River of No Return

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Don S Beautiful cinematography, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, and villain Roy Calhoun. Simple little story, done well. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Audience Member Very good movie starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe highly recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, August 23, 2023 Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/23/23 Full Review James P For its time this is a great little movie, good cast, story, and directing; I watch this at least once every year or so. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/10/23 Full Review david f 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. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Liam D A great but overlooked Western This Adventure is a quick but entertaining watch Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/09/21 Full Review matthew d A pleasant Western with Marilyn Monroe! Otto Preminger's Western romance drama River of No Return (1954) is a delightful piece of cinematic history. I loved seeing Marilyn Monroe singing romantic songs for the musical portions in a Western. Her dramatic part is very touching and she has a fun rapport with the tough family man Robert Mitchum. They almost have chemistry, except for my biggest gripe with River of No Return. Preminger's direction keeps you focused on the characters developing their romance, but I just cannot believe that they kept in the pointless near rape scene. How is Marilyn Monroe supposed to fall in love with the nicer guy Robert Mitchum if he tried to assault her and it's immediately brushed off. They're so proud of this gross, dated, and tasteless sequence that it is the centerpiece of the film's poster! I just don't understand what it was supposed to accomplish as the rest of the movie is about love developing naturally and for deep reasons instead of shallow motivation like beauty or money. Marilyn Monroe is as breathtaking as cinematographer Joseph LaShelle's ultra wide Cinemascope shots of Canada's Rocky Mountains in the background. I was captivated by Marilyn's beauty in the wilderness, even during the perilous rapids on the river sequence. Travilla's blue jeans and white blouse costume for Marilyn look as gorgeous on her as the fancy singer dresses. She's playful, compelling, and sincere the entire time. It's Marilyn's innocence that sells how her sweet character Kay Weston could fall for such an obvious treacherous gambler and selfish thief like Rory Calhoun's villain Harry Weston. Calhoun is great at portraying a shifty sleaze. Robert Mitchum's hero Matt Calder feels like he could be a farmer in that time with his deep, slow drawl and words of wisdom. I wish he won more of the fights in River of No Return, but it's ultimately about him teaching his son real values rather than toxic male macho attitudes. He has many great interactions with Marilyn when they're just talking about life, morals, and dreams. Tommy Rettig is excellent as the little boy with his genuine interest in Marilyn, guns, and his father. In all, Otto Preminger gave us a solid Western, that I wish he had cut the sexual assault scene for a perfectly beautiful adventure. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

River of No Return

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