Niagara (1953)

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

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch

Stars:

Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

George and Rose Loomis are honeymooning at a Niagara Falls motel. She plots with Ted Patrick to do him in, but all does not go smoothly. For one thing, after Loomis is reported missing Polly Cutler spies him at the motel but her husband Bud thinks she's imagining it. Marilyn sings "Kiss."

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Plot Keywords:

niagara falls | record player | wife plots to kill husband | suspicion | american canadian border | 

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Taglines:

A raging torrent of emotion that even nature can't control!

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Torrente pasional

Filming Locations:

3620 Bridgewater St, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Peters got the role of Polly Cutler after Anne Baxter withdrew. After her withdrawal, the film was reworked to highlight Marilyn Monroe.

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Goofs

As Polly is being lifted into the helicopter, the seat belt on the lift appears, disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

[First line, voiceover as we watch him at the base of the Falls]
George Loomis: Why should the Falls drag me down here at 5 o'clock in the morning? To show me how big they are and how small I am? To remind me they can get along without any help? All right, so they've proved it. But why not? They've had ten thousand years to get independent. What's so wonderful about that? I suppose I could too, only it might take a little more time.

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Connections

Referenced in Oi aparadektoi: Kane mou ligaki mmm (1991)

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Soundtracks

Kiss
(uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Haven Gillespie
Played on the phonograph and sung in part by Marilyn Monroe

User Reviews

Two forces of nature - Marilyn and Niagara Falls

Beauty abounds in "Niagara," a 1953 film starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, and Jean Peters. There's the beauty and power of Niagara Falls, spectacularly displayed throughout the movie, and the beauty of Marilyn Monroe, who is gorgeous in Technicolor. Monroe is the unhappy wife of the unstable George Loomis, played by an appropriately seedy Joseph Cotten. It's not clear whether or not Marilyn drove him to his present state, but he's wound pretty tight. Monroe and her lover plan George's demise via the falls. Jean Peters and Max Showalter are a vacationing couple who become more involved than they want to, Peters bearing the acting burden of the film. The casting is great (although the Peters role originally was supposed to go to Anne Baxter). Peters' wholesome prettiness is in sharp contrast to Monroe's va-va-va-voom.

Having grown up near the Falls, it was both interesting and enjoyable to see them featured. And, as we all know who've been there, the Canadian side, where this movie was filmed, is far more beautiful. Given today's security problems, I loved the scene where Monroe intended to walk across to the American side to avoid being questioned while in a car.

I've seen candid photos of Marilyn Monroe taken around the time of filming, and she was surely at the peak of her beauty and sensuality. Though I've always felt her very careful enunciation detracted from her dramatic acting, she's very good as the cheating wife. It's funny to read occasionally that the physical standard of beauty is thinner today - her figure, like the rest of her, is fabulous, shown off in a variety of clothing by Dorothy Jeakins, who was a prominent costumer on Broadway and in film.

There's really not much to the story of "Niagara." It's a standard tale of love, betrayal, and murder set against a magnificent backdrop and given spark by spirited performances. Well worth seeing.