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Bus Stop | 
| Director: Joshua Logan
Actors: Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart
Category: Video
This item is no longer available
Rating:  40 reviews
Format: Import, Ntsc
Language: German (Original Language)
Media: VHS Tape
EAN: 4010232103109
ASIN: B00004RLCZ
Theatrical Release Date: August 31, 1956
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From Amazon.com
Though it seems dated now, this film adaptation of William Inge's romantic comedy-drama was considered pretty hot stuff in its day, which was 1956. Directed by Joshua Logan from George Axelrod's script of Inge's Broadway hit, the film stars Marilyn Monroe as the kind of woman who can't understand why she always brings out the worst in men. A singer who has attracted the attention of a young rodeo rider (Don Murray) whom she meets on a bus, she finds herself trapped at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. The young cowboy, whose intentions are honorable, can't control his temper and can't understand why this experienced woman won't take him seriously--and why she rejects him when he begins acting jealous and possessive. Love takes its lumps but comes out slugging in the end, with Marilyn at her vulnerable, jaded best. I--Marshall Fine/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Man, this stinks. July 19, 2004
JujubeMBA (USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love old movies and I love Marilyn. But this just stinks. There's none of Marilyn's glamour or gold-digging charm. She's shrill and whiny in a terrible hick accent. "Beau" is obnoxious and completely over-the-top.pThe premise of the movie is Beau, a young cowboy, going to a rodeo. He's an innocent, never off his ranch in Montana. He decides he's going to find himself an angel to take back home. So he meets "Cherie" in a saloon. He manhandles her, browbeats her, and eventually kidnaps her. His screaming and fighting make a person think that if he managed to force her to marry him (after abducting her with a lasso as she desperately tries to flee), he'd probably rape her on the wedding night. It's just that creepy.pSo they end up stuck at a bus station together due to bad weather. FINALLY someone steps in when they see Beau manhandling Cherie, and says he can't kidnap this woman. Beau objects and ends up getting his butt whipped.pWhich somehow makes Cherie love him and they ride off to Montana together.pIt's really objectionable. Offensive, really. I can't say one single good thing about the entire movie. It wasn't believable, enjoyable, amusing, or entertaining. I'm really sorry I watched it.
 One of Marilyn Monroe's finest performances ever! March 27, 2004
Diana Ross (On the VMF website!)
.brAs Cherie, the one-note chanteuse with little talent, Marilyn Monroe creates a character who is both pathetic and poignant.pThis is considered by many to be Monroe's finest on-screen performance. Many thought she deserved an Oscar nomination for this role. Sadly, Marilyn was highly under-rated as an actress in her lifetime, and didn't even receive a nomination. She did however go on to win more than one Golden Globe for her work after this film.pThe only thing that bothers me about this film is co-star Don Murray's constant screaming. Murray made his big screen debut in this film, and although he brought a lot of ebullience to the role, he apparently was used to stage work, and thought he had to scream to be heard. On screen, he appears to be in a constant state of pig-calling as he bellows and shouts like a hooligan.pI think he should have toned-down his performance altogether, at least vocally. All that screaming opposite Marilyn's breathy whisper of a voice is quite annoying indeed!pAll-in-all, I would strongly recommend this film for anyone who wants to experience the magic of Marilyn Monroe in a truly great performance. Just be sure to keep the remote handy so you can turn down the volume when Murray is on screen!p[Marvelous] Marilyn!
I'm sorry March 25, 2004
Johny Bottom (Jacksonville, NC)
First off I am a HUGE Marilyn Monroe fan. I also believe only Marilyn Monroe fans watch this movie. She is great in it. It's one of her best performances. As Cheri, she gives a dazzling performance of 'Black Magic', and it's great listening to her in her hillbilly accent. The final scenes where her face take up the entire screen was great directing and she looked as beautiful as an angel. Her comic timing was delivered perfectly, and the costumes she wore in this movie lead to some of her greatest still photograph.pSo why only 4 stars? The rest of the cast did a great job, Virg, Elma, Grace, and Carl. Who did I leave out? That's right, Bo. Don Murray single-handedly ruins this movie. His cowboy mannerisms are waaaay over the top, he overacts every scene he's in, he's rude, stupid, and to tell you the truth, Marilyn ending up with him is so unbelievable, it makes you just want to scratch your head. pNow I know that Bo was supposed to be an inexperienced cowboy right off the ranch, but no one is going to arrive in a city and acts like he owns the world. Kidnapping a woman (with a lasso of all things) and dragging her on the bus is a stretch, but when Bo finally gets his butt kicked by Carl, and learns a lesson in humility, and then Marilyn falls for him, well... I can't believe someone would give up their Hollywood dreams and go to a ranch with a doous like Bo. pAgain This was a great performance by Marilyn, watch it for her. I'm sure you will. I've never met a Don Murray fan.
This trip's gonna be mighty educational January 30, 2004
Daniel J. Hamlow (Utsunomiya City, Japan)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
So says the fatherly Virgil to his younger friend Bo Decker following a conversation where Virgil suggests its time Bo find himself a woman, a plain looking, little old gal. Bo though wants to find himself an angel. However, the conversation takes a bit of a chauvinistic tone from the green and inexperienced Bo, who is headed to Phoenix to compete in the rodeo. Says Bo, That steer this moment--he didn't wanna get throwed, did he? Well, I throwed him. Some wild horse you borke in, he don't wanna be broke, do he? But you don't let what he wants stop you. So what makes you think a gal's gonna be any different? To paraphrase Virgil in a more contemporary way, Houston, we've got a problem.pBo's other problem is that he tends to overdo everything. He does pushups in the bus, to the surprise and annoyance of the passengers and bus driver. But the worst flaw in his character is that he has no manners. As the bus driver asks him later, Were you born in a barn? Well, close, as he has been isolated on a ranch all his life.pAt the Blue Dragon inn, Bo finds his angel, a much put-upon singer named Cheri. He falls so in love with her that he announces to a stunned Virgil, and more than stunned Cheri, that he has found his girl and is going to marry her tomorrow.pCheri herself has a long string of boyfriends and lovers, something that the naive Bo is unaware of. In her opening scene, when she's resting on the window sill, she is instantly harassed by rowdy cowboys pawing at her, and then by the manager. She's clearly not lived a happy life, but she does have a dream to go to Hollywood. What she's longing for is to be treated with respect, hence her identifying herself as a chanteuse and reminding Bo that her name is Cheri, not Cherry.pEventually, Bo's faults come to a head at the title place, where he gets a much deserved lesson. I'd find Don Murray likeable if his characterization of Bo wasn't so obnoxious. I detest rude people sans manners and loud, whooping cowboys, and unfortunately, Bo is both. While his meanings are noble, it's the way he does it that caused me to flare in exasperation.pArthur O'Connell is a relief in this picture as the wiser and more maturer Virgil. Virgil gives the fatherly patience and love to Bo, exasperated, angry, and hoping that his young friend grows up. In the scene where Bo gets his comeuppance, he generates a this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you atmosphere.pThis is Hope Lange's debut film as Elma, the young girl on a trip to a concert. The woman to woman talk between her and MM in the bus is a standout. And Betty Field stands out as the diner owner Grace, a woman with an Eve Arden-ish sense of humour.pSome trivia in this picture. Marilyn had issue with Don Murray, because of his relative inexperience, and she asked for Hope Lange's hair to be dyed a darker shade of blonde, because after all, MM was THE star. A bit of ego there. And the younger LIFE magazine reporter is Casey Adams, who also came out in Niagara as Ray Cutler. Also, this picture was the first with Marilyn's new acting coach, Paula Strasberg, utilizing Method acting.pWhile this film is generally touted as the one where Marilyn finally could act, I take issue. Marilyn was acting way before then, from her B+ acting in Don't Bother To Knock to her compassionate blonde goofball in The Seven Year Itch. But if you take into account the strong backwoods accent of an Ozark hillbilly, then yes, her acting is definitely good, but nothing Oscar-worthy here.
LOVE ON A BUS January 1, 2004
Guy De Federicis (east of here)
Very funny adaptation of the William Inge play finds Marilyn Monroe romantically abducted by country bumpkin who has fallen in love with her. Monroe is ravishing and sympathetic as the saloon girl Cheri turned unwilling fiance and Don Murray in a debut performance as the hardheaded Bo finds a great mix of whooping and hollering and real romantic depth. Some of Bo's manhandling of Cheri gets a bit harsh in accordance with cinematic sexual mores of 1956; a skirt tail is ripped off, she is helplessly hoisted upon his shoulder, but this is effectively an innocent and touching film with just the right amount of naivete.
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