Bus Stop (Marilyn Monroe)

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We were given twenty-five DVDs by a friend who was downsizing, most of which are of films and musicals from the 1950s and 1960s. We hadn’t even heard of some of them, including ‘Bus Stop’, which was made in 1956. We thought it might be black and white, but it was an early colour film. We had, of course, heard of Marilyn Monroe but neither of us could recall ever having seen any of her films. 

The opening of the film is set in Montana, at a rodeo. I found this a bit disturbing: dangerous, bucking animals are ridden, and then other animals lassoed and brought down. I had to look away a couple of times. But we soon meet the two important male characters in the story: a young cowboy called Beau (Don Murray) who has apparently never left the ranch where he grew up, and his mentor, Virgil, known as Virge (Arthur O’Connell). 

It took me a few minutes to be able to tune into the strong accents and fast talking, but it didn’t much matter. These two men board a bus that’s going to take them to Phoenix, in Arizona, where Beau is going to enter some major rodeo competitions. He’s quite arrogant about  his abilities, and - as becomes clear - also very naive. Virge thinks it’s about time he looks for a nice girl, but Beau has had nothing to do with girls and has no idea how to approach one.

On the first evening in Phoenix, they go to a night club where Cherie (Marilyn Monroe) is singing, in a rather scanty outfit. She’s evidently being treated quite badly by the manager, who hasn’t yet paid her anything, and expects her to perform and try to manipulate customers into buying her drinks. I found her Southern accent extremely hard to understand; she comes across as unintelligent, but far from innocent. Unsurprisingly, Beau finds her very attractive - and after a brief conversation he informs her they’re going to be married…

It’s obviously intended to be humorous, but I found Beau’s attempts to take charge, to ‘tame’ Cherie as if she were a wild animal, to be rather disturbing. His insistence that he is going to call her ‘Cherry’ is also somewhat demeaning. And it seemed very strange to me that, while one or two of the women understand and sympathise with her predicament, it takes a lot longer for any of the men around Beau to do anything other than voice objections. 

The last half hour or so of the film is set at a small inn/cafe known as the ‘Bus Stop’, as that’s where several cross-country buses. The landlady, Grace (Betty Field) makes them all welcome, and doesn’t want any unpleasantness. Conveniently there is a heavy blizzard which prevents the coach from leaving (and any other buses from arriving) and unsurprisingly there’s a showdown… but I found the ending rather trite and unlikely, although also a bit sad: Cherie has not had a happy life. 

The acting is mostly good, in a 1950s way, and the pace of the film about right. It wouldn’t work as a new movie today, but considered as a classic to watch from nearly 70 years ago, it’s an interesting, light-hearted way to spend an evening. There are a few country music interludes; Virge likes playing the guitar and organising sing-songs. But it's not a musical as such. 

The rating is U, probably because there’s no overt nudity or intimacy (though much is implied), and I don’t recall any bad language. But the subject matter certainly isn’t appropriate for children; I would have thought at least PG would be more appropriate, and wouldn’t personally show it to anyone under the age of about fourteen or fifteen at the youngest.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews