Despite not liking Marilyn Monroe, I do like this film. Maybe because she isn't in the whole thing. This is a great film noir with excellent scenery and cute costumes costarring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, and Max Showalter.
George (Joseph) is married to Rose (Marilyn) and on vay cay at Niagara Falls. They are unhappy and sleeping in. Newlyweds Polly (Jean) and Ray (Max) are visiting the same stop and meet Rose as she is leaving for the market. During sightseeing time at the falls they spy Rose swapping spit with someone other than her husband.
Later that night the couple meet Rose again during the motel dance off and learn that her hubby has issues. Rose dresses sexy and plays sexy tunes, and her husband gets mad and breaks the record.
George and Polly get better acquainted when she helps him with his cut hand. He seems normal but depressed.
This dress makes me want to sew!
George knows something is up when he finds a ticket for the falls in Rose's pocket. Meanwhile, Rose calls her lover and tells him the "plan" must go down tomorrow at the falls...
The next day Rose knows what is going to happen but plays dumb and tells Polly and Max she is worried because George is MIA. Polly and Max meet up with work friends and take to the falls.
Rose gets word that the plan worked and goes to see the body at the morgue. What she sees sends her to the hospital with fret. The wrong person was murdered! The one that got away is now after Rose.
There is a long chase and in the end, Rose gets what she deserves and the killer is on the loose. He captures a boat with Polly on it that is headed to the falls!
With Max watching with fear (Oh my!), Polly gets a chance to jump ship right before the boat goes over with the killer still inside. What a vacation to remember!
This was a fun movie with a few serious scenes and some silly ones as well. This is the only role Marilyn would have where her character was killed. She was still under contract and ended up making less money for this film then the crew.
2 comments:
I love this movie but I'm not exactly sure why. The casting is kind of weird & the plot is a little screwy. Maybe it is the pink dress. Maybe it is because I leave a long time in between viewings so it is a surprise every time. Good one!
Emily, I got a big kick out of your cheeky pictorial about NIAGARA! I've seen the film before, so your witty remarks are rendered even funnier. I laughed out loud over this line: "What she sees sends her to the hospital with fret." Even folks who aren't into Marilyn Monroe can enjoy NIAGARA, or your blog about same, because it's one of MM's rare villain/femme fatale roles, so rooting against her is half the fun. Terrific blog post!
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