River of No Return
Dir: Otto Preminger
1954
**
I’m not sure why River of No Return is still so fondly remembered, I can only guess that it has everything to do with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe and nothing to do with the story or script but even then, it’s clear that Mitchum is drunk half the time and obvious that Monroe wasn’t enjoying herself. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who is said to have borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves, although I don’t quite see it myself. Set in the Northwestern United States in 1875, the film focuses on 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 a boomtown tent city in search of his ten-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 took off for the hills. Matt promises Mark, a virtual stranger to him, the two will enjoy a life of hunting, fishing and farming on their homestead. Kay's fiance, 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 homemade log raft, and when they encounter trouble in the rapids 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. When Matt refuses, Harry knocks Matt unconscious and steals both hore and rifle. Kay chooses to stay behind to take care of Matt and Mark, and the three are stranded in the wilderness. When hostile Indians 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 their discussion, and Matt is forced to reveal the truth about his past 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 a series of trials and tribulations, including a hilarious mountain lion attack; gold prospectors Sam Benson and Dave Colby, who are after Harry for stealing their claim; and a second Indian war party. After a difficult ride through the worst of the rapids (basically having buckets of water thrown at them for five minutes), 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, a renunciation of her old life. Otto Preminger was preparing for the opening of The Moon Is Blue when 20th Century Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck assigned him to direct River of No Return as part of his contract with the studio. They really wanted either William Wellman, Raoul Walsh, or Henry King to helm the film, and the producers were concerned Preminger, who he felt was better suited for film noir, melodrama or sophisticated comedy, would be unable to rise to the task of directing a piece of Americana. Preminger himself had no interest in the project until he read the screenplay and saw potential in the story. He also approved of Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, who already had been cast in the lead roles and everything seemed set. However, problems arose fairly early on in the film’s production. Monroe was accompanied by Natasha Lytess, her infamous acting coach. Preminger clashed with the woman 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. Preminger called the producers in Los Angeles and insisted Lytess be banned from the set, but when the producers complied with his demand, Monroe called them directly and asserted she couldn't continue unless Lytess returned. The studio commiserated with Preminger but, feeling Monroe was a major box office draw they couldn't afford to upset, so they reinstated Lytess. Angered by the decision, Preminger directed his rage at Monroe for the rest of the production. 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. Monroe nearly drowned while filming in Jasper, Canada. 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. 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. Mitchum – a great actor but a miserable drunk – disliked Rettig and was open about it, for me Rettig easily outshines the two big stars. The two lead performances couldn’t have been more lethargic. I hate it when I hear friends state they hate westerns and they hate musicals – I argue with them and suggest several films that will change their minds – but I have to admit I struggle with musical westerns. The music in River of No Return is forgettable and unnecessary. The story is about as thin as it gets and when you see Monroe ducking in anticipation from the buckets of water the crew are throwing at her just out of shot, it kind of spoils the illusion that they are really out in the wilderness. A lot of the film is outside and the scenery is lovely, but it isn’t really the reason why most people have sat down to watch it. Basically, Monroe and Preminger were forced to do the film against their will, due to contractual obligations and it really shows. During post-production, Preminger departed for Europe, leaving editor Louis R. Loeffler and producer Stanley Rubin to complete the film. Jean Negulesco was called in to film a few retakes. The dailies 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. 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. In later years, Monroe claimed River of No Return was her worst film, and Preminger spoke bitterly about her in numerous interviews. It was not a happy film and nor is it an entertaining one. Indeed, the most interesting things about the film in fact had nothing to do with either story, the cast or direction. The film was the very first films to use a blood squib to simulate realistic bullet impact. This occurs when Harry (Rory Calhoun) is shot dead in the film's climax. As such, the film beats Run of the Arrow (1957) - which is often credited with being the first to use blood squibs - by three years. This movie was also the first to be filmed in CinemaScope in Canada. River of No Return was the first film released by 20th Century-Fox to feature the "CinemaScope extension" fanfare before the opening credits. Written by Alfred 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 to Panavision in 1967, they went back to their old fanfare, so the extension fanfare wasn't used again until it was revived by George Lucas to play before the opening credits to Star 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. Other than that the film is uninteresting and forgettable. It certainly wasn’t just the mountains that were rocky and I think these days it will only appeal to old men who yearn for the time when you could just grab a women, fling her on your back and take her home, claiming her as your own.