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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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."
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 ****
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.
This modest but cute film shows Kim Darby (Gussie) to be perhaps the most underrated actress ever. Every eye movement, every facial expression is a treasure. Her performance is simply brilliant. Why didn't she ever get more good roles? She is so natural, so believable, and has that special quality so many formula actors cannot access: the ability to make you remember and feel the real person inside yourself.
Also, Janet Margolin (Judy) gives a subtle and appropriately underplayed performance, at the same time showing her serene natural beauty at its best. What a pity she died so young!
What this film is really about is family; characters like Gussie & Judy. The role that Ann Margret plays is just a foil, and even the cover of the video shows that entirely too much attention has been focussed on her, detracting from the real value of the film.
Also, Janet Margolin (Judy) gives a subtle and appropriately underplayed performance, at the same time showing her serene natural beauty at its best. What a pity she died so young!
What this film is really about is family; characters like Gussie & Judy. The role that Ann Margret plays is just a foil, and even the cover of the video shows that entirely too much attention has been focussed on her, detracting from the real value of the film.
10bux
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.
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
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
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