| River of No Return | |
|---|---|
_film_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Otto Preminger |
| Written by | Louis Lantz |
| Screenplay by | Frank Fenton |
| Story by | Louis Lantz |
| Produced by | Stanley Rubin |
| Starring | Robert Mitchum Marilyn Monroe Tommy Rettig Rory Calhoun |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
| Edited by | Louis R. Loeffler |
| Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,200,000[2][3] |
| Box office | $3.8 million[4] |
River of No Return is a 1954 AmericanWesternmusical film directed byOtto Preminger and starringRobert Mitchum andMarilyn Monroe. The screenplay byFrank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italian filmBicycle Thieves.[5] The picture was shot on location in theCanadian Rockies inTechnicolor andCinemaScope and released by20th Century Fox.
Set in theNorthwestern United States in 1875, the film focuses on taciturn widower Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum), who has recently been released from prison after serving time for killing one man while defending another. He arrives in aboomtowntent city in search of his nine-year-old son Mark (Tommy Rettig), who was left in the care of dance hall singer Kay (Marilyn Monroe) after the man who brought him there, as Matt had arranged, abandoned him. Matt promises Mark that the two will enjoy a life of hunting, fishing and farming on their homestead.
Kay's fiancé, gambler Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun), tells her they must go to Council City to file the deed on a gold mine he won in a poker game. They head downriver on a log raft, and when they encounter trouble in therapids near the Calder farm, Matt and Mark rescue them. Harry offers to 'buy' Matt's rifle and horse so as to reach Council City by land, but he'll only pay for them when he comes back which could be seen as a threat to steal. When Matt refuses because he needs the gun for protection, Harry knocks Matt unconscious and steals both horse and rifle. Kay chooses to stay behind to take care of the injured Matt and Mark. Harry agrees as he will travel quicker without her.
When hostileIndians attack the farm, the three are forced to escape down the river on Harry's raft. That night they set up camp by the river, and Matt and Kay argue about the wisdom of pursuing Harry. Matt asks why Kay would choose to marry a man who had endangered a child, whereupon she reminds him that Harry never killed a man like Matt did. Mark overhears them, and Matt is forced to reveal the truth to his son, who is unable to comprehend why his father acted as he did.
As the three continue their journey, Kay comes to appreciate Matt's bravery and the tender way he cares for both her and Mark. Along the way, they are forced to deal with such things as the Rapids, Kay getting soaked and chilled, amountain lionattack; gold prospectors Sam Benson and Dave Colby, who are after Harry for stealing their claim; and a second Indian war party.
Eventually the three arrive in Council City and confront Harry. Harry shoots at Matt, prompting Mark to shoot Harry in the back, using a rifle that he was inspecting in the general store. As a result, Mark comes to understand why his father had to shoot a man in a similar fashion so many years before.
Afterwards, Kay finds a job at the local saloon. While she is singing there, Matt walks into the saloon and throws Kay over his shoulder to take her back to his farm along with Mark. She happily leaves with him. The final scene is Kay throwing her high heeled showgirl shoes from their buckboard into the street, as a way of saying goodbye to her old life.
Otto Preminger was preparing for the opening ofThe Moon Is Blue when20th Century Fox executiveDarryl F. Zanuck assigned him to directRiver of No Return as part of his contract with the studio. Because of their previous experience with Westerns, producer Stanley Rubin had wantedWilliam Wellman,Raoul Walsh, orHenry King to helm the film, and he was concerned Preminger, who he felt was better suited forfilm noirmelodrama or sophisticated comedy, would be unable to rise to the task of directing a piece ofAmericana. Preminger himself had no interest in the project until he read the screenplay and saw potential in the story. He also approved ofRobert Mitchum andMarilyn Monroe, who already had been cast in the lead roles.[7]
Zanuck decided the film should be made in CinemaScope and increased the budget accordingly. Much of it would be filmed inBanff andJaspernational parks,Lake Louise inAlberta and theSalmon River in Idaho where the story actually takes place. Director Preminger and producer Rubin flew to the area to scout locations. During their time there, Rubin grew fond of the director and began to feel that rather than viewing it as a contractual obligation, Preminger had a real interest in making the film.[8]
Rubin scheduled twelve weeks of preproduction, during which Monroe rehearsed and recorded the musical numbers written byKen Darby andLionel Newman, and forty-five days for filming.
The cast and crew departed forCalgary in late June 1953. From there they traveled by special train to theBanff Springs Hotel, which would serve as their base during the Canadian filming.[9]
Monroe was accompanied byNatasha Lytess, her acting coach. Preminger clashed with the coach from the very start. She insisted on taking her client aside and giving her direction contrary to that of Preminger, and she had the actress enunciating each syllable of every word of dialogue with exaggerated emphasis.[10] Preminger called Rubin in Los Angeles and insisted Lytess be banned from the set, but when the producer complied with his demand, Monroe called Zanuck directly and asserted she couldn't continue unless Lytess returned. Zanuck commiserated with Preminger but, feeling Monroe was a major box office draw he couldn't afford to upset, he reinstated Lytess. Angered by the decision, Preminger directed his rage at Monroe for the rest of the production.[11][12]
During the difficult shoot, Preminger also had to contend with frequent rain, Mitchum's heavy drinking, and an injury to Monroe's ankle that kept her off the set for several days and ultimately put her in a cast.[13] Monroe nearly drowned while filming. She had donned chest-high hip waders during rehearsal to protect her costume. She slipped on a rock, the waders filled with water, and she was unable to rise. Mitchum and others jumped in the river to rescue her but her ankle was sprained as a result.[14] Young Tommy Rettig seemed to be the director's sole source of solace. He respected Rettig's professionalism and appreciated the rapport he developed with Monroe, which often helped keep her on an even keel. When Lytess began to interfere with Rettig's performance, thereby undermining his confidence, Preminger let the cast and crew know about her behavior and was delighted to find they finally began to support him in his efforts to remove her from the set.[11][15]
In early September, filming shifted to Los Angeles for interior scenes and close-ups for a river sequence. The latter was filmed in a tank, whereasstunt doubles were used in the long shots filmed on location inIdaho in the actual River of No Return, theSalmon River. Monroe was on crutches, and Preminger had to work around her as much as possible. Despite frequent disagreements with Rubin, Preminger completed the film on September 29, on schedule and within the budget.[11]
The film was one of the first films to use ablood squib to simulate realistic bullet impact. This occurs when Harry (Rory Calhoun) is shot dead in the film's climax. As such, the film beatsRun of the Arrow (1957) – which is often credited with being the first to use blood squibs – by three years.
This movie was the first to be filmed inCinemaScope inCanada.River of No Return was the first film released by 20th Century-Fox to feature the "CinemaScope extension" fanfare before the opening credits. Written byAlfred Newman, it's a rerecording of his original 1933 fanfare, with the extra few bars that play under the credit "20th Century-Fox presents A CinemaScope Production". After Fox switched toPanavision in 1967, they went back to their old fanfare, so the extension fanfare wasn't used again until it was revived byGeorge Lucas to play before the opening credits toStar Wars. This time, those few extra bars played under the credit " A Lucasfilm Production". Since then it's been re-recorded a few times but remains to this day the intro to every film released by that studio.
Veteran circus animal trainer Pat Anthony stood-in for Robert Mitchum's character for the cougar attack scene.
Duringpost-production, Preminger departed for Europe, leaving editorLouis R. Loeffler and Rubin to complete the film.Jean Negulesco was called in to film a few retakes. Thedailies reconfirmed Rubin's belief that Preminger had been the wrong choice for the project. He felt the director had failed to capture the Western aura, had ignored key elements in the plot, and had perfunctorily directed action sequences, leaving them looking staged and static. In several cases, studio and location shots didn't match.[11]
Preminger's experience on the film convinced him he never wanted to work as a studio employee again, and he paid Fox $150,000 to cancel the remainder of his contract.[16][17]
In later years, Monroe claimedRiver of No Return was her worst film, and Preminger spoke bitterly about her in numerous interviews. It wasn't until January 1980, when being interviewed for theNew York Daily News, that he conceded, "She tried very hard, and when people try hard, you can't be mad at them."[18]
TheRiver of No Return had its worldpremiere inDenver, Colorado on April 29, 1954; and released theatrically in the United States inNew York on April 30, 1954 and inLos Angeles on May 5.[19]
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film on Region 1 DVD on May 14, 2002. It is inanamorphic widescreen format with audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English and Spanish.[20] In the United States 20th Century Fox released the film onBlu-ray disc on July 31, 2012 for the first time with the originaltheatrical trailer as the sole extra feature.[21]
Bosley Crowther of theNew York Times observed, "It is a toss-up whether the scenery or the adornment of Marilyn Monroe is the feature of greater attraction inRiver of No Return ... The mountainous scenery is spectacular, but so, in her own way, is Miss Monroe. The patron's preference, if any, probably will depend upon which he's interested in. Certainly, scriptwriter Frank Fenton has done the best he could to arrange for a fairly equal balance of nature and Miss Monroe ... And that should not be too lightly taken. For Director Otto Preminger has thrown all the grandeur and menace of these features upon the eye-filling CinemaScope screen. A sickening succession of rapids, churned into boiling foam, presents a display of nature's violence that cannot help but ping the patron's nerves. The raft tumbling through these rapids is quite a sight to see. And layouts ofRocky Mountain landscapes are handsome in color, too. But Mr. Mitchum's and the audience's attention is directed to Miss Monroe through frequent and liberal posing of her in full and significant views."[22]
Variety said, "The competition between scenic splendors of the Jasper and Banff National Parks and entertainment values finds the former finishing slightly ahead on merit, although there's enough rugged action and suspense moments to get the production through its footage. In between the high spots, Otto Preminger's directorial pacing is inclined to lag, so the running time seems overlong."[23]
TV Guide rated it3+1⁄2 out of four stars, calling it "a simple, frequently charming, and beautifully photographed film blessed with fine performances and great teamwork from Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe" and "an enjoyable, engaging little Western that never fails to entertain."[24]
Film4 called it a "patchy drama which owes more to its gorgeous scenery and musical numbers than it does to anything else ... The plot doesn't convince, but Monroe, at the peak of her career, is more than easy on the eye ... Despite some pretty locations and occasional tension, there's little going on. A shallow river indeed."[25]
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