River of No Return Movie Review
River of No Return Review
"River of No Return" Overview

Rating: NR
1954
Cast and Crew
Director : Otto PremingerProducer : Stanley Rubin
Screenwiter : Frank Fenton
Starring : Robert Mitchum,Marilyn Monroe,Rory Calhoun,Tommy Rettig
Marilyn's western. You can still hear her complaining about the working
conditions.
Robert Mitchum drags saloon singer Marilyn and a young boy (Tommy Rettig), his
son, along the titular, treacherous river, as he seeks vengeance against the
guy (Rory Calhoun) who burned down his cabin. And the guy happens to be
Marilyn's husband!
Incidents along the ride downriver are fairly typical of the genre -- a cougar,
Indians, the scheming femme fatale -- and of course the leads fall in love when
they aren't singing (that's Mitchum crooning the title track.) The lovely
scenery is unfortunately broken by some awful rear-projection effects, with
Mitchum and Monroe piloting a raft that's clearly on the backs of a bunch of
grips -- while a production assistant splashes them with water.
Oddly, it's the appearance of Rettig's sidekick kid that makes the film sort of
worth watching, even though his dialogue is hilariously out of character.
Featured as part of the restored set of Monroe classics in The Diamond
Collection II (see links at right).
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Review by Christopher Null
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