The Wayward Bus (film)
Encyclopedia
The Wayward Bus is a 1957
drama
film
released by 20th Century Fox
that starred Jayne Mansfield
, Joan Collins
, Dan Dailey
and Rick Jason
. The film was based on the novel of the same name
by John Steinbeck
.
; this project received disappointing reviews. Fox hoped to reinvent the success of 1956's Bus Stop
(starring Marilyn Monroe
) film adaptation but instead ended up crafting the Steinbeck novel into what one commentator called "the kind of lowbrow schlock the novel had satirized".
Mansfield was signed to the film because Fox was eager to capitalize on its new star. She had just made it big with The Girl Can't Help It
. Fox was also waiting for the film script of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
, Mansfield's Broadway
hit that ran from October 1955 to May of 1956 starring Mansfield as Rita Marlowe and featuring Orson Bean
. While waiting for Rock Hunter to be ready for the big screen, Fox tried their best to keep Mansfield busy; Wayward Bus was made quickly after Girl Can't Help It to keep Mansfield's name in front of the public's eye. In The Wayward Bus, however, Mansfield would have to play Camille Oakes seriously, rather than the cheesy and light-headed Jerri Jordan of The Girl Can't Help It.
Joanne Woodward
was supposed to have the part of "Mildred Pritchard", but Woodward dropped out to star in The Three Faces of Eve
, and the part went to Dolores Michaels
at the last minute, her first acting role. United Press International
said in a review of the film that Michaels' "torrid" scene, a seduction scene in a hayloft where she makes a pass at the bus driver (Rick Jason
), "manages to steal the sexist scene in the picture," over better known sirens as Jayne Mansfield
and Joan Collins
. And also said that Hollywood had not had a scene like this since Jane Russell
in The Outlaw
. Director Victor Vicas
shot the scene twice, an "A" scene and a "B" scene because of the censors.
The Wayward Bus was one of 33 films nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear Award at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival
but lost to Sidney Lumet
's 12 Angry Men.
Unhappy with what has become of her life, she decides to "surprise" her husband mid-way through his bus trip. Among the passengers, Camille Oakes (Mansfield) is a shamed burlesque dancer on the way to a well-paying job in San Juan. Camille gets caught up in a flirtation with traveling salesman Ernest Horton (Dailey).
Most of the story takes place on the charter bus. Slowly making their way through a treacherous California mountain region, the passengers undergo a variety of life-altering experiences. The journey has its most profound effects upon the iconoclastic salesman and the lonely stripper.
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
released by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
that starred Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
and Rick Jason
Rick Jason
Rick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
. The film was based on the novel of the same name
The Wayward Bus
The Wayward Bus is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, originally published in 1947. Steinbeck dedicated this novel to "Gwyn", presumably a reference to his second wife Gwyndolyn Conger...
by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
.
Production background
A black and white feature released in May 1957 by 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
; this project received disappointing reviews. Fox hoped to reinvent the success of 1956's Bus Stop
Bus stop
A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
(starring Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
) film adaptation but instead ended up crafting the Steinbeck novel into what one commentator called "the kind of lowbrow schlock the novel had satirized".
Mansfield was signed to the film because Fox was eager to capitalize on its new star. She had just made it big with The Girl Can't Help It
The Girl Can't Help It
The Girl Can't Help It is a 1956 comedy musical film starring Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, and Edmond O'Brien. It was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay adapted by Tashlin and Herbert Baker from an uncredited novel Do Re Me by Garson Kanin...
. Fox was also waiting for the film script of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (play)
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is an original stage comedy in three acts and four scenes that opened on Broadway October 13, 1955, starring Orson Bean , Martin Gabel , Jayne Mansfield , Harry Clark , Carol Grace , Lou Gallo , William Thourlby and Walter Matthau .It...
, Mansfield's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
hit that ran from October 1955 to May of 1956 starring Mansfield as Rita Marlowe and featuring Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
. While waiting for Rock Hunter to be ready for the big screen, Fox tried their best to keep Mansfield busy; Wayward Bus was made quickly after Girl Can't Help It to keep Mansfield's name in front of the public's eye. In The Wayward Bus, however, Mansfield would have to play Camille Oakes seriously, rather than the cheesy and light-headed Jerri Jordan of The Girl Can't Help It.
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
was supposed to have the part of "Mildred Pritchard", but Woodward dropped out to star in The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve
The Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 American film adaptation of a case study by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. It was based on the true story of Chris Costner Sizemore, also known as Eve White, a woman who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality...
, and the part went to Dolores Michaels
Dolores Michaels
Dolores Rae Michaels was an American actress.-Biography:She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Esther Marie "Essie" and Raymond Roscoe "Ray" Michaels .Her father was at one-time a professional baseball player who spent time as a catcher in the Chicago Cubs...
at the last minute, her first acting role. United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
said in a review of the film that Michaels' "torrid" scene, a seduction scene in a hayloft where she makes a pass at the bus driver (Rick Jason
Rick Jason
Rick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
), "manages to steal the sexist scene in the picture," over better known sirens as Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
and Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
. And also said that Hollywood had not had a scene like this since Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
in The Outlaw
The Outlaw
The Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...
. Director Victor Vicas
Victor Vicas
Victor Vicas was a Russian-born French film director and screenwriter. His film The Wayward Bus was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
shot the scene twice, an "A" scene and a "B" scene because of the censors.
The Wayward Bus was one of 33 films nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear Award at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival
7th Berlin International Film Festival
The 7th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 21 to July 2, 1957.-Jury:* Jay Carmody * Jean de Baroncelli* John Sutro* Dalpathal Kothari* Fernaldo Di Giammatteo* Bunzaburo Hayashi* Miguel Alemán hijo...
but lost to Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's 12 Angry Men.
Plot
Alice Chicoy (Collins) is the wife of driver Johnny (Jason). He owns a small and rundown little bus that makes side trips. Alice is the owner of a little restaurant and likes liquor a bit too much.Unhappy with what has become of her life, she decides to "surprise" her husband mid-way through his bus trip. Among the passengers, Camille Oakes (Mansfield) is a shamed burlesque dancer on the way to a well-paying job in San Juan. Camille gets caught up in a flirtation with traveling salesman Ernest Horton (Dailey).
Most of the story takes place on the charter bus. Slowly making their way through a treacherous California mountain region, the passengers undergo a variety of life-altering experiences. The journey has its most profound effects upon the iconoclastic salesman and the lonely stripper.
Main Cast
- Jayne MansfieldJayne MansfieldJayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
as Camille Oakes - Joan CollinsJoan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
as Alice Chicoy - Dan DaileyDan DaileyDaniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
as Ernest Horton - Rick JasonRick JasonRick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
as Johnny Chicoy - Betty Lou KeimBetty Lou KeimBetty Lou Keim was an actress with movie and television credits from 1949 to 1960.-Early life and career:...
as Norma, the counter girl - Dolores MichaelsDolores MichaelsDolores Rae Michaels was an American actress.-Biography:She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Esther Marie "Essie" and Raymond Roscoe "Ray" Michaels .Her father was at one-time a professional baseball player who spent time as a catcher in the Chicago Cubs...
as Mildred Pritchard - Larry KeatingLarry KeatingLarry Keating was an American actor born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is known for his role of next-door neighbor Roger Addison on the television series Mister Ed, which he played from 1961 until his death in 1963...
as Elliott Pritchard - Robert BrayRobert BrayRobert E. Bray was an American film and television actor probably best remembered for his role as the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the long-running CBS series Lassie.-Life and career:...
as Morse