Pre-production advertisement from 1954 Otto Preminger was preparing for the opening of
The Moon Is Blue when 20th Century Fox executive
Darryl F. Zanuck assigned him to direct
River of No Return as part of his contract with the studio. Because of their previous experience with Westerns, producer Stanley Rubin had wanted
William Wellman,
Raoul Walsh, or
Henry King to helm the film, and he was concerned Preminger, who he felt was better suited for
film noir melodrama or sophisticated comedy, would be unable to rise to the task of directing a piece of
Americana. Preminger himself had no interest in the project until he read the screenplay and saw potential in the story. He also approved of Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, who already had been cast in the lead roles. Zanuck decided the film should be made in CinemaScope and increased the budget accordingly. Much of it would be filmed in
Banff and
Jasper National Parks,
Lake Louise in
Alberta, and the
Salmon River in Idaho, where the story actually takes place. Director Preminger and producer Rubin flew to the area to scout locations. During their time there, Rubin grew fond of the director and began to feel that rather than viewing it as a contractual obligation, Preminger had a real interest in making the film. Rubin scheduled 12 weeks of preproduction, during which Monroe rehearsed and recorded the musical numbers written by
Ken Darby and
Lionel Newman, and 45 days for filming.
Filming The cast and crew departed for
Calgary in late June 1953. From there, they traveled by special train to the
Banff Springs Hotel, which served as their base during the Canadian filming. Monroe was accompanied by
Natasha Lytess, her acting coach. Preminger clashed with the coach from the very start. She insisted on taking her client aside and giving her direction contrary to that of Preminger's, and she had the actress enunciating each syllable of every word of dialogue with exaggerated emphasis. Preminger called Rubin in Los Angeles and insisted Lytess be banned from the set, but when the producer complied with his demand, Monroe called Zanuck directly and asserted she could not continue unless Lytess returned. Zanuck commiserated with Preminger, but feeling Monroe was a major box-office draw he could not afford to upset, he reinstated Lytess. Angered by the decision, Preminger directed his rage at Monroe for the rest of the production. During the difficult shoot, Preminger also had to contend with frequent rain, Mitchum's heavy drinking, and an injury to Monroe's ankle that kept her off the set for several days and ultimately put her in a cast. Monroe nearly drowned while filming. She had donned chest-high hip waders during rehearsal to protect her costume. She slipped on a rock, the waders filled with water, and she was unable to rise. Mitchum and others jumped in the river to rescue her, but her ankle was sprained as a result. Young Tommy Rettig seemed to be the director's sole source of solace. He respected Rettig's professionalism and appreciated the rapport he developed with Monroe, which often helped keep her on an even keel. When Lytess began to interfere with Rettig's performance, thereby undermining his confidence, Preminger let the cast and crew know about her behavior and was delighted to find they finally began to support him in his efforts to remove her from the set. In early September, filming shifted to Los Angeles for interior scenes and close-ups for a river sequence. The latter was filmed in a tank, whereas
stunt doubles were used in the long shots filmed on location in Idaho in the actual River of No Return, the Salmon River. Monroe was on crutches, and Preminger had to work around her as much as possible. Despite frequent disagreements with Rubin, Preminger completed the film on September 29, on schedule and within the budget. In later years, Monroe claimed
River of No Return was her worst film, and Preminger spoke bitterly about her in numerous interviews. In January 1980, when being interviewed for the
New York Daily News, he finally conceded, "She tried very hard, and when people try hard, you can't be mad at them." ==Release==