Play Misty for Me (1971) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Evelyn became obsessed with Dave after hearing his voice on the radio at KRML. She deliberately sought him out at the bar where he regularly visited, revealing that she had been looking for him after hearing his name on the air. What began as a passionate encounter quickly revealed her unstable psychology, as her obsession stemmed from a deep need for attention and control rather than genuine romantic interest.

Foreshadowing: Early in their meeting, Evelyn admits she came to the bar intentionally to find Dave, showing her calculated pursuit from the very beginning.

• evelyn draper
• obsession
• krml radio
• stalking
• psychological thriller

Evelyn found Dave after hearing his name mentioned on his own radio show. She deliberately traveled to Carmel-by-the-Sea and tracked him down to his favorite local bar, where she approached him during his regular after-show routine with the bartender.

• evelyn draper
• finding dave
• krml radio
• stalker

Evelyn attacked Birdie, the housekeeper, as an act of vengeance against Dave after he rejected her following her suicide attempt. When her manipulation through self-harm failed to keep Dave with her, she turned her rage toward someone close to him, breaking into the house and injuring Birdie as a way to hurt Dave indirectly.

Foreshadowing: After Evelyn's suicide attempt, Dave definitively ends the relationship, which triggers her shift from desperate manipulation to violent revenge.

• birdie
• housekeeper attack
• evelyn revenge
• vandalism

After Evelyn was released from the psychiatric hospital, she contacted the radio station requesting the song "Misty", the same song that had become their personal anthem during their relationship. She quoted Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee," revealing she had not moved on from her obsession. That same night, she broke into Dave's home with a knife intending to kill him, though Dave narrowly escaped the attack.

Foreshadowing: Evelyn's eerie reference to "Annabel Lee" during the radio call foreshadows her later deception when she infiltrates Tobie's life under the name Annabel.

• evelyn release
• psychiatric hospital
• misty song
• annabel lee poem
• parole

Unbeknownst to Dave, Evelyn was released from the psychiatric hospital and cunningly inserted herself into Tobie's life by posing as a new roommate named "Annabel." This alias was directly taken from the Edgar Allan Poe poem she had quoted earlier, making it a deliberate psychological connection to her obsession with Dave. Tobie welcomed her in without knowing her true identity.

Foreshadowing: Evelyn's earlier reference to "Annabel Lee" on the radio call directly foreshadows this deception, as she adopts the poem's name as her disguise.

• tobie
• evelyn roommate
• annabel deception
• infiltration

"Misty" was the song that marked the beginning of Dave and Evelyn's relationship, making it deeply significant to her obsession. When Evelyn called the radio station requesting "Misty" after her release, it was both a nostalgic reference to their past and a threatening message to Dave that she was still connected to him. The song plays again at the end of the film as Dave and Tobie escape, symbolizing Dave finally breaking free from Evelyn's grip.

• misty song
• request
• erroll garner
• radio station
• symbolic ending

Tobie eventually recognized the truth about her roommate "Annabel" when she saw the fresh scars on Evelyn's wrists from her suicide attempt. Despite discovering this damning evidence, Tobie was unable to escape before being captured by Evelyn, who had been systematically planning her confrontation with Dave.

• tobie
• evelyn identity
• wrist scars
• discovery
• captured

Dave left his live radio show because he received a frantic call from Tobie, or rather, Evelyn intercepting the call, revealing that both women were waiting for him at his home. Realizing Tobie was in grave danger, Dave switched his broadcast to pre-recorded music and rushed home to confront Evelyn, abandoning his show mid-broadcast.

• dave leaves show
• radio station
• pre-recorded music
• tobie danger

During the climactic confrontation, Evelyn attacked Dave with a knife, slashing at him repeatedly. In the struggle for survival, Dave managed to overpower her, delivering a blow that sent Evelyn crashing through a glass window. She fell from the house onto the rocky shore below, where she died from the fall.

• evelyn death
• fall
• window
• rocky shore
• showdown

Yes, Tobie survived. She was bound and gagged by Evelyn when Dave arrived home, but Dave rescued her during the confrontation with Evelyn. After Evelyn's death, Dave and Tobie escaped the house together, finally free from her threat.

• tobie survival
• rescued
• bound and gagged
• escape

Evelyn attempted suicide as a desperate manipulation tactic after Dave repeatedly rejected her. She cut her wrists in his home hoping this dramatic act would make him stay with her. When Dave rebuffed her once more, specifically in response to her blackmail efforts over her injuries, the relationship fully collapsed, leading Evelyn to seek revenge through violence instead.

Foreshadowing: The suicide attempt marks the turning point where Evelyn's obsession shifts from desperate clinging to vengeful violence against Dave and those around him.

• suicide attempt
• wrist cutting
• manipulation
• blackmail

Dave contacted detective McCallum to have his phone tapped because he was apprehensive about Evelyn's potential wrath after her release from the psychiatric hospital. He feared she would contact him or attempt to reach Tobie, and wanted to anticipate her next move before she could act.

• phone tap
• detective mccallum
• police
• precaution
• surveillance