DODGER THOUGHTS' JON WEISMAN ON "THE MISFITS"

I started this blog site with the intention of writing about movies, baseball, baseball movies, and the ways the two fields of interest can unexpectedly intersect. But up to this point, though I've written plenty about film, I haven't devoted a whole lot of space to baseball, primarily because my enthusiasm for the sport far outstrips my knowledge of its intricacies and history and my ability to write eloquently and intelligently about it. And I've yet to visit and explore in print that special connection that binds baseball to some of the most important events, people and works of art in my life.

So I was really pleased when I checked in on Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts site this morning and found this well-written and thoughtful piece on the 1961 John Huston film The Misfits, a film written by the late Arthur Miller starring Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Some might wonder why, beyond his general enthusiasm and appreciation for it, the editor of Dodger Thoughts would give over so much space to an article about a film apparently unrelated to baseball or the Dodgers (he cites The Misfits as his favorite film). But, as Jon wrote to me in an e-mail this morning, "The Misfits is all about the human condition, and my love of baseball is secretly all about my human condition, so even though baseball is nowhere in that movie, I see a thread."

Jon weaves that thread eloquently in his article today. I intend to take it home and read it again tonight, when I can kick off my shoes, experience it (and reimagine the film) all over, and be inspired by some good writing. Enjoy.