Themes: Home From the War, Starting Over, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Ann-Margret, Michael Parks, Janet Margolin, Brad Dexter, Jocelyn Brando
Release Year: 1965
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
Plot
William Inge co-wrote this story about a young man who may have outgrown the straight-laced boundaries of his home town. After a hitch in the Navy, Bus Riley (Michael Thomas Parks) comes home to the staid Midwestern town of his birth; however, home doesn't feel quite like it used to, and Riley is looking for a new sense of purpose in his life. While his girlfriend Judy (Janet Margolin) tries to offer him the love and understanding he needs, she just isn't enough any more, and Riley soon starts looking for thrills with Laurel (Ann-Margret), a local floozy. Michael Thomas Parks, better known simply as Michael Parks, first put his James Dean-esque loner persona to work in this film; he'd get the most use out of it three years later, when he was top-billed in the briefly popular TV series Then Came Bronson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Maybe if William Inge's original screenplay hadn't been worked over by other hands, Bus Riley's Back in Town might have been an absorbing character study of a man caught in a small town where he really doesn't belong. Unfortunately, we can only judge what ultimately made it up on the screen, which is essentially a sloppy, tawdry little melodrama full of clichés and trite dialogue rather than the incisive tale that it might have been. Rumor has it that Inge took his name off the screenplay because other writers not only rewrote his material but totally changed the emphasis, building up the part played by Ann-Margret from a small featured part into a starring role that throws the story out of balance. This certainly seems to be true, for Ann-Margret's character has far more to due than seems necessary, and her actions are so often so unmotivated as to support the case that she was put into scenes only to increase her screen time. This has a terrible effect on the story itself, essentially ruining it, but matters are worsened by the fact that the talented Ann-Margret herself disappoints this time out. Her sex kitten routine comes across as rather mechanical and her acting in general is not good. She's still sexy as all get out: it's just all for show. In the title role, Michael Parks is dull and mannered, but Janet Margolin does very well as Judy. The supporting cast is generally fine. Director Harvey Hart makes an effort to create some visual interest, but he can't take the disjointed story and make it work. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
David Winters - Choreography, Jean Louis - Costume Designer, Terence Nelson - First Assistant Director, Harvey Hart - Director, Folmar Blangsted - Editor, Richard Markowitz - Composer (Music Score), Russell Metty - Cinematographer, Elliott Kastner - Producer, Walter Gage - Screenwriter, William Inge - Screenwriter
The intense drama depicts a man (James Deanlook-alike Parks) returning home from three years in the Navy only to find that his girlfriend (Ann-Margret) has married an older man. He also finds out a male friend, who was holding a job for him while he was away, wants to live with him and apparently sleep with him as part of the bargain, giving a controversial gay angle to the plot.
Inge stenuously objected when the film's focus was diverted from Riley to his girlfriend since this radically diverged from his original concept. He was so outraged that he insisted his writing credit be under the name of William Gage. The studio preferred to spotlight Ann-Margret, however, and the film is in fact one of the best showcases for her early, phenomenally seductive persona.
