michfilippou I was really disappointed, i was expecting more from this film.The beautiful scenery is the only thing positive i can say about this movie.I didn't enjoy the film due to its racist content!It wasn't enough that Americans destroyed their land and murdered their race they make Indians appear hostile,villains and without manners.That's why it was hard for me to sympathize any of the protagonist(Matt,Kay etc.). Marilyn is pretty as always and sings lovely but that alone cant make the film better.It has bad special effects(especially on the river). About the story not much is going on, there is not much action.In general i would only suggest it because Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum are the protagonists and you're a fan.I really enjoyed though the scene in the beginning where Padre (the priest) says:"i came here as a missioner to the Indians but the white men need me more"

Vilan Trub There are westerns and then there is River of No Return. We have seen black listed characters, reformed cons and courtesans, and those from the outer fringes of a western frontier on screen before. It isn't until River of No Return,however, that we see characters that we can truly believe have been to prison, shaved with cold water, or any for that matter, and have made money selling nothing but themselves. Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe bring a reality to the underworld of a time gone past that John Wayne could never hope to imagine. This is not to say that Stagecoach isn't a masterpiece, it's just a declarative statement that with Otto Preminger's 1954 throwaway we truly have a diamond in the rough.The movie opens with Robert Mitchum's character, Matt Calder, roaming through a Dodge City'esq village trying to locate his son. He is an ex-con and makes it very clear that his only goal is to peacefully raise his kin. With these first shots, Otto Preminger creates an environment we immediately believe to be riddled with scum and trash. Calder appears as a master navigator of this ocean, one with genuine and admirable intent, and the audience is invited to put down their popcorn and enjoy the ride. The movie offers everything one would want out of the western genre (actually filmed in Canada). It's intense and gritty and we get to take a peek into a side of life we only dare take with a life preserver around our waist. We then hear a voice and get to lay our eyes on Kay Weston, played by Marilyn Monroe. It appears as though she's been waiting at that saloon for years before a camera crew happened to stop by and film a Hollywood production. It is Kay's boyfriend who robs Matt Calder forcing the group to travel down the river in search of the stolen property. The first act carries through naturally and beautifully and before you know it you're watching what has already become one of your favorite movies. Then some stuff happens.The movie has sequences, especially those taking place on the river, that are beyond dated. The effects are difficult to watch without laughing and the fights appear to be choreographed by Jack Horner (the director from Boogie Nights). The reason why these sections of the picture are so difficult to watch is because they are always sandwiched by some of the most beautiful and poetic filmmaking the screen has ever seen. Where John Wayne's character in Stagecoach is from the beginning an advocate of the prostitute he is traveling with, Matt Calder looks down upon his travel-mate. The developing sentiment between them is troubled but invited, it is interesting and feels like something we're more familiar with from a 1970's anti-western. The duo, along with Calder's son, arrive at the town of the final showdown. What happens is unexpected and reminds the audience that they are not just watching another movie.In all the movie is uneven but beautiful. What could have been a masterpiece was instead left to rot, evident from the apathy the director must have had for his material. What the viewer must remember is to enjoy what is right about the movie and to accept the faults for what they are. In the end River of No Return will be a rewarding adventure and introduce a new generation to just how cool Robert Mitchum really was. A coolness that could still be used in cinema today. As for Marilyn Monroe, she does what she's unfairly forced to do with every picture she participated in, proves she can act.

john-jopaog WOW, no wonder Marilyn Monroe is a timeless Icon, what beauty, what class what charm and what a soulful voice, she could of been just a great singer, she did it all.... And I don't know to what extent her guitar playing was but if sure looks to me like she was playing the guitar, could of been open tuning.... Norma Jeane, timeless vibrations you gave us Dear, Thru ages-never another talent will be your peer....... You left us lovely Goddess way to soon, see you act and dance, feel your soul croon... Yes it came thru on the silver screen, millions of devoted fans on your divine feminine team. Too soon you left us, our tears testify, Jolton Joe Knew and loved my oh my... Yes our 1st lady of sexual flame, burned out to fast, it was them who were to blame............ We all love you Marilyn

kenjha A rancher tames white water rapids and a sultry woman as they take a raft trip down a river. Mitchum is solid as the no-nonsense hero. Monroe gets to warble a few songs and her singing is not terrible. The same can't be said of her acting. She really needed an actor's director to coax out a good performance, and Preminger was not that type of director. In fact, Preminger is incompetent in pretty much everything he does in this Western, a foreign genre for him. The scenes of Indian attacks are quite poorly staged. The rafting scenes, often utilizing projected background, look cheesy. Rettig, who started on the "Lassie" TV series the same year as this movie, does OK as Mitchum's son.