Bus Stop (1956)

Performed With Gusto

Marilyn Monroe was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Actress for this 1956 film adaptation of William Inge's play. As Cherie, she is beautiful and plays a character from some small town in Arkansas where guys started pursuing her when she was 14. From a perspective 50 years later, some of the acting seems a bit over the top, but it played well in its day.

Don Murray plays the ranch hand Bo who wants to force Cherie to marry him. Murray earned his only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1956 for the role. Today, his style seems too animated to be believable. However, he certainly performs with gusto.

The supporting cast is also excellent. Robert Bray who was in "The Caine Mutiny" plays Carl the bus driver who gives Bo a licking. Arthur O'Connell who had two Oscar nominations for "Picnic" in 1955 & "Anatomy of a Murder" in 1959 does a good job as Virgil, Bo's buddy that tries to counsel him. Betty Field plays Grace, the cafe owner with a strut out of "Annie Get Your Gun." She has appeared in "Picnic," "The Great Gatsby," & "King's Row." Eileen Heckert with her deep voice plays Cherie's friend Vera. Heckert was nominated for the supporting Oscar for "The Bad Seed" in 1956 and won in 1972 for "Butterflies Are Free." She does an excellent job of grounding the film with a sense of reality. Hope Lange puts in a brief appearance as Elma Duckworth who works at the diner. She's lovely in a small role. The following year, she would get a Best Supporting Actress nomination for "Peyton Place" and go on to win hearts in the 1960s in TV's "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir."

"Bus Stop" seems a bit dated now 50+ years later. However, it is well worth viewing to watch Marilyn Monroe and the superb supporting cast. Enjoy! May 14, 2008

Marilyn Monroe

I very well may be alone in my opinion, but to me Marilyn Monroe showed that she could be a dramatic actress.....not just a sex kitten. March 3, 2008

One of the great Marilyn Monroe films of all time!!

Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop gives one of her greatest perfomances; her comic timing is everything and she employs it to the hilt here. Also, her ususal attention to details and to gestures, is strongly in evidence.

At one point Marilyn puts on a sheep skin lined leather coat, a very worn coat, helped, and she does it in such a way that you would think it was a Black Glama ranch mink coat..perfection.

Her makeup, always here white, for "songs" in the "show." Her close ups, generously given by Joshua Logan clue us into certain moods she has about the cowboy(Don Murry) determined to marry her. There are the songs..Marilyn bought her own costumes for this film, and made sure they were from a rental agency and were very worn. Her rendition as Cheri of "Down Down I go" is not be believed..play it over and over and see what she does.

Many more details: when marilyn gets out of the cold into the Diner, watch her warming up top the stove, as if to a lover...it goes on, and it is gl;orious.

Brava Marilyn and the entire cast, and, J. Logan, the director, for yet another William Inge manifestation on the screen, that other being Picnic.

The reviews that say this is dated are unaware of the many reviavls of this play, and their dismal results. Also, see a Kate Hudson film, or Reese Witherspoon, or Sandra Bullock film for bad comic timing, terrible scripts and awful photography, and are they into thw itmnes in which we live?

Marilyn Monroe was not just an "icon" of the ages; she had an enormous talent, largely unrecognized. She knew evberything others thought of her, especially men, and she plays up to it and away from it with great skill and artistry. Bus Stop shows you this, and hjer supporting cast see it and are better for it. October 7, 2007

Will the Real Marilyn Please Stand Up?

Everytime I watch a Marilyn Monroe movie I think "maybe this one will be different," but time and time again she is cast in the same role of the befuddled blonde that the studios molded for her. A time or two, such as in How to Marry a Millionaire, Marilyn seemed to strike gold with her penchant for humor, but those moments are rare, and you won't find them in this film.

Cherie spends the entire movie fretting over her lot in life with a high-pitched whine, and her cowboy lover hollars and brawls until you want to knock them both over the head.

The supporting cast isn't too exciting either, and costume design is stingy. Marilyn goes back and forth between a fishnet horror and a leather skirt throughout the entire movie.

The only parts of the movie I really enjoyed were the rodeo footage and the scene where Beau finally gets the tar beat out of him by a fellow traveler. May 25, 2007

Oddly entertaining and touching

Bus Stop was an oddly entertaining and touching film. At first glance, the picture appears relatively dumb and unrealistic, and too be honest, the acting was a bit canned (even for Marilyn), but upon closer examination, all of those elements end up having a touch of genius. You begin to realize that the acting was supposed to be that way (Marilyn's bad singing and overly dramatic acting and Don Murray's over the top exuberance), and that they are done very well. Don't forget that this is really a stage production. What strikes me most is the love story that develops in the end and it is very touching, given the metamorphosis that the cowboy goes through during the picture. Also, Marilyn's willingness to downgrade her looks (from Blonde bombshell to a hillbilly lounge-singer) and deliberately sing poorly in the only song of the film, was very brave and ended up working very well. All in all, this is a cute love story to watch with your wife or girlfriend and will leave you with a good feeling in the end.
To contrast this film with the quintessential Marilyn, watch the Seven Year Itch or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the latter being her best movie of all time (despite what most people think of Some Like it Hot).
May 3, 2007

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