I like Otto Preminger's films, and I came across this channel surfing. River of No Return was watchable but somewhat of a disappointment of a disappointment at the same. The scenery is glorious and the cinematography is lovely. The music is also a nice touch, and I liked the songs Monroe sang. Preminger directs decently, while Robert Mitchum has a good presence and Marilyn Monroe is beautiful and acts convincingly at least. However, the script creaks really badly, while the story is clumsily handled. I also thought the pace was rather sluggish, and some of the characters are uninteresting and lack credibility. In conclusion, I guess it is a watchable movie but for fans of Preminger or Mitchum or Monroe while they all do adequate jobs they deserved better. 5/10 Bethany Cox

This is the first Otto Preminger movie I saw and I would have liked to enjoy it, or to find it at least interesting. But man, what a schlockfest. About as exciting as doing your laundry, only more predictable. No stereotype is left out. The role models that are set for the sexes are just terrible. You can feel the large Hollywood machinery humming in the background, and the actors play along with it, but you get the impression that Preminger and others who were creatively involved with this movie phoned their performances in. I got the impression that Preminger's stance was "What does the studio want? A Western? Man, I wish I was in Europe. Well, for chrissakes, lay on the blond floozy with a heart, bring in the kid and the butch guy with a past, and put some makeup and greasy whigs on the fall guys. Let's get this over with, and move on." I'll betcha this movie would have been long forgotten if it weren't for the celebrity cast. To say "they don't make 'em like that anymore" would be wishful thinking on part of the cineast.

source: River of No Return

Trailer—River of No Return

River of No Return

I just love this movie, except for that one scene (everybody knows which one). It's a very good venue for Mitchum and perhaps the best Monroe ever had. Really great actors make you forget that they are either actors or stars. These two do that quite well in spite of a loosely written script and a bit too much sweetness in the person of the boy. I think I love this movie as much for the fact that someone finally let Monroe act as I do for the fun of watching it. She did a good job of bringing her character, rather than Marilyn, to the screen. I enjoyed the scenes between her and the boy. She was very believable as a nurturing, protective figure. She would have done well as an actress. This movie is just a small sample.. Lonestar

Beautiful scenery. Oh, and the mountains looked good, too. A really good part for Marilyn Monroe. It gave her a chance to be more than just a sexpot, and she pulled it off. A young Robert Mitchum was very good, with his usual quiet masculinity. He seemed a little unused to the horse, however, in an early scene. I thought the film would have been better if it had ended about 30 seconds earlier than it did. Another note: back in those days Hollywood could portray Indians as implacably hostile, without the political correctness required now. Refreshing. Overall a pretty decent flick.

you don't like Westerns. Basically I don't know if they are now popular again, but this film is well worth it due to Monroe, Mitchum and the story. Normally, I do not like John Wayne and cowboy/Indian type films,they seem too dated for today's audience, but started watching this for Monroe. She is very good, a saloon singer who hooks up with Rory Calhoun, a gambler, who wants to stakes his claim on some land reputed to have gold; There are a few skirmishes, Monroe actually sings quite well, and the interaction between her and Mitchum is believable. All in all a nice film with some good whitewater scenes, good acting and you may even forget you are watching a western!. 9/10.

Life is like this river,sometimes peaceful,sometimes wild.A "river" movie,before the "road movie" genre was invented,Otto Preminger's work remains extremely beautiful:an unusually inventive cinemascope which enhances the scenery :the raft tossed by the tides of misfortune,seems like a grain of sand in these deep valleys,these ancestral forests. A story as linear as the river,which focuses on one of Preminger's favorite subjects:redemption (see "where the sidewalk ends","forever Amber").If someone does something wrong,Kay says ,it's because he's often compelled to do so.Mark,the young boy ,will understand ,and little did he know it would not be long ! The songs (the title track and "one silver dollar" ) are sumptuous,and add magic to this odyssey of redemption.And when Kay throws her high-heeled shoes in the dust,what a nice way to pick up the pieces!

River Of No Return is the first of Marilyn's three westerns ( Bus Stop and The Misfits were the others ( although they were modern day westerns)), and for Marilyn and ( or) western fans (and I am both), it should be essential. I do not understand why so many people dislike this movie, it has spectacular scenery ( the Canadian Rockies), a great Western Star in Robert Mitchum ( there is a reason why he is in the Western Performers Hall of Fame), suspense with Kay ( Marilyn), Matt Calder ( Mitchum) and his son Mark (Tommy Reittig) going down the river to escape indians, a very nasty performance by Rory Calhoun as a gambler, and a twist ending that was unexpected ( and I will not spoil). Finally, the one thing you see in this movie that you will.never see in another Marilyn movie is the relationship between Kay and Mark. She takes to him and because the love she has for him, she gets a happy ending.. I give it.10\10 stars