Review of Bus Stop (1956) by Thomas B — 02 Mar 2008

When cowboy Beauregard 'Bo' Decker (Don Murray) leaves his Montana farm to participate in a Phoenix rodeo, he eventually meets cafe singer Cherie (Marilyn Monroe) -- and then all hell breaks loose.

That's because Bo, at age 21, has never even dated a woman, and has no idea how to treat one. All he knows is how to rope and ride, and when he meets Cherie, the first woman he becomes infatuated with, he uses a little of both.

For instance, shortly after Bo falls for Cherie (whom he refers to only as "Cherry," perhaps a euphemism for the virginal girl he sees, when she has "been around the block a few times"), HE announces they're engaged.

And when she won't have him, he literally ropes her, and takes her on a ride back to Montana. The climax occurs at a bus stop, when Bo and Carl, the bus driver, get in a brawl. (Carl's trying to get through to Bo; let him know he can't go "molestin'" poor Cherie.

) Eventually, Bo apologizes for his behavior, and acknowledges that he and Cherie won't be together, and he understands that. But wait! Just when you think women have rights after all, Cherie pulls a punch that would make a feminist fume.

She explains to Bo that she doesn't deserve him (as if this obsessive psychopath is a catch); after all, she's the 'wrong kind of girl' and she's been dating boys since she was a teenager.

Not only that, "I almost married a cousin of mine when I was 14, but Pappy wouldn't have it!" Watching "Bus Stop" is both enjoyable and cringe-inducing. On the one hand, Monroe, at 30, oozes a heightened femininity and sensuality; her powdered, porcelain skin is delicious to watch and she turns in a memorable performance in her 26th film.

She's the object of the viewer's gaze, throughout the film, and she doesn't waste a second in screen presence. Murray, conversely, is loud, boorish and literally treats women like animals (Rewind to the scene where he ropes Cherie like cattle, and takes her back to his farm.

) How can anyone feel sympathetic to such a character? How can he be a leading man, with rooting value? Murray, of course, can do only so much with a script that calls for a farm-smart cowboy who's dumb as a doornail regarding proper behavior toward the opposite sex.

Bo only softens in the last 30 minutes, and just when he finds redemption, you hate him all over again when Cherie claims she's the 'wrong kind of girl' (in the virgin-whore dichotomy of life) and is unworthy of his affections.

The problem with making this couple endgame, for me, is that it legitimizes Bo's poor treatment of her, and completely turns the film on its ear, making us think these two were uncoupled not due to Bo's obnoxious behavior -- taking possession of her like a farm animal and tagging her as his fiancee against her will) -- but because Cherie, all that time, had too many sexual partners.

It's a sexist message that permeates the entire film, and takes any punch out of that consensual (gasp!) kiss at the end. Watch "Bus Stop" for how low it can go, laugh at the political incorrectness, and enjoy the performances along the way.