This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Mitchum fights mountain lions, Indians, raging rapids, and the wildest hellcat of them all...Marlilyn Monroe. It's hard to tell who was the bigger pervert, Hitchocck or Otto Preminger. In this film he puts Monroe in the sexiest clothes, then constantly has her ripped out of them. This isn't pornographic, but it is exploitive for sure. There are some terrible scenes of our protagonists on a raft in the middle of the titular river, and some even worse matte painting work in the film. But all of this is of little consequence. You watch this movie to see Monroe and Mitchum's chemistry, and they are electric. There is also some good songs in the film (although they are clearly being dubbed).

What a pleasant surprise. It looks great and the river camerawork is wonderful. The rear-projection is obvious but it's fine for the times.

The river rapid scenes are mostly exciting. There is real tenseness in there. There is also some real emotion between characters. Dad to son, gal to guy to guy, guy to moutain lion. It all works. I really wasn't expecting anything so well done.

Mostly I like the acting. Mitchum, Monroe even the kid are all good. I mean it. And not just because Monroe spends a great deal of time in wet clothes.

The basic story and the promise of Robert Mitchum kicking some ass was enough to get me to hit play. It's a pleasing enough movie even if there's not much aside from the actors to elevate from most of the older westerns out there. It was nice seeing Rory Calhoun in his golden days for the first time. It's not particularly exciting but the story's compelling enough to save me from boredom at the least.

Message of the movie: Farmer Vincent was always an asshole, apparently.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

the river wild is better even though streep is a lot uglier than Monroe.

Featuring great turns from Monroe and Mitchum, the film is one of the prime examples of just how...odd...a director Otto Preminger was. For a filmmaker with as many knockout films, this firmly being one of them, to have such a lack of distinctive style is intriguing. Aside from the paternal angst here (something seen in a film like Where The Sidewalk Ends), there really isn't much in the way of a Preminger stamp. Sly eroticism and slick production design? Sure, but to say that it's obvious that this is from the same director as a film like Carmen Jones and The Moon Is Blue is a bit of a stretch. Still, fantastic film. (B+)

Mitchum fights mountain lions, Indians, raging rapids, and the wildest hellcat of them all...Marlilyn Monroe. It's hard to tell who was the bigger pervert, Hitchocck or Otto Preminger. In this film he puts Monroe in the sexiest clothes, then constantly has her ripped out of them. This isn't pornographic, but it is exploitive for sure. There are some terrible scenes of our protagonists on a raft in the middle of the titular river, and some even worse matte painting work in the film. But all of this is of little consequence. You watch this movie to see Monroe and Mitchum's chemistry, and they are electric. There is also some good songs in the film (although they are clearly being dubbed).

Mitchum and Monroe are a terrific pairing in Otto Preminger's frontier tale. It's not perfect, but I loved it.