River of No Return (1954)

Robert Mitchum is Matt Calder, a man looking forward to a reunion with his son Mark (Tommy Retig) after years of separation. Turns out the trading post where Mark was dropped off has turned into a wild-and-wooly mining camp. Someone found gold.

The Calders are reunited, but Mark insists on saying goodbye to his new friend Kay Weston (Marilyn Monroe). She’s been looking after him, between playing guitar and singing for patrons at one of the saloons that has popped up in the camp.

Days later, Matt and Mark are working on their farm when they spot a raft floating, out of control, down the river. They help pull it to shore. On that raft: Kay Weston and her new husband, gambler Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun).

Seems Harry won a prosperous gold mine during a poker game at the mining camp. He’s eager to file his claim in Council City. Especially since the original owner of the claim might be trying to catch up with him, claiming he was cheated.

In order to get to Council City as soon as possible, Harry wants to borrow Matt’s horse and gun. When Matt declines, Harry decides to take them by force, clubbing Matt over the head with his own rifle. He promises to return as soon as he’s filed the claim; Kay decides to stay behind.

No sooner has Harry ridden off than Indians appear. Left defenseless and without a horse, Matt decides their only option is to board the raft and try to make their way to Council City.

It promises to be a perilous journey, but he figures he has a score to settle with a gambler who would leave a young boy like Mark defenseless with Indians on the warpath. Not to mention and new and lovely wife.

Review:

A thoroughly entertaining film that gets its appeal from its star power rather than a complex plot or deep cast, though that treacherous trek down the River of No Return certainly helps, too.

Mitchum plays the strong, silent type. He’s seemingly unimpressed with Kay Weston’s obvious charms. He certainly disapproves of the way she and her husband make their livings.

Marilyn, squeezed into tight tops and jeans, never looked lovelier. And if that’s her singing voice, she never sounded better either. Her performance of “Down in the Meadow” at young Mark’s request is one of the film’s highlights.

Naturally, she and Matt Calder don’t exactly hit it off at first. Naturally, they grow fond on one another. She’s impressed by his devotion to his son. But she’s unable to convince him that her gambler husband left them behind out of desperation for a better life, not because of some deeper character flaw.

If the film has a problem, it’s the pacing of the plot. The film opens with Matt chopping down a tree. It falls, then he hops on his horse and rides off to retrieve Mark. Later, the Indians attack, just minutes after Harry has stolen Matt’s horse. The scene where Matt attacks Kay seems to come out of nowhere as well.

But there’s a neat touch for an ending. So often in Westerns, we see the hero drop a badge or a gun in the dirt at the end of the film. This time around, Marilyn does the dropping. And it’s her prized red high heels she drops, signifying the end of her saloon life.

Directed by:
Otto Preminger

Cast:
Robert Mitchum … Matt Calder
Marilyn Monroe … Kay Weston
Rory Calhoun … Harry Weston
Tommy Retig … Mark Calder
Murvyn Vye … Dave Colby
Douglas Spencer … Sam Benson
Arthur Shields … Padre
Will Wright … Trading post owner

Runtime: 90 min.

Marilyn’s songs:
“One Silver Dollar”
“I’m Gonna File My Claim”
“Down in the Meadow”
“River of No Return”

Memorable lines

Padre, on arriving at a gold camp: “I came here as a missionary to the Indians. I think the white man will need me more.”

Harry Weston, after Matt Calder has rescued he and Kay from the rapids: “Believe it or not, this is our honeymoon.”
Matt: “Well, the main idea is to live through it.”

Harry Weston: “Everybody and his brother from 100 miles around is looking for gold, and you’re digging a farm?”
Matt Calder: “That’s right.”
Harry: “Maybe you know what you’re doing.”
Matt: “Well I know that they don’t.”

Mark Calder: “What do they do with the gold after they find it?”
Kay Weston: “They make money out of it.”
Mark: “Why do they use gold?”
Kay: “Because it’s hard to get.”
Mark: “Why don’t they use something easy to get.”
Kay: “Well, if something is easy to get, people don’t care about it, they don’t value it. If it’s hard to get, then you’ve got something.”

Kay: “The whole country’s crawling with Indians, and you’re going fishing?”
Matt: “There are lots of ways to die. Starving to death is not one of my favorites.”

Kay to Matt: “I knew you would (make it to Counsel City). I knew that if a man hated as much as you did, you could do anything.”

Matt: “Where did you learn a song like that (‘Down in the Meadow’)?”
Kay: “I didn’t go straight from the cradle to a gold camp.”

Harry Weston: “Okay, I’ll talk to him.” He picks up his six-shooter.
Kay: “What’s that for?”
Harry: “In case he’s hard of hearing.”

Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder and Kay (Marilyn Monroe) discuss what happens in Council City in River of No Return (1954)

Tommy Rettig as Mark Calder, overhearing that his dad once killed a man in River of No Return (1954)

Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder and Marilyn Monroe as Kay discuss the odds of completing their journey in River of No Return (1954)

Traveling companions Mark Calder (Tommy Retig), Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) and Kay (Marilyn Monroe) approach Council City by raft in River of No Return (1954)

Marilyn Monroe as Kay and Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder, recuperating for a bit in River of No Return (1954)

Rory Calhoun as Harry Weston, reunited with lover Kay (Marilyn Monroe) in Council City in River of No Return (1954)