A young sailor returns home to discover his girl has married an older, wealthy man.A young sailor returns home to discover his girl has married an older, wealthy man.A young sailor returns home to discover his girl has married an older, wealthy man.
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The girls want Bus
This is the kind of film where the title says all. Michael Parks who was attempting to be a 60s version of James Dean is back from Uncle Sam's Navy and looking to
settle down. Jobs like mortician and vacuum cleaner salesman don't quite work
out, but he's got a pair of women in tow.
Janet Margolin is the daughter of a friend of Parks's mom and she's a sweet innocent thing. But his former girlfriend Ann-Margret has up and married money rather than wait for Parks. Still her older husband is away all the time and Ann-Margret has an itch that needs scratching which Parks is only happy to oblige.
The main reason to see Bus Riley's Back In Town is for Ann-Margret. She really sizzles in the part of the sex hungry man trap. Despite some less than stellar reviews, folks plunked down their money to see her.
She's still worth seeing.
Janet Margolin is the daughter of a friend of Parks's mom and she's a sweet innocent thing. But his former girlfriend Ann-Margret has up and married money rather than wait for Parks. Still her older husband is away all the time and Ann-Margret has an itch that needs scratching which Parks is only happy to oblige.
The main reason to see Bus Riley's Back In Town is for Ann-Margret. She really sizzles in the part of the sex hungry man trap. Despite some less than stellar reviews, folks plunked down their money to see her.
She's still worth seeing.
Michael Parks channels James Dean
Unless you love small-town soap opera or are a big fan of Ann-Margret, the only reason to recommend this film is to see Michael Parks emulate James Dean. Perhaps Parks isn't quite as intense or as fidgety as Dean, but the facial expressions, mannerisms, stance, etc. are all spot-on for this Dean fan. I had never really noticed Parks in anything before seeing this, and I haven't seen someone play James Dean this well since James Franco in the TNT "James Dean" (2001) biopic.
Kim Darby, somehow looking older than she did in "Star Trek" or "True Grit" plays a high school version of Barbara Bel Geddes' Midge from "Vertigo."
Kim Darby, somehow looking older than she did in "Star Trek" or "True Grit" plays a high school version of Barbara Bel Geddes' Midge from "Vertigo."
A man returns from service in the navy to a small town, finding he no longer fits in.
I really love this movie -I saw it after Parks' series 'Then Came Bronson' which started when I was just seven years old. I honestly don't know how I remember the show.
I have done some research on 'Bus Riley...' and found that the movie was significantly changed by Universal; I don't know whether it was done during shooting or after the bulk of shooting was complete but a great deal of the original story was cut with new scenes filmed to 'push' Ann Margret as a Universal Studios talent. (William) Inge's original script had Judy (Janet Margolin, an absolutely lovely woman) as Bus' girlfriend. He came back to a job at the garage -with James Doohan playing a larger role and was not satisfied, unfulfilled and fell into the relationship with Ann Margret. Michael Parks, Janet Margolin and James Doohan had diminished roles as a result of the forced changes to the movie.
I cannot substantiate this version of events but have seen enough references to it to lend credence to the story -I believe it is why the AM character seems to make no sense at times.
Now, having said that, I still love this movie. I find Michael Parks to be an actor of rare talent and I believe he may have been blacklisted for being difficult to work with. I do think he is a better actor than James Dean, whom he was frequently compared to.
I have done some research on 'Bus Riley...' and found that the movie was significantly changed by Universal; I don't know whether it was done during shooting or after the bulk of shooting was complete but a great deal of the original story was cut with new scenes filmed to 'push' Ann Margret as a Universal Studios talent. (William) Inge's original script had Judy (Janet Margolin, an absolutely lovely woman) as Bus' girlfriend. He came back to a job at the garage -with James Doohan playing a larger role and was not satisfied, unfulfilled and fell into the relationship with Ann Margret. Michael Parks, Janet Margolin and James Doohan had diminished roles as a result of the forced changes to the movie.
I cannot substantiate this version of events but have seen enough references to it to lend credence to the story -I believe it is why the AM character seems to make no sense at times.
Now, having said that, I still love this movie. I find Michael Parks to be an actor of rare talent and I believe he may have been blacklisted for being difficult to work with. I do think he is a better actor than James Dean, whom he was frequently compared to.
10bux
Well told story of returning serviceman's adjustment to civilian life
Bus Riley comes home to find that the girl he loves has married a wealthy, older man. Now he must make a new life for himself. The critics, at the time panned this one, badly. It's a good story and the acting is superb, it is not Parks' fault that he looks so much like James Dean! During the story Riley is given career choices and the choice of right and wrong concerning his former love(played so sexily by Ann Margaret). This is a simple story of how he deals with these choices. Parks' performance hints at brilliance, had he been given better roles in the future.
Attempts to uncover small town scandals, but film is a mere whimper
Writer William Inge took his name off the credits for this Ann-Margret/Michael Parks dud about serviceman returning home to family and friends, only to find everything has changed while he's been away. The screenplay, now credited to Walter Gage, hints at provocative themes (an older gentleman whom Parks sees about a job actually comes on to him, eyebrow-raising for 1965!), but the characters don't make much sense. Ann-Margret does everything she can to bring life to the proverbial ex-girlfriend role, but her Laurel is an unconvincing, mercurial concoction--you cannot get a grip on this woman--and A-M has no choice but to fall back on her patented sultriness. A slight, watchable movie with bad editing and drab cinematography, however it's a curious attempt at modernizing a "Picnic"-like scenario. *1/2 from ****
Did you know
- TriviaThe New York Times reported in its review of the film that writer William Inge requested his name be removed from the credits due to changes made by the films producer to "glorify Ann-Margret." The screenplay was credited to "Walter Gage" in the finished film. In a interview for "Films and Filming," from January 1976, Ann-Margret explained the real story: "You should have seen the film we originally shot. After the alterations were made William Inge had his name taken off of it. His screenplay had been wonderful. So brutally honest. And the woman Laurel, as he wrote her, was mean...and he made that very sad. But the studio at that time didn't want me to have that kind of an image for the young people of America. They thought it was too brutal a portrayal. It had been filmed entirely, using William Inge's script, but a year after it was completed they got another writer in, and another director. They wanted me to re-do five key scenes. And those scenes changed the story. That's when Inge took his name off. There were two of those scenes that I just refused to do. The other three...I did, but I was upset and angry. They'd altered the whole life of the story and made the character I played another person altogether. To put it mildly, they'd softened the blow that Inge had delivered. If only everyone could have seen that film the way he wrote it."
- ConnectionsReferenced in Chappaqua (1966)
- How long is Bus Riley's Back in Town?Powered by Alexa
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- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
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