Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

River of No Return

Play trailer Poster for River of No Return TV-PG 1954 1h 31m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
60% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
After serving a prison sentence, farmer Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) returns to his 19th-century Pacific Northwest gold rush town and retrieves his adolescent son, Mark (Tommy Rettig). Meanwhile, good-hearted barroom singer Kay (Marilyn Monroe) is heading downriver with her boyfriend, Harry (Rory Calhoun), to explore a potential gold claim. When their raft sinks, Harry robs Matt of his gun and horse to continue without Kay on land. Sailing downriver toward the claim, the trio plan their revenge.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

River of No Return

Critics Reviews

View More
Variety Staff Variety 10/23/2007
The striking beauties of the Canadian Rockies co-star with the blonde charms of Marilyn Monroe and the masculine muscles of Robert Mitchum in River of No Return. Go to Full Review Empire Magazine 10/23/2007
Some decent performances, but with this story they didn't have much of a chance. Go to Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 10/23/2007
One of the first films to discover the potential of CinemaScope and a fine example of Preminger's rational approach to the mysteries of personal morality. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Aug 23
8/10
The predictability doesn’t stop the film from being consistently entertaining, even without a significant amount of originality for the Western genre. Go to Full Review Josephine O'Neill Daily Telegraph (Australia) 03/26/2019
Marilyn Monroe here meets the West for the first, and, I am sure, the last time. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/17/2012
C+
Though nicely shot in CinemaScope, this Western is not one of director Otto Preminger's or stars Robert Mitchum's and Marilyn Monroe's strong films. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Bill B @RT38216115 Apr 19 Sure it’s corny. But nevertheless iconic. See more Kevin A @RT53451703 06/21/2025 My take is, considering when it was made ,it still holds up extremely well, some critics nitpick performances , but I say any time I can watch young MITCHUM AND MONROE with great cinematography man I'll take it. Definitely Hollywood royalty, good watch..sEnuff said ABERNATHY . See more 08/23/2023 Very good movie starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe highly recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, August 23, 2023 See more James P @RT66446657 06/10/2023 For its time this is a great little movie, good cast, story, and directing; I watch this at least once every year or so. See more david f @dfulmer 10/22/2022 This film has got really spectacular scenery of the Canadian Rockies, which is almost worth the cost of admission alone. The story is nicely integrated into the landscape, scenery, and setting, with an epic voyage over river rapids to register a claim to a gold mine. Lots of western cliches in this one - gun fights, Indians, and landscapes - but handled in a very entertaining way. Plus Marilyn Monroe singing and dancing. This is a great studio film. See more lanfranco c @Lanfrancobz 10/01/2018 A strong man, as it was usual in the past... See more Read all reviews
River of No Return

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Otto Preminger

Director

Robert Mitchum

Matt Calder

Marilyn Monroe

Kay Weston

Rory Calhoun

Harry Weston (gambler)

Tommy Rettig

Mark Calder

Murvyn Vye

Dave Colby (prospector)

More Like This

View All
Love Me Tender 58% 65% Love Me Tender Watchlist Warlock % 75% Warlock Watchlist My Darling Clementine 100% 85% My Darling Clementine Watchlist The Tall Men 80% 63% The Tall Men Watchlist The Far Country 100% 75% The Far Country Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

River of No Return

River of No Return (1954) River of No Return (1954) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After serving a prison sentence, farmer Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) returns to his 19th-century Pacific Northwest gold rush town and retrieves his adolescent son, Mark (Tommy Rettig). Meanwhile, good-hearted barroom singer Kay (Marilyn Monroe) is heading downriver with her boyfriend, Harry (Rory Calhoun), to explore a potential gold claim. When their raft sinks, Harry robs Matt of his gun and horse to continue without Kay on land. Sailing downriver toward the claim, the trio plan their revenge.
Director
Otto Preminger
Producer
Stanley Rubin
Screenwriter
Louis Lantz, Frank Fenton
Distributor
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, CBS/Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 30, 1954, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Magnetic Stereo 6 Track