Featured Flick: River of No Return

VisionTV presents Marilyn Monroe Week, five nights and five movies starring Hollywood’s most glamorous leading lady. Starting at midnight, August 5, watch Monroe in her most famous films: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Misfits, River of No Return, Some Like it Hot and Niagara. Click on each title for details on the movie and a retrospective look at what it meant to her career and her reputation. And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments below.

Today’s Feature: River of No Return (1954) — Wed. Aug.7 Midnight on VisionTV

Director: Otto Preminger

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum

Plot: Set in the Northwestern U.S. in the 1870s (but filmed in Canada) Matt Calder (Mitchum) is a farmer who helps out a Harry and Kay Weston (Calhoun and Monroe) who have lost control of their raft on the river. When Harry abandons them, Calder and Kay try to escape an Indian attack by taking the raft down the river.

Memorable line: None

50 years later: What makes this film memorable is definitely not the plot or acting but that it was shot amidst the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Banff’s National Park. The storyline is weak and the always overly self-critical Monroe later called it her worst film. Preminger, the film’s director, agreed with her assessment but later softened his tone. “She tried very hard, and when people try hard, you can’t be mad at them.”