Niagara (1953)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Charles Brackett (written by) and
Walter Reisch (written by) ...

Release Date:

February 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Marilyn Monroe and "Niagara" a raging torrent of emotion that even nature can't control!

Plot:

As two couples are visiting Niagara Falls, tensions between one wife (Marilyn Monroe) and her husband reach the level of murder.

Plot Keywords:

Niagara Falls | Honeymoon | Murder | Couple | Motel

Cast

Marilyn Monroe	...	Rose Loomis
Joseph Cotten	...	George Loomis
Jean Peters	...	Polly Cutler
Max Showalter	...	Ray Cutler (as Casey Adams)
Denis O'Dea	...	Inspector Starkey
Richard Allan	...	Patrick
Don Wilson	...	Mr. J.C. Kettering
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mrs. Kettering
Russell Collins	...	Mr. Qua
Will Wright	...	Boatman

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | USA:Approved (certificate #15990)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When this movie was made, Fox was still struggling to figure out how to best cast Marilyn Monroe, figuring that her sexy image would lend itself to playing femme fatales in dramas. However, Monroe's dramatic acting was not her strong suit, and her serious roles, such as in this film, produced much unintended laughter from audiences. As a result, Monroe was re-imagined as a comedic actress, with much success.

Goofs:

Continuity: Rose's dead body changes position between shots.

Quotes:

Polly Cutler: Fine thing. I tell him we're on our honeymoon and you drag out a copy of Winston Churchill! He must think I'm a pretty hard article.
Ray Cutler: You should have told him we're on a delayed honeymoon.
Polly Cutler: Delayed or not, we agreed to treat it like a regular one, didn't we?
[quick kiss]
Ray Cutler: I'm game. And it'll be just as good as a regular honeymoon.
Polly Cutler: Well, it should be better. I've got my union card now.
[Lascivious glance]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Kiss

Color, gleaming surfaces, dark interiors

Niagara is one of those wonders who came out of the dream factory of the fifties and still manage to leave deep impressions in fresh viewers. Technically it is simply perfect: the story is like in a film noir, but Niagara is anything but «noir»! This is a true color movie with high artistic and aesthetic value. The best possible use was made of the location; it is an idealized place for honeymooners, with gleaming surfaces, gaudy colors and happy faces. The viewers see the postcard-image of the place – it's the era of President Eisenhower, renowned for its uplifting moral integrity, right? But behind the surfaces are dark rooms, depression, madness and scheming thoughts. Innocuous facades conceal quarrels, discontent and eventually murder. And in its midst roars the waterfall, at once beautiful and menacing. The message of the movie is conveyed largely through pictures, the location not the screenplay is the story.

The actors are part of the location. As far as I can remember there are hardly any close ups. Marilyn Monroe looks feverish and disturbed throughout, she elicits compassion rather than arousing sexual desires. Joseph Cotten is very good in the role of her confused and deranged husband. His mental condition seems to stem from war experiences (although in the movie this is treated as a kind of a side remark, its being mentioned is worth remembering, it happens seldom enough). To the disturbed couple are added a «normal» couple and an older, «seasoned» couple (very good, sensible performances by Lurene Tuttle and Don Wilson). The cast aptly represents the chances and pitfalls of life and human relations as behind them water flows down the river and falls over the edge.

Niagara shows a highly artistic approach to a specific place and uses symbols in the way of earlier black and white movies. I can highly recommend it to everyone. It is a pity that the potential of the technical means of this kind of widescreen color movies was not explored further in that direction, creating a direct link between the style of film noir and that of «film couleur». The wet asphalt in the early morning light is just unforgettable.