For Me

Clint Eastwood is Dave, a super-cool Monterey DJ, who soothes night owls with laid-back easy listening jazz and takes his rewards in casual sex. It's a damn good gig until a one night-stand proves to be a visit to hell in the form of an obsessed fan, Evelyn, played to good effect by Jessica Walter. Redolent with period style (check out Dave's bachelor pad) Eastwood's directorial debut was one of the year's hits and has managed to hang on to its reputation as a movie for and of its time..

It is a cautionary tale about promiscuity but in the early days of female liberation, one that made the innovative move of dealing with a man preyed upon by a woman (those interested in the theme should check out its later reincarnation, Fatal Attraction, 1987). For the most part this combination of cool style and stalker tension carries the movie although Eastwood lets it get away from him in the latter part, falling back on generic thriller tropes. 

FYI: Don Seigel who plays the colluding barman directed Eastwood in Dirty Harry released the same year a film that gave us one of Eastwood's most iconic screen roles.

 

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