Clint Eastwood’s Only Scary Movie is Back on Netflix

“You ever find yourself being completely smothered by somebody?”

Magic Symbol: Water Winter updated on
Jessica Walter in Play Misty For Me (1971).

Clint Eastwood is an iconic American actor and director. He became famous for acting in westerns and then playing tough guys like Dirty Harry. With over 100 film credits, Eastwood has uncredited roles in horror movies like Revenge of the Creature (1955), Tarantula (1955) and even has an uncredited cameo in Casper (1995), but Play Misty for Me is his only substantial role in a movie that could be considered scary. It’s worth mentioning that he starred in the Southern Gothic The Beguiled (1971) which has horrifying moments, though it’s classed as a dramatic thriller and lacks the suspense of Play Misty for Me.

Seven years after he played a Carmel-by-the-Sea radio DJ, Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of the California town and served for two years. It was Eastwood who changed the location of the film from Los Angeles to the small seaside town north of Big Sur.

Eastwood’s directorial debut, Play Misty for Me is a psychological thriller that also stars Eastwood as Dave Garver, a radio DJ in the small California town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. At a bar after work, Dave meets Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter), a beautiful woman who reveals herself to be a fan and frequent caller of his radio show. Dave recognizes her as a woman who calls in to request the jazz standard “Misty”. He offers Evelyn a ride home and the two have sex.

Known for playing Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, Jessica Walter plays an obsessed fan in Play Misty for Me (1971).

While Dave tries to keep the relationship casual, Evelyn tries to keep it anything but casual, revealing an obsessive love for the disc jockey that predated their affair. Evelyn begins to act out, showing up uninvited to Dave’s home and interrupting a work meeting out of unhinged jealousy. When he breaks up with Evelyn, she attempts death by suicide by cutting her wrists.

When Dave continues to set boundaries with Evelyn, she breaks into his home and stabs his housekeeper for which she is arrested and incarcerated. However, it isn’t long before Evelyn is released and is again calling into Dave’s radio show to request he play “Misty” for her. It becomes clear that Evelyn feels that if she can’t have Dave, no one can.

A fun Easter egg in Dirty Harry (1971) is that Eastwood passes by a theater showing Play Misty for Me.

Play Misty For Me was a modest financial and critical success. Jessica Walter received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her role. After not appearing on streaming platforms for a few years, Play Misty for Me is now back on Netflix.

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Meet The Author

Chrissy is the co-founder of Creepy Catalog. She has over 10 years of experience writing about horror, a degree in philosophy and Reiki level II certification.

Chrissy Stockton