Dave Garver (Clint Eastwood) is a nighttime disc jockey in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California at radio station KRML. Quite often, after his show, he would head down to the local bar for a nightcap before going home. One night there is a woman, Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter), sitting alone at the end of the bar. Dave and the bartender, Murphy (Don Siegel) play a made-up board game designed to get the young woman’s attention. It works.
Evelyn and Dave strike up a conversation. Evelyn admits that she came to the bar with the intention of meeting Dave. She says that she listens to his program every night and heard him talk about the bar. It turns out that Evelyn is a reoccurring caller to the program. She is the woman who requests that Dave play the song “Misty”, for her. Dave has a girlfriend, Tobie (Donna Mills), but things have been a little strained lately and Dave is not opposed to getting a little on the side. Dave gives Evelyn a ride home and they have sex.
It doesn’t take long for Evelyn’s psychopathic possessive behavior to show. Evelyn begins stalking Dave. Dave tries to go no contact. Things come to a head when Evelyn finds out about Tobie. Evelyn shows up at his house and tries to commit suicide. Evelyn next goes into a tirade at a restaurant where Dave and a prospective boss, Madge (Irene Hervey) are having lunch. Evelyn makes a scene ruining the interview and the potential job. She later breaks into Dave’s house and trashes the place. Dave’s cleaning lady, Birdie (Clarice Taylor), arrives in time to be stabbed by a psychotic Evelyn. Birdie is hospitalized and Evelyn is arrested and sent to a psychiatric facility for observation.
While Evelyn is out of the way, Dave and Tobie rekindle their relationship. When Evelyn gets out of the institution, she calls Dave and tells him that she is moving to Hawaii to get a fresh start. In reality, Evelyn is still stalking Dave and has plans for him and Tobie.
“Play Misty For Me” was released in 1971 and was directed by Clint Eastwood. It is an American psychological thriller. It was the first film that Eastwood directed.
The radio station, KRML, was an actual jazz station in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the call letters being a stylized version of Carmel. Many of the locations used in the film are actual businesses that were around when the film was made. The story was originally set in Los Angeles. Eastwood, who lived in Carmel, had it changed so he could take advantage of his familiarity with the area. A town where, eventually, Eastwood would become Mayor for a short time. Eastwood, who started in westerns such as “Rawhide”, was allergic to horses.
The film includes some scenes from the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Although Dave never actually plays the song “Play Misty For Me” while on air, the song is quietly played on a turntable in the scene just before Evelyn tries to kill Dave, and in the final fadeout.
For the movie being the first time Eastwood was director, he did a good job. Outside of that, Jessica Walter stole the movie.