River of No Return (1954)

Many of Marilyn Monroe’s early films are marked by her contrast with the more world-weary, self-possessed female leads she plays opposite. From Bette Davis to Barbara Stanwyck to Lauren Bacall, Monroe was often positioned as a lighter, more bubbly alternative to these queens of Old Hollywood. Beginning with River of No Return, though, she reaches a level of stardom that allowed her to own the screen solo and take on the role of self-possessed heroine herself. As Kay Weston she is resourceful and active, free to roam through the wide-open Western expanse.

None of that makes River of No Return a good film, though, or worth watching beyond Monroe’s performance. The movie is laden with racism and violence against Native Americans that makes it difficult to watch; this racism is not merely present in throwaway lines, it is the core “threat” to the protagonists. The behavior of the so-called protagonist, Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum), has also aged poorly and makes it impossible to engage with him as a character to root for. A scene in which Matt assaults Kay is jarring, but even more jarring is how quickly the film forgives him. Beyond these moral failures, the plot of River of No Return simply falls flat.

Still, the Kay Weston performance is yet another advancement of acting skills for Monroe, who never stopped improving. As Kay she plays with the artifice of being a performer; we watch her conjure her sultry seductress character once she moves from backstage out to perform for an audience.

For the men Kay gets sexier but for Matt’s son Mark (Tommy Rettig) she gets sillier, sweetly performing a song on guitar for him. Monroe was an enormously respectful actor, always lending her whole self to her scene partner. This propensity emerges in her scenes with children, where you always get the sense she saw them as equals on screen.

The throughline of these scenes, no matter Kay’s audience, is Monroe’s understanding of how to shape-shift to meet the moment. She always evoked the feeling that she could see whatever emotional response was called for a beat before anyone else could, and one of my favorite things to watch in her performances is the glory of her rapturously explaining to someone something in plain sight that they cannot see. “I’m a performer, didn’t you know?” Kay asks Matt during the film. He stands confidently beside her, hands on hips, certain he can see the layers of her performance. Her knowing smile suggests she knows he sees nothing at all.

Rating: 2.5/5