Somewhat bizarre and hilarious
Added 2/8/2010
I ordered this DVD having a bit of a Bob Mitchum season of movies - did this man have a great presence on screen or what? I had no idea what to expect from this title. Given Otto Preminger's reputation during his Film Noir years, I thought it might be quite entertaining. Well, it was, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Marilyn Monroe breaking into incongruous ballads with her guitar every 30 mins, trying to pass herself off as a wayward circus performer, yet being made up to look like she's just walked off the set of the Beverly Hillbillies, was quite bizarre. Something happened to American films and costuming about this time, everyone starts wearing denim with the legs rolled up (like Jimmy Stewart in The Man from Laramie) - suddenly everything gets tarted up with a Rockwell-esque brush. The scenes of Mitchum and Monroe obviously on a film set with a grainy film backdrop of rapids behind them is so poorly executed it was also a scream (why they didn't just show us the stagehands rocking the raft from side to side, I'll never know). I imagine Mitchum felt his time hadn't been wasted in the scene where he gets to rub Monroe down from head to toe with her wrapped in nothing but a blanket - a tough gig (that got my attention). I have heard fairly uncomplementary things said about Rory Calhoun's acting ability, but in this I thought he was well cast and played it to perfection. This movie is an interesting cultural document of what was appealing for the times, but it is one rather bizarre experience looking back at it now. Everyone trying a little too hard to appeal to the contemporary fads while trying to tell a 'backwoods' story - doesn't quite gel, for some reason. To complete the picture, the unexplained and inoffensive looking Indians make their appearance just for some drama, but they disappear as quickly as they turned up - of course being mute and burning everything in sight. I was waiting for a ferocious grizzly bear to appear and charge Bob, but no. I wasn't sorry I devoted a couple of hours watching this film - it is still entertaining if largely stretching the credibility gap. Whichever way you look at it, Mitchum and Monroe were at the height of their fame and do their best in a rather lame, silly story. Having said that, there are some interesting scenes as they make their way down the river, especially where they are waylaid by a trio of desperados - that was very well and believably executed. Beware - this review is written by an Australian, so I don't mean to insult American sensibilities, however, this film, in my humble opinion, is largely a bit of Saturday matinee fluff that I suspect both stars took on for the pay cheque rather than the script. Well worth a look, though, overall entertaining and certainly diverting. Sometimes, however, it can be a little scary exploring the film archives of one's parent's generation.
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Good Movie
Added 1/31/2010
I remember seeing this movie as a kid and I always loved the music in the movie. When I saw that Amazon sold the dvd, I had to have it. I still like the movie and the music.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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River of No Return
Added 12/21/2009
The first movie I ever saw as a kid. It brought back great memories and I think it was one of Monroe's best movie.
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One of my top ten all time favorite movies
Added 7/13/2009
This is one of those movies that I never tire of...I can't even count the times I've seen it. The first time I saw it, I felt a rush of emotions. The first one was embarassment @ the way Marilyn over-enunciated her words in it, but I understand that was @ the prompting of her acting coach. I was much younger then & a huge Marilyn fan, nonetheless. The song she sang to Tommy Rettig "Down In The Meadow" should be covered by Alison Krauss...it is so sweet & beautiful & I loved the tender way she related to him...it made me reflect on the tragedy of her never having her own children. The scene where Robert Mitchum warms her up when she was sick was "WHOA!" Everybody can call it chemistry...it was hot. & her performance of "Who's Gonna File My Claim?" made me want to perform the song the same way...she just knew the way it should be done. Another favorite scene was when the Indians (as we so unapologetically called them in the olden un-PC days) attacked them on the raft. Throughout the music hit just the right note of fatalistic mystery...after all, this was the River of No Return & even tho I know how it ends now, I still find the music exactly right. There are other memorable scenes...in fact, nearly every scene is a revelation of some truth we should all believe. If anybody ever wants to see why Marilyn Monroe was such a big deal & Robert Mitchum a huge box office draw, this is the movie to show them. The only down side to seeing this movie is that I never quite felt the same about Rory Calhoun after seeing it.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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not one of her best movies
Added 5/18/2009
This was not one of Marilyn's best drama roles. Loved her in Don't Knock and Niagra but this wasn't as good.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Somewhat bizarre and hilarious
Added 2/8/2010
I ordered this DVD having a bit of a Bob Mitchum season of movies - did this man have a great presence on screen or what? I had no idea what to expect from this title. Given Otto Preminger's reputation during his Film Noir years, I thought it might be quite entertaining. Well, it was, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Marilyn Monroe breaking into incongruous ballads with her guitar every 30 mins, trying to pass herself off as a wayward circus performer, yet being made up to look like she's just walked off the set of the Beverly Hillbillies, was quite bizarre. Something happened to American films and costuming about this time, everyone starts wearing denim with the legs rolled up (like Jimmy Stewart in The Man from Laramie) - suddenly everything gets tarted up with a Rockwell-esque brush. The scenes of Mitchum and Monroe obviously on a film set with a grainy film backdrop of rapids behind them is so poorly executed it was also a scream (why they didn't just show us the stagehands rocking the raft from side to side, I'll never know). I imagine Mitchum felt his time hadn't been wasted in the scene where he gets to rub Monroe down from head to toe with her wrapped in nothing but a blanket - a tough gig (that got my attention). I have heard fairly uncomplementary things said about Rory Calhoun's acting ability, but in this I thought he was well cast and played it to perfection. This movie is an interesting cultural document of what was appealing for the times, but it is one rather bizarre experience looking back at it now. Everyone trying a little too hard to appeal to the contemporary fads while trying to tell a 'backwoods' story - doesn't quite gel, for some reason. To complete the picture, the unexplained and inoffensive looking Indians make their appearance just for some drama, but they disappear as quickly as they turned up - of course being mute and burning everything in sight. I was waiting for a ferocious grizzly bear to appear and charge Bob, but no. I wasn't sorry I devoted a couple of hours watching this film - it is still entertaining if largely stretching the credibility gap. Whichever way you look at it, Mitchum and Monroe were at the height of their fame and do their best in a rather lame, silly story. Having said that, there are some interesting scenes as they make their way down the river, especially where they are waylaid by a trio of desperados - that was very well and believably executed. Beware - this review is written by an Australian, so I don't mean to insult American sensibilities, however, this film, in my humble opinion, is largely a bit of Saturday matinee fluff that I suspect both stars took on for the pay cheque rather than the script. Well worth a look, though, overall entertaining and certainly diverting. Sometimes, however, it can be a little scary exploring the film archives of one's parent's generation.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Good Movie
Added 1/31/2010
I remember seeing this movie as a kid and I always loved the music in the movie. When I saw that Amazon sold the dvd, I had to have it. I still like the movie and the music.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
River of No Return
Added 12/21/2009
The first movie I ever saw as a kid. It brought back great memories and I think it was one of Monroe's best movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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