Niagara (1953)

Directed by Henry Hathaway. Starring Jean Peters, Max Showalter, Joseph Cotten, Marilyn Monroe, Russell Collins, Denis O’Dea, Richard Allan, Don Wilson, Lurene Tuttle.

Lust, betrayal and murder on the US-Canadian border in this contrived but eye-filling thriller. Honeymooning couple Peter and Showalter find that their rented Niagara Falls cabin is still being occupied by the former guests, a disturbed war vet (Cotten) and his young sexpot wife (Monroe, in her only fully villainous role). Pulp mystery elements are appropriately tawdry, but far too familiar; the lead couple is too Wonder Bread to warrant the attention, while the secondary pair is too shallow, and there isn’t a performance to remember here. Insufficient levels of suspense and strained atmosphere can’t defeat the visual triumph as a bold Technicolor noir that achieves the ample shadow detail through chiaroscuro; camerawork (especially during the bell tower murder scene) and location scenery are both top-grade. The waterfalls themselves emerge as the most interesting character (second place goes to the almost vulgar attention to Monroe’s sensuality and physical form—she even wears bright lipstick in the shower). As he did for much of his early career, Showalter is billed here as Casey Adams.

53/100