MovieChat Forums > River of No Return (1954) Discussion > Marilyn is excellent!! PERIOD!!!!

Marilyn is excellent!! PERIOD!!!!

posted 18 years ago by johnyzero_2000
5 replies | jump to latest

When I saw this one evening I was expecting a standard MM flick but I was surprised when I saw it for Marilyn Monroe didn't give her usual baby doll/dumb blonde persona. Instead she gave a tough performance, the type where she put up her dukes and more than held her own with Robert Mitchum, hell she buried him in every scene. I love that she used a different voice in this picture, it was deep and husky instead of the breathy baby voice from Gentelmen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot, it's as if she had a whole new persona! River of No Return is one of her most underrated performances and needs to be rediscovered and appreciated.

[–] krp-7 18 years ago

As discussed on other boards, Marilyn played very very few characters that could be classified as dumb blonds persona, and probably closer to none. In almost every film her characters are a lot smarter than people give them credit for, and usually has even sense to know what she wants and has enough class and spunk to do what it takes to get it. In fact this is probably only the one film that I have seen where she gets involved with a guy that is no good for her.

If you want another surprise performance, I would recommend "The Prince and the Showgirl"

[–] HarlowMGM 14 years ago

I've always loved this movie although I can see why it's not as popular as most MM movies with her fans being such an atypical vehicle for her.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] greenbudgie 10 years ago

It's good to see Marilyn with a tough side in this movie. But I thought she juggled it well with the really soft maternal scenes that had with the boy. I can't remember seeing her on screen with a child actor before. But that tenderness that she showed towards Mitchum's son seemed really convincing. Great performance by MM.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

More accurately, she 'tried' to give a tough performance. Most of the time she seemed so monotoneously aloof as though she was sedated or something.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan