Niagara

Rose Loomis (Marilyn Monroe) and her older, gloomier husband, George (Joseph Cotten), are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly (Jean Peters) and Ray Cutler (Casey Adams), 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. 

"Niagara" was the first of Monroe's three major roles in 1953, which cemented her reputation as a sex symbol and movie star. By the time of the release of "Niagara", Monroe and her personal makeup artist Allan Snyder had also developed her iconic look of dark arched brows, glistening red lips and a beauty mark.

Monroe's role as femme fatale Rose Loomis was polarizing at the time of the release. The film drew great audiences and critic Abraham Weiler wrote in the New York Times: "Obviously ignoring the idea that there are Seven Wonders of the World, Twentieth Century-Fox has discovered two more and enhanced them with Technicolor in Niagara. For the producers are making full use of both the grandeur of the Falls and its adjacent areas as well as the grandeur that is Marilyn Monroe." The inherent sexuality of Rose's character was however unprecedented and considered immoral and scandalous by many viewers, as well as the publicity for the film which mainly relied on Monroe's sex appeal.