River of No Return (1954)

The titular river unites a farmer recently released from prison, his young son, and an ambitious saloon singer. In order to survive, each must be purged of anger, and each must learn to understand and care for the others.

Directors:

Otto Preminger, Jean Negulesco (uncredited)

Writers:

Frank Fenton (screenplay), Louis Lantz (story)

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Matt Calder
Marilyn Monroe	...	Kay Weston
Rory Calhoun	...	Harry Weston
Tommy Rettig	...	Mark Calder
Murvyn Vye	...	Dave Colby
Douglas Spencer	...	Sam Benson

Storyline

Matt Calder, who lives on a remote farm with his young son Mark, helps two unexpected visitors who lose control of their raft on the nearby river. Harry Weston is a gambler by profession and he is racing to the nearest town to register a mining claim he has won in a poker game. His attractive wife Kay, a former saloon hall girl, is with him. When Calder refuses to let Weston have his only rifle and horse, he simply takes them leaving his wife behind. Unable to defend themselves against a likely Indian attack, Calder, his son and Kay Weston begin the treacherous journey down the river on the raft Weston left behind.

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Plot Keywords:

song | singer | singing | indian attack | dubbed singing | 

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Taglines:

MARILYN MONROE...Sultry, flaming, exciting as never before - on a desperate river journey...experiencing the violence and madness of desperate men!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Music | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1954 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Fluß ohne Wiederkehr

Filming Locations:

Salmon River, Idaho, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,195,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was not the first meeting of Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. Mitchum had worked at Lockheed Aircraft with Monroe's then first husband James Dougherty. The two had met on at least one occasion during the mid 1940's.

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Goofs

The chords Kay plays on the guitar do not match the chords necessary for that particular song.

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Quotes

Matt Calder: Next time you try anything like that, I'll forget you're a woman.

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Connections

Featured in Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001)

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Soundtracks

Red River Valley
(uncredited)
Traditional
Heard in the mining town

User Reviews

The 3 Big M's - Mitchum, Monroe & The Mountains

If you seriously think that teaming up 2 of Hollywood's biggest, most bankable and hottest stars of the 1950s together in the same picture would totally ignite sparks of pure ecstasy flying this way, and that, then think again.

Unfortunately for us all - In "River Of No Return", any on-screen chemistry that was generated between Mitchum & Monroe amounted to being nothing more than a complete fizzle, and that was about all.

I'd say that a lot of this picture's glaring faults rested squarely on the shoulders of its demanding director, Otto Preminger, who obviously understood nothing about the advantage and benefit of filming its dynamically attractive stars in close-ups. In my opinion, close-ups are a vitally important part of producing a real quality picture.

Another serious problem that plagued this film's story was that way-way too many of its scenes set in the beautiful outdoors were actually shot in front of back-projection screens. This, to me, was a sure-fire way of thoroughly sabotaging an adventure film that featured such grand and majestic scenery as this one did.

Set in the year 1875 - River Of No Return was something of a "Father & Son" tale where Mitchum feigns toughness, Monroe lip-syncs her songs, and Tommy Rettig (as Mitchum's on-screen boy) actually steals the show in this film's climatic finale.

*Note Of Interest* - All of the exterior scenes for River Of No Return were shot in the Canadian Rockies, which included Banff National Park, as well.

Anyways - Considering all of the high-potential that clearly prevailed in River Of No Return, if you ask me, this picture certainly could have (and should have) been a helluva lot better than it was.