Although Marilyn Monroe technically acted in four film noirs, Niagara and Don’t Bother to Knock are the only two were she has questionable motives or is straight-up evil (The Asphalt Jungle and Clash By Night have her playing nicer characters). It is refreshing to see her in roles that are opposed to her regular dumb blonde persona. Even when she plays those though, there’s usually a depth to them in a way. I’m going to deep-dive into Niagara, but I’m a huge fan of the insanity she portrays in Nell in Don’t Bother to Knock as well.
Niagara gives us the physical Marilyn we’re used to—bright colors, sexy silhouette, and blonde locks—at least initially. But she’s a femme fatale instead of the naive blonde. Her facial expressions show a cunning woman with a secret, and the suspense builds so well as you try to figure out what’s going on.
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Synopsis
Ray (Max Showalter) and Polly (Jean Peters) show up at a resort overlooking Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. Unfortunately, the cabin that was promised to them is still occupied by George (Joseph Cotton) and Rose (Marilyn) Loomis, so they need to take another one (this is important for later). We soon see that while Ray and Polly are a happy couple, George and Rose are not. Our first view of George is him overlooking the Falls, and you wonder for a moment whether he’s going to jump. Rose is alone in the room the first time we see her, presumably naked underneath the covers, and her facial expressions do not express that of a happy woman.
Rose starts planting seeds to her vacation neighbors about George’s instability and how he wasn’t the same since he fougth in the Korean War. She plays a song in front of everyone that she knows he’ll overreact to, and he plays right into it, coming out and smashing the record. Polly is a bit wise to Rose, given that she saw her making out with another man by the Falls. All is definitely not happy in this wet paradise.
The film then attempts to throw you off a bit because the next morning, Rose and George are initially amorous with each other in their cabin, making it seem like they had a passionate night together, but soon Rose flips the script and admits she’s off to see her lover. The way Marilyn plays this is so well done. George follows her and while he doesn’t see her man, played by Richard Allan), we get to see her make a phone call. Now we know it’s not just that she’s having an affair, but the two lovers have concocted a plan to murder her husband. The moment when they pan to Patrick’s (not sure if we really know his name in the movie, but he’s named in the credits on IMDB) shoes is soooo well done. I’ll talk more on that later reveal. He confirms that the bells will play their song if everything goes well (the same one George smashed).
****Spoilers abound below***
This does raise further questions for me though about how George knows its their song. Unless she’s blatantly told him before, which I suppose I wouldn’t put past her. She does sing along with it before George breaks the record. We assume things went off without a hitch until Rose goes to identify the body and faints. We certainly know that would not be her reaction if it was her husband.
Then we see those shoes again, but Geroge is wearing them (the shoes get a whole section later)! After almost stabbing Polly, believing she’s Rose (the honeymooners got moved into their original cabin since Rose was in the hospital and George is believed to be dead), he takes out the real Rose. He then tries to get her to help him when Polly is separated during a tense tour of the Falls. This offers some beautiful, but terrifying shots. Is this really how you go out to see them? Is it still like this?
She asks why he doesn’t turn himself in since killing Patrick was self-defense. He admits it’s too late for him now since he murdered Rose as well. Thankfully, Polly gets away, but a later scene has her trapped on a boat with George speeding away. When they run out of gas too close to the Falls, he helps her out onto a rock so she can get rescued while he goes over.
***End Spoilers***
The Players
Marilyn Monroe
Once again, anytime I get to see Marilyn in a different role that doesn’t include trying to marry rich, I eat it up. It really is a shame she was typecast as severely as she was. This film is an interesting transition because we get to see her traditional look, but the character has so much more going on than being concerned about diamonds. Don’t get me wrong…I love her in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, but there’s something extra in getting to see her flexing her acting chops like she does here and in Don’t Bother to Knock. Sometimes in reviews, people don’t like her branching out into other things. They expect the persona that she sold to the public, but there was much more to her than that.
Her character here, Rose, can in one frame be basking in the afterglow of an intimate night with her husband, and then turn around and let the cruelty pour out of her by confirming that she is going to meet another man. Marilyn’s subtle attitude changes are staggering, which goes to show how talented she really was.
This film was a huge turning point for her too because it was the first time she got top billing. Unfortunately because she was still under contract for this, her pay was crap. It would take a bit more work for her to get that increase.
This would not be the last time that Marilyn had directors irritated about her nudity. In The Misfits, she kept letting the sheet dropped and insisted that no woman who was alone would try to hold up a sheet while putting on a robe. I mean, she’s right. Here, director Henry Hathaway, had to keep yelling at her to keep away from the shower curtain and the lights since she insisted on actually being naked. I was still surprised at how much of her silouhette at certain moments you can see here, given this was under The Production Code.
Joseph Cotten
Joseph does a great job with this role. You don’t really know what to think of him from the beginning. First, he suspects her infidelity really quick, so it’s hard to trust his motives. When he breaks the record, the moment is jarring, but you catch on that Rose is setting him up to appear crazy before she outright admits it.
He just keeps digging himself deeper and getting more wicked as you watch. The lines of who the villain is blurs as he falls farther than Rose does eventually. Initially, I got distracted by trying to figure out what else I’d seen him in, before realizing it was Gaslight.
The director orginally wanted James Mason in the lead role, but Mason turned it down because ***spoiler***
she was sick of seeing her father die in movies.
***End Spoiler***
Jean Peters and Max Showalter
So, honestly, I really liked Jean as Polly, but Ray (Max) really got on my nerves. The way he dismissed her when she was telling him that she saw George drove me crazy. I suppose it’s not surprising that he treated her that way, given the time this was made, but it still got under my skin. I was waiting for something worse to happen since he decided to try to downplay her concerns, and then the detective just let it go too! The idea that women can’t tell the difference between reality and a nightmare made me want to deck them all and knock some sense into them. While I liked Polly as a character, part of me wanted Ray to suffer and have her die… immediately making him regret being so stupid.
Denis O’Dea
I want to do a special nod here to Denis, who played the detective just because I know him best as Father Murphy from Darby O’Gill and the Little People. I thought he did a great job in this film, and it was so far removed from how I was used to seeing him. I did not like how his character dismissed Polly though either, as I mentioned.
The Shoes!
I feel like these shoes deserve an honorable mention because they are a huge plot point! The scene after Patrick talks to Rose about their sinister plans, you pan to his feet, focusing on them for a moment longer than should be necessary, but then you know they’re going to be important. And they are, for the reveal later that George is the one wearing them. This choice helps the audience put everything together about what happened without it needing to be explained. I love this detail!
I do think it is a bit coincidental that the two men have exactly the same size feet, but I’ll suspend belief because of how brilliant the plot point is. How funny would it have been though if George had complained about his feet hurting having to wear those shoes!
Background Trivia
Canada was a Bit Miffed About this Movie
In April of 1953, the Provincial Legislature member for the area whined about the film giving Niagara Falls a bad name. Instead of it showing the wonders and awe of Niagara Falls, the film delves into adultery and murder! They said that the it did nothing but hurt the honeymoon capital. But, for me, it was great to see the different shots of the Falls.
This thing though terrifies me! I would not go out onto this, but it’s because this looks scary…not because of the movie plot.
Cast in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes During Filming
Marilyn received word during filming on her 26th birthday (June 1, 1952) that she’d been cast as Lorelei in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Not a bad birthday present! And that character would be quite different from here where she’s the villain!
Character Comparison – Rose and Nell
When looking at Nell and Rose, there are huge differences even though they are both antagonists. Nell is a bit easier to take because we know she’s kind of crazy in that she believed her boyfriend to still be alive. Rose is a true villain, so she’s just evil. She plans out the murder of her husband. They were both very complicated roles for Marilyn to take on, and she just knocks them both out of the park. There is skill in playing the ditzy blonde too, so I’m not knocking that. She is marvelous in those roles as well, but I think people forget what her range really was as an actress. These two characters show us just how much potential she really had.
What if…?
Anne Baxter Hadn’t Backed Out
Anne was the original choice to play Polly, but that was when the character was a bigger lead than the part of Nell. Once Marilyn was brought in, the part was expanded to highlight her more. I think that Anne would have been okay in this film. Although seeing her play second fiddle would have been a bit weird for me since I’m most familiar with her playing Nefretiri in The Ten Commandments. While Marilyn’s character is super intriguing, I don’t think that Polly completely gets lost.
James Mason Had Played George?
I am a huge fan of James Mason. He can play such different characters, so I think he would have been great in this. While Joseph Cotten does a good job, he’s not really as sinister as I think James could have been. James has a larger range, so he could have been able to convey more emotions, I think, throughout. That said, Cotten still does a good job, but I understand why the director said, “Cotten’s a good actor but doesn’t have the smoldering edge that Mason has; he’s a little flat.”
Alternative History/Classic Film Era Novels
If you like alternative history or biographical/historical fiction, I write that as well under the pen name Dottie Fray and historical paranormal romance under Elvira Fray. With two books planned for this year, one biographical fiction entitled Planes and Promises and a paranormal romance to follow up Fang Me Tender called No Angel of His Own.
If you choose to buy this film, I may earn a commission as an Amazon affiliate. Grab it here on DVD, Bluray, or Streaming!
This was part of my Marilyn Monroe 100th Birthday Anniversary Blogathon!
