Finishing the Picture

"Finishing the Picture" is a play by Arthur Miller that draws from the tumultuous production of the film "The Misfits," which Miller wrote for his then-wife, Marilyn Monroe. The play explores the behind-the-scenes drama and personal struggles of the cast and crew during the filming of "The Misfits".1

"The Misfits" itself is a 1961 American film drama directed by John Huston, notable for being the final movie for screen legends Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. The film tells the story of aging cowboys who capture wild horses for slaughter, paralleling the characters' own feelings of obsolescence and hopelessness with the fate of the animals. The production of "The Misfits" was marked by personal difficulties for Monroe and ended tragically with the deaths of Gable shortly after filming and Monroe less than a year after the film's release.2