Niagara

Like - WOW!!... Marilyn Monroe has never looked hotter than she does in Niagara. Man, Monroe just sizzles in this flick, especially in her hot-pink dress. This 1953 Thriller offers great fun for the viewer on a variety of levels. (1) Film Noir themes abound (albeit in Technicolor). (2) Oodles of location shooting around Niagara Falls. (3) And, best of all, Freudian Symbolism runs amok. Monroe plays Rose Loomis, an unbelievably ripe femme fatale. Niagara's twisted tale of greed and infidelity has the tantalizing Rose devilishly plotting (with her handsome toy-boy) the murder of her emotionally unstable husband, George. And, what better way to do him in, then a quick, hard push over, into the roaring Falls. Adding to Niagara's thrills - Director Henry Hathaway does an excellent job of squeezing the most out of the spectacular scenery around Niagara Falls. If you're a Marilyn Monroe fan, then you're sure to enjoy this seductively wicked flick.

The look and atmosphere in this film is so vivid that even viewed on TV it makes you feel as if you have been to Niagara Falls sometime in the early 1950s. The plot takes a deceptively leisurely pace but it builds to a gripping climax. It is worth the viewer's time & effort to stick with it to the end. Marilyn Monroe is radiantly treacherous & her performance is subtle and bears close watching beyond her obvious attractiveness. She should get a lot more credit for this picture than I've seen others give her. Joseph Cotten balances between being menacing & getting our pity & sympathy. Not all the performances are terrific but this movie is a gem that rewards the effort to stick with it to the end.

Joseph Cotten was an outstanding actor whose talents have been terribly under-appreciated. He is great in this movie as an abusive husband. The very sexy Marilyn Monroe is his wife, who is having an affair with another man. They meet a pair of young newlyweds on their honeymoon. Max Showalter as the young husband is one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen. Jean Peters as his bride does the unthinkable, managing to look almost as beautiful as Marilyn herself. This is a suspenseful and entertaining movie, which makes great use of the scenery surrounding Niagara Falls.

Marilyn Monroe always wanted to be a straight-dramatic actress. She succeeded in this 1953 film. Unhappily married to Joseph Cotten, the two are at the famous falls where Monroe plots with her lover to kill Cotten. Jean Peters and Richard Allan (who also went under the name of Max Showalter) are a married couple who befriend the two. They try to comfort Monroe when they all think that Cotten is dead. Monroe soon realizes that the plot has gone awry and that her lover is instead dead. Cotten has gone totally insane by her actions and plots her demise. The chilling scene where Monroe meets her end is done extremely well as the chimes ring. The latter was supposed to signify the death of Cotten by her lover. Cotten fleeing with Jean Peters, in the boat by the Falls, is done in an exciting, ambitious way. The end is marvelously staged. ***