Great Film overall

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Niagara Falls was beautiful in this movie, and the movie had an attention-holding plot, but the actors simply did little more than say their lines. Marilyn Monroe was the same sex symbol she always was, but her acting was not outstanding. Jean Peters herself was low-keyed. And while you were not impressed with the type character Joseph Cotton portrayed, at least he did put himself into his role. Henry Hathaway was always a superb director, but this would not rank among his top movies I dare say. Still, the scenery, which included Niagara Falls and the surroundings on the Canadian side, were definitely what pulled people to see it. Again, beautiful scenery, tense story, but not-so-great acting.

Niagara is a Technicolor film noir. The plot is simply not strong enough to be tense or give it an air of mystery.Director Henry Hathaway is left with making the most of the location, Niagara Falls and starlet Marilyn Monroe in various sultry costumes to make the movie mesmerising. Apart from that the rest of the film is poor and is certainly far from being even be rated as good never mind a classic.Polly and Ray Cutler (Jean Peters and Max Showalter) are newly-weds on a delayed honeymoon to Niagara Falls. They meet meet Rose and George Loomis (Marily Monroe and Joseph Cotten) who are still in the Cutlers reserved cabin, it seems George is a bit brittle and neurotic. It is stated that he has been depressed because of his experience in the war.Polly and Ray stay in a nearby cabin and when venturing to the falls Polly sees Rose kissing another man. It seems Rose is plotting to get rid of her husband in Niagara Falls, make it look like an accident or suicide and run off with the younger man. Pretty soon a body is found and Rose collapses in grief and shock but is George really dead?Cotten tries to do his best with his limited characterisation. A man who suffering from mental stress and knows that his wife is cheating on him and maybe plotting to bump him off. Jean Peters does look sexy when she is allowed to but you just feel that this film had the ingredients to be an interesting and intriguing film in the hands of Alfred Hitchcock armed with a better screenplay. Instead we are left with a cack-handed movie with few thrills.

This movie brings a lot more than its cover: If you think, it's only a Marilyn movie, well, she is sharing the spotlight with other characters and as it's a mid 50s movie, she hasn't reached yet the late years when she was truly amazing. However, it's interesting to notice she embodies a "Femme Fatale", proving one more time that she was totally versatile and not limited to the naive happy blonde girl. So, there's another story here outside Marilyn that features a young couple and I found them really great. They had good chemistry and following their adventures was interesting as well. Next, the iconic location of the falls is greatly used. It's not only a postcard moment or a simple background because this place acts like a protagonist. In other words, if the movie would have been shot everywhere else, it couldn't have told the same story. What's particularly cool as is that the characters vacation in the Canadian part and as they do the American attractions, we really enjoy all the views and we don't miss anything. At last, this is a "old" movie which allows us to see a different time and in my opinion, a better one. Look at the cars, look at the fashion, you can see that the society had higher standard than now. And to push the nail, the climax is about a full action moment and the result is incredible and maybe better than all the actual CGI special effects! In conclusion, it's a terrific thriller in a splendid location with a talented cast!

This is the role for which Marilyn Monroe won the Photoplay Gold Medal Award for Best Actress of the year, an award which doubtless helped to secure the 20th Century Fox movie's top-grossing domestic income for 1952-53 of over $6 million. But actually, MM is not in the movie all that much. Not that it matters, because, if anything, her frequent absences give added zest to the scenes in which she does appear. Nor does it matter that her co-star is Joseph Cotten, an actor's actor certainly, but a man with little charisma. Hathaway and the studio wanted James Mason, but he was unavailable. As a second banana lead male, Casey Adams was reasonably but not overly personable and this suited his role as a go-getting but somewhat lackluster company man who didn't seem to deserve a spicy wife like Jean Peters. And as for Jean Peters himself – helped no end by director Henry Hathaway who took no nonsense from his cast and actually placed her in real danger – she gave the performance of her life as the imperiled heroine. Yes, although he could work equally well in the confines of the studio, director Henry Hathaway preferred location work and was renowned for his ability to get the best effects from moody natural locations. He really excelled himself with Niagara. No matter how any times you see this movie, and how familiar you become with its plot, it always comes across with enormous power and charisma.