Hollywood Cowgirl: Marilyn Goes West (Twice)

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Marilyn’s two major Western roles are revisited in a five-page article by David Hofstede and Wendy Wilkinson for US magazine Cowboys & Indians, dated February/March 2026. The ‘Hollywood Issue‘ can be purchased from some UK newsagents, or digitally via Zinio.

River of No Return (1954) is an old-fashioned adventure, with Marilyn performing four songs. It was partly filmed in Jasper, Alberta, and residents have shared memories of meeting Marilyn – including one Alden Bradley, previously featured right here.

Just a kid in 1953, then local resident Alden Bradley remembered meeting Monroe at Becker's Bungalows in Jasper. "Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun, and Robert Mitchum were staying at the Bungalows, and one day we rode our bikes out there just to see if we could see them," Bradley recalled to The Marilyn Report. "We saw Rory and his wife first, and he said, 'I don't think you're here to see me, are you?" Calhoun pointed them in the direction of Monroe, who was walking along the highway. Bradley remembered how he and his friends rode up to talk to her. "I didn't believe how short she was. I was only 7, and she wasn't much taller than me. She was just pleasant to talk to. She asked if she could ride my bike. She rode it back to the Bungalows. I just ran alongside her."

By contrast, The Misfits (1961) would be Marilyn’s last complete movie – and its modern-day setting and downbeat mood signalled a new direction for the genre.