Bus Stop

Bus Stop (1956)
a film by Joshua Logan

I experienced a series mixed emotions while watching this film which was completely new to me. On one side I enjoyed the light entertainment provided by the cartoonish depictions of all the characters in this movie, particularly the cowboys. On the other hand I felt moved and desolated by the expression and the suffering of Marilyn Monroe, she is amazing playing this capricious, naive and unstable dreamer, and I just wonder how much of this emotional uneasiness is actually brought from her life outside of the screen because it looks very real.

This movie is full of images that well could be the perfect American postcard. The beautiful technicolor ads a lot to the appeal of the impressive mountains of Montana, the rodeo crows and stuns and the classic costumes of the characters. I loved the traveling in the scene that shows Bo and Virgil walking on Phoenix, the framing and the camera movement is so great that one feels as overwhelmed as the cowboys in the city.

There are two defined levels in this movie and the story seems to find a comfortable path through them. On one side there is the comedic layer were the characters act in a cartoonish manner and were the naive character of Marilyn Monroe drives the story into droll situations. On the other side there are dramatic moments and bitter lessons. The fight and the talk between Cherie and Elma in the bus are heart breaking moments. It was the transition between this two layers, each one so good in its own way what did not work so well for me. Nevertheless, this was very entertaining movie with images that you would see in vintage Marlboro and Coca Cola posters and a great Marilyn Monroe both comic and pathetic.


, the dramatic struggle of Marilyn's