Rating: 
Summary: Finally!!!
Review: I am a long time Marilyn fan...BR>One can imagine my excitement when I found out about this awesome collection of some of Marilyns' movies on dvd... I had always loved this film because Marilyn was in it, and it is her greatest performance on screen. She was amazing in this, even if the storyline is sometimes corny and just downright silly. Marilyn makes this movie so watchable.
She had taken a break from 20th Century fox before she made this, and after taking classes at the famous "actor's studio" in NYC, she formed her own production company. I think her whole way of acting changed after these "method acting" classes, and "Bus Stop" was the first production to showcase this.
As far as the dvd goes, it is so much better than it ever looked on television. If you check out the extras you will get the chance to see a comparision. To the naked eye, it is utterly amazing what work went into restoring the tale of Cheree' and that ol' bully cowboy, Beauregard Decker, played by Don Murray.
It doesn't have as many extras as "The Seven Year Itch", which is the best of all the MM dvd's, but it's worth owning just to be able to see Marilyn at her finest work.
Marilyn really got into this role. I remember reading that she would stay in her hillbilly "chanteuse" character off the set, and it drove the rest of the crew crazy. That pasty white complexion, that hillbilly accent, and those little costumes of hers were all just brilliant additions to the outstanding, brilliant acting work that she does in this.
"Bus Stop" is mostly dramatic but has some true comedic momments thrown in, and it's also another movie she sings -- "That Ol' Black Magic" is sung by her in that lilting drawl, whilst she self consicously pushes her straps back up on her costume.
As much as I love this movie, I didn't love Don Murray. It was his first film. While he was sometimes funny, he often annoyed me, but maybe it was the way you were supposed to feel about his character. She makes it perfectly clear to him that she isn't going to marry him, but he does everything in his power to get her.
Marilyn's Cheree' and Ol' Verge, played by Arthur O'Connell, were the most likeable characters in the film.
Eileen Heckart plays Cheree's friend. There are some good character actors in this movie that help make it that much more entertaining.
It's a charming movie that will capture your heart at it's sweet ending. Sure, it has it's truly corny and utterly sacchrine sweet dialogue, but it's got Marilyn!
A MUST FOR THE TRUE MM FANS!!!
For anyone who's never seen any of her movies, this is the one to watch, she is at her peak here. Even if she does look pasty..
Rating: 
Summary: For those who want to see Marilyn Monroe act (and look hot)
Review: I was very impressed watching Marilyn Monroe's acting performance in this one. Of course, she's still very hot. Her saloon outfit is designed to basically put her breasts in individual containers for individual display... So those that want to skip the acting part, this is still worth watching. But Marilyn is given the chance to actually show some good emotions here. OK, so she's playing a role where her job is to mesmerize men. But what do you want, Marilyn Montroe in a concentration camp? When we meet her, she is good at hustling drinks, but is kind of sick of the work. When she finds herself attracted to someone with clean, if naive, motives, she is all of a sudden unsure of herself. When she unintentionally leads a young hunky hayseed into thinking she'll marry him, then her troubles multiply. At first she tells him to get lost once she realizes he's in over his head. However, I guess the rules of 1956 allow a guy to drag a lady anywhere he wants to, even if it's against her will. It's here she gets to show feelings of despair and fatigue coupled with the fact that she's not totally unattracted to him. In my opinion, she does a good job acting like a female at that time would act. The only bad part I had with the film is one that happens when theatrical productions get translated to film. The actors sometimes feel they have to orate in theatre fashion, which means saying too much too loudly. In the movies, you don't have to make sure the last seat in the theatres hear or see your facial expressions, so a little more sublety would have worked. But other than that, it's a great period piece where you get to see a legend in a slightly different setting.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Marilyn.
Review: This movie, with the exception of "The Misfits", probably says more about the person Marilyn Monroe was, then anything you'll ever read about her life. Her portrayal of the little nobody from nowhere, who "keeps trying to be somebody", is very touching and moving. But even though many comparisons can be drawn between Marilyn & "Cherie",that doesn't take away from the skill & subtlety she puts into her creation. This is a performance, and a brilliant one. And, as acting teacher Lee Strasberg said when reviewers accused her of "just playing herself",..."Playing yourself on screen is the hardest thing to do." Anyone who thinks that Marilyn couldn't act should watch this movie. Director Joshua Logan said years later that he had the usual prejudices against M.M. that most of Hollywood felt towards her, when it was first proposed that she take the role that was originated on stage by Kim Stanley, in the play by William Inge. Logan writes, after recalling his statement that she couldn't pull it off because she couldn't act: "I could gargle with salt & vinegar even now as I say that, because I found Marilyn to be one of the great talents of all time." He also later told of how many of the ideas for the role came from Marilyn herself, saying: "She was brilliant, she was just uneducated." Some may find this movie "dated" (so's the Sistine Chapel). There are no special effects or blasting music to numb you into thinking you're having a great time. There's just a tremulous, wonderful, heartbreaking performance by an unforgettable screen presence, who, like "Cherie", just wanted some respect. She and Cherie both finally received it.
Rating:
Summary: For this Good Ol' Boy..Absolutely Hilarious!!!
Review: Sure the young cowboy here may be a bit unrealistic, but in this crazy world, I would bet there are plenty like him! Talk about a goofy,cornball guy from the old cow farm, who thinks he can grab a woman like he grabs a steer. And he lassos up young Marilyn right there in the ol' bus station line. And he's a hootin and a hollerin in the rodeo, jumpin on them horsies and bulls like a one man hurricane...Marilyn is all flustered with this guy, and thinks she's got to run for the exit, cause he sure seems just a little bit rowdy, not to mention a tad pushy!..Fun in the saloon with slinky Marilyn wowin em with her "Old Black Magic", guitar strummin fun in the bus, and more fun, except for a tonic of seriousness here and there...Does this guy get Marilyn or not?! I have seen every Marilyn movie before, and missed this one till now, and have got to give it another go round, romping rodeos and cowboys and all!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than getting hit in the head with a rock...
Review: I had to sit through this obnoxious film one afternoon, and by the time it was half over, I was ready throw up. Every copy of it should be placed in a barrel and sunk to the bottum of the ocean. Everything about this gasy joke of a film is unpleasant. The acting is terrible and the dialogue is sorry. Most of the characters are unrealistic and anoying. This film makes, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, look like The Godfather. Mystery Science Theater could easily have taken Bus Stop apart.
Rating:
Summary: That Old Black Magic is purely Marilyn!
Review: What a fabulous movie! I have been a fan of Marilyn's since I was a child and this is one of the movies I never could see because of the fact that it was out of print and so difficult to find. My mother taped it off television for me and after hearing all the hype from other Marilyn fans, I simply had to see for myself! Marilyn was at her best here and she was robbed of a nomination that year for Best Actress. Marilyn, in her hillbilly drawl is a confused woman who instantly steals your heart and has you rooting for her to get away from Don Murray, espcially after waking her up after a few hours of sleep and dragging her to the rodeo! But he is persistant and all ends well after an angry bus driver tried to teach Bo (Murray) some manners!
Marilyn went all out in this movie, choosing her own costumes so that she appears as if she is a tired and wary saloon singer who just doesn't seem to have it anymore. And the ghastly white makeup was her idea. Not only did she play Cherie in this movie, but she WAS Cherie. With the memorable musical number, "That Old Black Magic," this is an absolute must see, must have movie for any Marilyn fan.
Rating:
Summary: Marilyn's best as the luminous Cherie
Review: Long out of print (and undeservedly so), "Bus Stop" returns to the video scene and just in time for the current DVD frenzy. Monroe is heartbreaking as kitchy chanteuse, Cherie, who's hijacked by a love-struck young buck played by Don Murray. When Cherie performs "That Old Black Magic", she's her own floor-show in more ways than one. Marilyn gives a nuanced romantic and comedic performance. Her sex appeal is, as always, unstoppable. But it's Cherie's heart (and Marilyn's) that seems stripped bare -- particulary in the key scene at the bus stop diner when the camera pulls in for an extreme closeup of Murray and Marilyn. Anyone who can sustain that kind of luminous vulnerability under such intense focus is truly a screen legend.
Rating: 
Summary: Monroe's best work can't stand up to the play.
Review: Marilyn Monroe gave one of her better performances in this movie. Unfortunately, the movie itself is so lacking. This is especially true when you compare it to writer William Inge's stage version. The movie has completely deleted characters that were too controversial for '50s Hollywood. However, those characters make perhaps the most profound statements on the human condition that the movie loses the richness of the play. The only real reason to see this movie is if you're a fan of Monroe's work. Otherwise, find out if there is a production of the stage play in your area. If you're only knowledge of this work comes from the movie, you're missing most of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Joshua Logan's Brilliant Second Feature Film
Review: Bus Stop is Mister Logan's alternately sweltering, chilly and beautiful adaptation of William Inge's unforgettable stageplay, featuring Marilyn in one of her best film performances(aside from Huston's The Misfits) as naive child woman Cherie, a roadhouse chanteuse, a rotgut glamour girl from the wrong side of the tracks, who becomes the object of obsession for an equally infantile rodeo rider, Beau(Don Murray in an oscar nominated performance).Logan brings Inge's world to breathing technicolor life, and makes it all his own, bringing the bizarre couple from point A to point Z, from juvenile passion and hindrance to mutual love and affection.A fascinating work,containing some of film's most beautiful color closeups, a companion peace to Logan's other Inge adaptation PICNIC, both on the dynamic of man and woman and love.
Rating:
Summary: fun!
Review: Marilyn movies are great and this one is alot of fun.In it,a CRAZY cowboy chases Marilyn's character around the country,as he has decided she will be his wife..no matter what SHE says!
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