Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.
Acting
Monroe weaponizes her image; Cotten simmers with magnificent bitterness.
Cinematography
Falls as predator—Technicolor beauty that wants to devour someone.
Direction
Hathaway stages murder like a travel brochure gone wrong.
Director
Henry Hathaway
Marilyn Monroe
Rose Loomis
Joseph Cotten
George Loomis
Jean Peters
Polly Cutler
Max Showalter
Ray Cutler
Denis O'Dea
Inspector Starkey
Richard Allan
Patrick
Don Wilson
J.C. Kettering
Lurene Tuttle
Mrs. Kettering
Russell Collins
Mr. Qua
Will Wright
Boatman
Minerva Urecal
Mrs. McGrand
Harry Carey, Jr.
Taxi Driver
Henry Beckman
Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Bill Coontz
Young Man (uncredited)
Robert Ellis
Young Man (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fox insisted on Technicolor specifically to exploit Monroe's rising stardom—making this one of the only color noirs of the classic era.
The film's marketing essentially invented 'Marilyn Monroe, sex symbol'—her pink dress and red lipstick became instant iconography, overshadowing that she's playing an actual murderer.
US
