Niagara (1953)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Charles Brackett (written by) &
Walter Reisch (written by) ...
(more)

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 and her husband reach the level of murder.

Plot Keywords:

Niagara Falls | Murder | Honeymoon | 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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henry Beckman	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Bill Coontz	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Robert Ellis	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Howard Engel	...	Man at bus stop (uncredited)
Neil Fitzgerald	...	Customs Officer (uncredited)
Gloria Gordon	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Winifield Hoeny	...	Straw Boss (uncredited)
George Ives	...	Carillon Tower Guide (uncredited)
Arch Johnson	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Lester Matthews	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Sean McClory	...	Sam (uncredited)
Norman McKay	...	Morris (uncredited)
Audre Monture	...	Woman in gift shop (uncredited)
Patrick O'Moore	...	Detective (uncredited)
Tom Reynolds	...	Husband (uncredited)
Willard Sage	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Minerva Urecal	...	Mrs. McGrand, Landlady of McGrand's Boarding House (uncredited)
Nina Varela	...	Wife (uncredited)
Gene Wesson	...	Guide (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Hathaway

Writing credits
Charles Brackett		(written by) &
Walter Reisch		(written by) and
Richard L. Breen		(written by) (as Richard Breen)

Produced by
Charles Brackett	....	producer

Original Music by
Sol Kaplan

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald		(as Joe MacDonald)

Film Editing by
Barbara McLean

Art Direction by
Maurice Ransford
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Stuart A. Reiss		(as Stuart Reiss)

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist: Miss Monroe (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gerd Oswald	....	assistant director

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound (as W. D. Flick)
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Polly Burson	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Felix Trimboli	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Other crew
Leonard Doss	....	Technicolor color consultant

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (released by)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV)
• 20th Century Fox (1953) (France) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)

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) | UK: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:

Arch Johnson's debut.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the next shot, the camera pans down and right to show a rainbow deep in the gorge, placing the sun high in the northeastern sky - impossible in the Northern Hemisphere at any time.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Ties: I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend (#1.3)" (1982)

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.