Review: Niagara

Set at and around Niagara Falls, Jean Peters and bland hubby (an irritating Max Showalter, credited as Casey Adams) are on a belated honeymoon where Peters starts sticking her nose into the goings on of philandering Marilyn Monroe and her seriously neurotic, weary husband Joseph Cotten. Seems a certain someone is scheming to do away with a certain someone else so that they can do something unmentionable with a much younger someone else. And Peters plans on doing something about it! Don Wilson overacts outrageously in a few scenes as Showalter’s/Adams’ boss.

 

1953 Henry Hathaway (“Garden of Evil”, “The Sons of Katie Elder”) noir is one of the only bad girl characters Ms. Monroe ever played. Other than that, it’s pretty familiar stuff, albeit very well acted by the two stars, Monroe and Cotten. It’s a bit dull whenever they’re not on screen, but Marilyn has some of her best moments in this film). There’s also some lovely scenery filmed by Joseph MacDonald (“The Young Lions”, “Warlock”) to keep you engaged. Hitchcock might’ve made something more out of this, though I shudder to think how Hitch might’ve treated the famously ‘difficult’ blonde star. Scripted by Charles Brackett (“The Lost Weekend”), Walter Reisch (the similar “Gaslight”, “Ninotchka”) and based on a story by Richard L. Breen (“Pete Kelly’s Blues”, “Tony Rome”), it’s still worth a look and a soft recommendation.

 

Rating: B-

 

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