Bus Stop (1956)

A naive but stubborn cowboy falls in love with a saloon singer and tries to take her away against her will to get married and live on his ranch in Montana.

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

George Axelrod (screenplay), William Inge (based on the play by)

Stars:

Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marilyn Monroe	...	Cherie
Don Murray	...	Beauregard 'Bo' Decker
Arthur O'Connell	...	Virgil Blessing
Betty Field	...	Grace
Eileen Heckart	...	Vera
Robert Bray	...	Carl
Hope Lange	...	Elma Duckworth
Hans Conried	...	Life Magazine Photographer
Max Showalter	...	Life Magazine Reporter (as Casey Adams)

Storyline

Innocent rodeo cowboy Bo falls in love with cafe singer Cherie in Phoenix. She tries to run away to Los Angeles but he finds her and forces her to board the bus to his home in Montana. When the bus stops at Grace's Diner the passengers learn that the road ahead is blocked. By now everyone knows of the kidnapping, but Bo is determined to have Cherie.

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Plot Keywords:

cowboy | montana | love | bus | singer | 

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Taglines:

The coming of age of Bo Decker...and the girl who made him a man!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1956 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Wrong Kind of Girl

Filming Locations:

Ketchum, Idaho, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Marilyn Monroe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Green top with black-lace like overlay Marilyn Monroe wears (pictured on US DVD cover) had originally been worn by Susan Hayward several years earlier in same studio's With a Song in My Heart.

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Goofs

When Grace receives a call at the diner that the roads are open, she wakes up Carl and helps him put on his shirt. In the next scene Carl is putting on his shirt again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Beauregard 'Bo' Decker: Are you ready, Virge?
Virgil Blessing: Anytime.
Beauregard 'Bo' Decker: Turn him out!
[calf is released from chute]

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Connections

Spoofed in Playboy: The Best of Anna Nicole Smith (1995)

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Soundtracks

"The Right Kind"
(1948) (uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Don George and Charles Henderson

User Reviews

Dumb Story & Murray's Stupid Role Overshadows Marilyn

I recently saw a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and it was mentioned that Marilyn called "Bus Stop" her favorite film in which she acted. She thought she did her best work in that film and it legitimized her as a serious actress. This was one of the few films of hers I had never seen so I was very anxious now to see this, especially on widescreen. Well, it was disappointing: not because of Marilyn - she was fine - but the story was incredibly stupid.

Part of the problem might be the way our society has changed, although I doubt even 50 years ago - when this film came out - a guy could do what "Bo Decker" (Don Murray) did in here and get away with it. Nonetheless, to watch this brainless idiot - in a crowded nightclub - chase a woman down, rip off half of her dress, break into her dressing room, follow her out the window to a bus station, lasso her and kidnap her by dragging her onto the bus.....and have NOBODY even attempt to stop him during all of this (and more) is a real insult to any viewer's intelligence. No police? No security? No harassment, et al?

The story, like Murray's character who has fewer brains than the rodeo animals he's battling, is just plain dumb. Monroe ("Cheri") and friend Eileen Heckart ("Vera") are fine, as is the other main character, "Virgil" (Arthur O'Connell) but Murray is so loud, abrasive and stupid that he ruins the movie. He - not Monroe - dominates the film, unfortunately.

Thankfully, Monroe is.....well, Monroe, so all is not lost watching this movie but this screenplay is so dated and so moronic you'll cringe watching the film.