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==Career== ===Overview=== His article at the Encyclopedia Britannica Online states : "American motion-picture actor noted for the emotional depth and sense of vulnerability he brought to his roles. Along with [[Marlon Brando]] and [[James Dean]], he helped delineate a new paradigm for American cinematic heroes." ===Background=== The Great Depression had hit the Clift family. Their investments worth nothing, their antiques were auctioned off and they moved from their great house in Highland Park, Illinois, to a small apartment on West Ninth Street in the Village in New York City. Sunny took jobs, as a secretary and as a cleaning lady to make ends meet. At this point, Bill became an insurance-policy salesman. Meanwhile, Sunny's restless foot, made her take the children, alongwith their now-tutor Walter Hayward and go rent a house in Sarasota, [[Florida]] for the winter of 1932. Hayward, knew a man who needed a 12-year-old boy for a part in a local production. This is how in March 1933, in Sarasota, Monty made his stage debut in a local theater production of ''As Husbands Go''. On their return to New York, his mother, realizing his potential, took him around to agents, auditions and modeling gigs. He a bit later began appearing regularly on Broadway. His first appearance, at age 13 in ''Fly Away Home''. He would appear on Broadway for about ten years before his first Hollywood films. On 27 Jan 1935, an article in the ''New York Times'' (page X2) by Theron Bamberger about the actors in this play ''Fly Away Home'' mentions Clift prominently. For my purposes now, it gives a few datapoints. The family in 1934 was living in Sharon, Connecticut. The father "William Brooks Clift, well known in Wall Street, where he formerly was a broker, and is now the president of an insurance company." Monty he says "was both handsome and intelligent. He had lived a good part of his life abroad, spoke two European languages fluently and was exceptionally bright....the boy has a natural histrionic instinct which, if he wants to stick to the theatre should take him far." His Encyclopedia Britannica Online article states of this period: "From 1934 to 1945 he performed regularly on and off Broadway, appearing in such notable plays as Robert Sherwood’s There Shall Be No Night (1940), Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), and Lillian Hellman’s The Searching Wind (1944)." After several favorable reviews, Hollywood wanted him, but he rejected many offers looking for just the right vehicle. This would be a constant theme in Clift's career — that he refused to perform in "trashy" productions, which to his mind, were most of them, only seeking the very best which he thought could show his talent and range without typecasting him. ===Films 1946-1950=== His first film work actually started shooting in 1946. This was ''Red River'' with John Wayne, but due to a delay in the release, this film became his second film released. His first being ''The Search'', playing American G.I. Ralph Stevenson in just-post-WWII Germany, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award in the category "Best Actor in a Leading Role". In ''The Search'' Monty finds a young boy, orphaned by WWII and and adopts him, albeit temporarily as the film ends by the boy being re-united with his mother, discovered alive, who had similarly thought her son dead. Bosley Crowther reviewed ''The Search'' for the ''New York Times'' 24 Mar 1948 and about Monty' performance stated that he : "gets precisely the right combination of intensity and casualness into the role...." (Buy it in [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G1GAWU/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000G1GAWU DVD].) Red River, finally released later that same year, "... is considered by many to be one of the best westerns ever made", opines his EB entry. He plays a sensitive cowboy who challenges his adoptive father the rough, hardened, rancher John Wayne. (Buy it in [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304429754/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6304429754 VHS] or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304696612/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6304696612 DVD].) Monty starred as Morris Townsend the possibly-scheming suitor, opposite the heiress Olivia de Havilland as Katherine Sloper in 1949's ''[[The Heiress]]''. (Buy it in [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300183912/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6300183912 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KGGJ1I/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000KGGJ1I DVD].) In 1950 he, as Danny MacCullough starred in the film ''The Big Lift'', about two Air Force sergeants who fall in love with two women in Berlin during the Berlin Air Life. (Buy it in [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000FA66/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00000FA66 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007G1TN/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00007G1TN DVD].) ===Films 1951-1956=== He appeared as "George Eastman" opposite [[Elizabeth Taylor]] as "Ann Vickers" and [[Shelley Winters]] in 1951's ''A Place in the Sun''. Based on a true story, in the film Shelley Winters is his pregnant working-class girlfriend, when he meets the glamourous socialite Elizabeth Taylor and falls for her. Shelley is disposed of by a "tragic accident" when the two of them are out together and she falls overboard and drowns. He is later convicted of her murder. (Read a bit about the true story [http://www.steamthing.com/2006/04/index.html here], and [http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/gillette.htm even more here].) For his work in A Place in the Sun, Monty was again nominated for "Best Actor in a Leading Role". (Buy it in [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300215644/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6300215644 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00124EN2E/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00124EN2E DVD], watch a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZv8HVkT3TY Seven Minute Interview with Liz].) Monty later appeared opposite Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, in arguably his most memorable role in 1953's ''From Here to Eternity'' as Private Robert E Lee Prewitt, and for this work, he was again nominated for "Best Actor in a Leading Role". Prewitt is a complex and tormented soldier who endures ridicule and harassment to stay true to his moral principles. He refuses to join the boxing team, because he had once blinded a man with whom he was boxing. When his friend played by Dean Martin is beaten to death by an officer played by Ernest Borgnine, Prewitt hunts the officer down and kills him in an alley. Prewitt goes AWOL, but then is shot by a sentry when he attempts to return to camp. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800100832/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0800100832 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005JKF6/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00005JKF6 DVD].) His work in these last two films, is considered by some to be the peak of his career, although he continued working until his 1966 death, which subsequently, combined with his drinking and drug abuse, has been called the "longest suicide in Hollywood history." Also in 1953, he starred in Alfred Hitchcock's ''I Confess'', about a Catholic priest who won't break the sanctity of the confessional even if it means risking his own life. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300268594/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6300268594 VHS], [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MPNSUM/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000MPNSUM download] or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002HOEQM/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0002HOEQM DVD].) And he also that year starred in the rather-bad film ''Terminal Station'' also called ''Indiscretion of an American Wife'', opposite Jennifer Jones the then-wife of producer David O. Selznick. The film is about an Italian man who falls in love with an American woman. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304819595/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6304819595 VHS].) ===Accident=== In 1956, Monty was working opposite [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Eva Marie Saint]], the three stars of the film ''Raintree County'', which would be released late the next year on 20 Dec 1957. In this film he plays John Wickliff Shawnessy, a man who drifts away from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither, played by Eva Marie Saint and enters into a passionate, but loveless, marriage with Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor) a wealthy New Orleans belle. He later discovers that Susanna's mother died in a lunatic asylum and that she has inherited the family curse. He leaves home to fight in the Civil War, and reflects on his life. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304366051/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6304366051 VHS], [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CJVNF/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0000CJVNF Book], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I6M5C2/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000I6M5C2 DVD].) On 12 May 1956 during the filming Montgomery had a serious car accident which permanently damaged his looks. He had been at a party thrown by Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband Michael Wilding, at their home in the hills of Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills. Also at the party was [[Rock Hudson]] and his wife [[Phyllis Gates]] (who had been married the past November), and Monty's close friend, fellow-actor Kevin McCarthy. Upon leaving, Monty in his car, ask Kevin McCarthy to drive in front of him down the hill as Monty was unsure of his ability to negotiate the twisting curves in the dark without guidance. His parting words to the group were: "Kevin has to help me down that mountain or I'll drive around in circles all night." On the way down, Monty lost control of his car, rolled it down a hill and smashed it into a telephone pole. Years later, in a 1962 interview on the ''Hy Gardner Show'', Monty stated that he had briefly nodded off. Kevin McCarthy, noticing Monty's headlights no longer behind him, went back and found the car down the hill. He went down to it and at first couldn't see where Monty was because he was down on the floor, and it was very dark. His face was left "a pulpy mess", evidently from being crushed by the steering wheel. Kevin raced back up to Elizabeth and Michael's house: "Monty's been in an accident! I think he's dead!" They called a doctor and an ambulance, while Elizabeth is reported to have run down the hill, climbed over the back seat (as the front doors wouldn't open) and cradled his head in her hands until he was taken to the hospital. She rode in the back of the ambulance, and Phyllis Gates in the front. "His nose was broken, his jaw shattered, his cheeks severely lacerated, and his upper lip split completely in half." (Bosworth, p 2) The doctors did their best to reconstruct his features as they were. It took several weeks for him to recover, but he insisted on finishing the movie. Elizabeth Taylor brought him to the [[Chateau Marmont]], where she leased the penthouse as a place for him to recuperate. Watching the film today, you can notice the odd changes in his appearance in certain scenes that were spliced together. The left-side of his face was virtually paralyzed by the accident, his face appears puffy, and his upper lip and nose have changed. He continued to work, but his appeal had now changed. With no longer the same type of sex appeal he once had, his drinking and drug use became, if possible, more pronounced. ===Final Films=== He appeared opposite [[Marlon Brando]] in 1958's ''The Young Lions'', as Jewish-American soldier Noah Ackerman, training to fight in WWII. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6301797930/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6301797930 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00096S4DA/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00096S4DA DVD].) Monty also that year starred as journalist-turned-advice-columnist Adam White in 1958's ''Lonelyhearts''. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6301973224/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6301973224 VHS].) He next starred as Dr. Cukrowicz in 1959's ''[[Suddenly Last Summer]]'' opposite [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Katherine Hepburn]]. Katherine Hepburn wants her niece Elizabeth Taylor, who has gone insane, lobotomized by the doctor, to prevent her from spilling the secret of how Katherine's son actually died. Watch it here on YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTsJdG0JdoM&feature=related Part 1], or buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RXES/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00004RXES VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004TWZH/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00004TWZH DVD].) In all three of his films with Elizabeth Taylor, he played her love interest. In 1960 he starred in the forgotten film ''Wild River'' as Chuck Glover, a field administrator for the TVA who is overseeing the building of a dam on the Tennessee River. He starred in 1961's ''The Misfits'' with Clark Gable and [[Marilyn Monroe]] (which was her and Clark's last movie). This film tells the story of the chance meeting of a recent divorcee, a horse rustler and a drifter. Watch seven minutes of this film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT7ZO3dQJEI here on YouTube] or buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304056877/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6304056877 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005AUKC/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00005AUKC DVD].) Also that same year he appeared in ''Judgement at Nuremberg'', the story of the 1948 trial of four Nazi-era judges, several years after the war has ended, for their part in sterilization and cleansing policies. Monty played the part of Rudolph Petersen, a mentally-handicapped man for which again he received an Academy Award nomination in the category "Best Actor in a Supporting Role". Also in this film was Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, [[Marlene Dietrich]], and [[Judy Garland]]. (Buy it [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/630396155X/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=630396155X VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002CR04A/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0002CR04A DVD].) Despite four nominations, Montgomery Clift never received an Academy Award. Toward the later part of his life, he became close friends with actress [[Nancy Walker]], best known today as the mother on the TV-series ''Rhoda'' (starring Valerie Harper), and also as TV spokesperson for Bounty paper-towels. In 1962 Monty starred as Sigmund Freud in the semi-autobiographical film ''Freud'', which recounts five years in the life of Freud. That same year he appeared for his first television interview on the ''Hy Gardner Show''. Watch it on Youtube (in five parts) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY2jhfib1bo Part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orPBTzS3JzY Part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwql9VP4K-E Part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_aeC_OgIR0 Part 4], I cannot find Part 5 on YouTube. His last film was the 1966 ''The Defector'' in which he played James Bower, an American physicist recruited by the CIA. (Watch it on YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fYJ4s0l0EY Part 1].) Although he was set to star opposite [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in 1967's ''[[Reflections in a Golden Eye]]'', shooting had not commenced at his death, and his part was subsequently played by [[Marlon Brando]]. (Buy it on [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300268535/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=6300268535 VHS], or [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KHI2FS/102-9279843-7223326?ie=UTF8&tag=countyh-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000KHI2FS DVD], or watch it on YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-d6pcgyBvg Part 1].)
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