Bus Stop (1956)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

George Axelrod (screenplay)
William Inge (play)

Release Date:

31 August 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The coming of age of Bo Decker...and the girl who made him a man!

Plot:

A naive but stubborn cowboy falls in love with a saloon singer and tries to take her away against her will to get married and live on his ranch in Montana.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Montana | Bus | Phoenix | Ranch

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Marilyn Monroe	...	Cherie
Don Murray	...	Beauregard 'Bo' Decker
Arthur O'Connell	...	Virgil Blessing
Betty Field	...	Grace
Eileen Heckart	...	Vera
Robert Bray	...	Carl
Hope Lange	...	Elma Duckworth
Hans Conried	...	Life Magazine Photographer
Max Showalter	...	Life Magazine Reporter (as Casey Adams)

Also Known As:

The Wrong Kind of Girl

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #18041) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Marilyn Monroe Productions

Trivia:

Don Murray suffered painful facial cuts when Marilyn Monroe overdid a scene in which she had to slap him with the sequined tail of her costume.

Goofs:

Continuity: Virgil has his guitar with him in the jeep on the way to catch the bus but boards without it and later on he plays it on the bus.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Beauregard 'Bo' Decker: Are you ready, Virge?
Virgil Blessing: Anytime.
Beauregard 'Bo' Decker: Turn him out!
[calf is released from chute]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987)

Soundtrack:

The Bus Stop Song

Dumb Story & Murray's Stupid Role Overshadows Marilyn

I recently saw a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and it was mentioned that Marilyn called "Bus Stop" her favorite film in which she acted. She thought she did her best work in that film and it legitimized her as a serious actress. This was one of the few films of hers I had never seen so I was very anxious now to see this, especially on widescreen. Well, it was disappointing: not because of Marilyn - she was fine - but the story was incredibly stupid.

Part of the problem might be the way our society has changed, although I doubt even 50 years ago - when this film came out - a guy could do what "Bo Decker" (Don Murray) did in here and get away with it. Nonetheless, to watch this brainless idiot - in a crowded nightclub - chase a woman down, rip off half of her dress, break into her dressing room, follow her out the window to a bus station, lasso her and kidnap her by dragging her onto the bus.....and have NOBODY even attempt to stop him during all of this (and more) is a real insult to any viewer's intelligence. No police? No security? No harassment, et al?

The story, like Murray's character who has fewer brains than the rodeo animals he's battling, is just plain dumb. Monroe ("Cheri") and friend Eileen Heckart ("Vera") are fine, as is the other main character, "Virgil" (Arthur O'Connell) but Murray is so loud, abrasive and stupid that he ruins the movie. He - not Monroe - dominates the film, unfortunately.

Thankfully, Monroe is.....well, Monroe, so all is not lost watching this movie but this screenplay is so dated and so moronic you'll cringe watching the film.