Bus Stop (1956)

Tagline: The coming of age of Bo Decker…and the girl who made him a man!

Bus Stop movie storyline. Aka The Wrong Kind of Girl, this comedy/drama, adapted by George Axelrod (who also co-wrote The Seven Year Itch (1955) also starring Monroe) and based on the hit Broadway play by William Inge, was Marilyn Monroe’s first “serious” lead role. She plays Cherie, a fifth-rate, hillbilly saloon-bar singer in Phoenix, originally from the Ozarks, whose dream is to go to Hollywood. Her path crosses that of a naive, callow and rude cowboy from Montana in town for a rodeo, Beauregard ‘Bo’ Decker (Murray in his film debut), who immediately is smitten by his sweet ‘angel.’

The most memorable moment of Bus Stop is Monroe’s famous torch-song performance of “That Old Black Magic” for an unappreciative audience, mixing sensuousness with a wistfully sad, soulful quality. The country bumpkin persistently tries to woo Cherie (whom he crudely calls Cherry) – and forcefully kidnaps her to take her home with him. They become stranded during a blizzard at a roadside bus stop – the Blue Dragon Inn in Idaho, where she eventually falls for her abductor.

Widely considered the best role of Monroe’s career, it mixed comedy with dark pathos. The film proved Monroe was a more-than-capable actress reflecting her skillful acting talent and some of her own personal insecurities. It earned her better roles opposite such stars as Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Clark Gable, and Laurence Olivier. The film later inspired a 1961-62 TV series of the same name.

Bus Stop is a 1956 American romantic comedy film directed by Joshua Logan for 20th Century Fox, starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O’Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Robert Bray and Hope Lange. Bus Stop was based on two plays by William Inge, People in the Wind and Bus Stop. The inspiration for the play Bus Stop came from people Inge met in Tonganoxie, Kansas.

Unlike most of Monroe’s movies, Bus Stop is neither a full-fledged comedy nor a musical, but rather a dramatic piece; it was the first film she appeared in after studying at the Actors Studio in New York. Monroe does however sing one song: “That Old Black Magic” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.

Directed by: Joshua Logan
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O’Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Robert Bray, Hope Lange, Hans Conried, Max Showalter, Linda Brace, Mary Carroll, Terry Kelman, Lucille Knox
Screenplay by: George Axelrod
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Milton R. Krasner
Film Editing by: William Reynolds
Costume Design by: Travilla
Set Decoration by: Paul S. Fox, Walter M. Scott
Art Direction by: Mark-Lee Kirk, Lyle R. Wheeler
Music by: Cyril J. Mockridge, Alfred Newman
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: August 31, 1956