Niagara Falls (1941)

43 mins | Comedy | 17 October 1941

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Cinematographer:

Robert Pittack

Editor:

Bert Jordan

Production Designer:

Charles D. Hall

Production Company:

Hal Roach Studios, Inc.
Full page view
HISTORY

This film features a brief animation sequence during the scene in which "Margy" imagines that "Tom" has turned into a wolf. Niagara Falls was one of Hal Roach's "streamlined features," a series of short comedies intended to fill the second half of a double bill. The first streamlined feature was the 1941 film Tanks a Million (see below). ...

More Less

This film features a brief animation sequence during the scene in which "Margy" imagines that "Tom" has turned into a wolf. Niagara Falls was one of Hal Roach's "streamlined features," a series of short comedies intended to fill the second half of a double bill. The first streamlined feature was the 1941 film Tanks a Million (see below).

Less

SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
27 Sep 1941
---
Daily Variety
22 Sep 1941
---
Film Daily
25 Sep 1941
p. 7
Hollywood Reporter
6 Jun 1941
---
Hollywood Reporter
20 Jun 1941
p. 11
Hollywood Reporter
22 Sep 1941
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
27 Sep 1941
p. 285
Variety
24 Sep 1941
p. 8
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Eddie Montagne
Asst dir
PRODUCER
Pres
WRITERS
Orig scr, Orig scr
Orig scr, Orig scr
Orig scr, Orig scr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
Photog eff
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
SET DECORATOR
W. L. Stevens
Set dec
COSTUMES
MUSIC
Mus dir
SOUND
DETAILS
Release Date:
17 October 1941
Production Date:
6 Jun--late Jun 1941
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Hal Roach Studios, Inc.
10 March 1941
LP10775
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
43
Length(in feet):
3,876
Length(in reels):
5
Country:
United States
PCA No:
7507
SYNOPSIS

Distraught middle-aged honeymooner Sam Sawyer, dressed in his bathrobe and pajamas, is about to commit suicide at Suicide Point at Niagara Falls, New York, when a peanut vendor stops him and listens with sympathy as Sam tells him the circumstances that drove him to desperation: On the way to their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, Sam and his bride Emmy encounter a disabled vehicle on the road and believe they have happened upon a lovers quarrel between the young couple Margy Blake and Tom Wilson. In reality, Margy met Tom moments earlier when he mistook her for a thief rummaging through his trunk and struck her with a piece of wood. Margy, who was looking for a tire pump to borrow for her flat tire, responds angrily to Tom's attack. Although Tom tries to make amends by changing her tire for her, the two become embroiled in a bitter argument when Tom espouses the virtues of bachelorhood. Margy believes in commitment, and while watching Tom change her tire, she envisions him turning from a man to wolf. The two part in haste, but they are soon thrown together again when both of them have separate car accidents. By coincidence, Margy and Tom arrive at the same hotel at which Emmy and Sam are staying and immediately fight over the last available room. Noticing that the apparent couple are still fighting, Sam decides to help them reconcile their differences by insisting that the desk clerk put them in his and Emmy's room--the bridal suite. At first, Tom and Margy are unaware that they are sharing the same suite, but they eventually discover the ...

More Less

Distraught middle-aged honeymooner Sam Sawyer, dressed in his bathrobe and pajamas, is about to commit suicide at Suicide Point at Niagara Falls, New York, when a peanut vendor stops him and listens with sympathy as Sam tells him the circumstances that drove him to desperation: On the way to their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, Sam and his bride Emmy encounter a disabled vehicle on the road and believe they have happened upon a lovers quarrel between the young couple Margy Blake and Tom Wilson. In reality, Margy met Tom moments earlier when he mistook her for a thief rummaging through his trunk and struck her with a piece of wood. Margy, who was looking for a tire pump to borrow for her flat tire, responds angrily to Tom's attack. Although Tom tries to make amends by changing her tire for her, the two become embroiled in a bitter argument when Tom espouses the virtues of bachelorhood. Margy believes in commitment, and while watching Tom change her tire, she envisions him turning from a man to wolf. The two part in haste, but they are soon thrown together again when both of them have separate car accidents. By coincidence, Margy and Tom arrive at the same hotel at which Emmy and Sam are staying and immediately fight over the last available room. Noticing that the apparent couple are still fighting, Sam decides to help them reconcile their differences by insisting that the desk clerk put them in his and Emmy's room--the bridal suite. At first, Tom and Margy are unaware that they are sharing the same suite, but they eventually discover the unhappy situation and call the manager to complain. At dinnertime, Margy and Tom are nearly seated at the same table until Tom makes a last minute change for the table next to hers. The two continue their squabbling over dinner, but when a restaurant patron seated next to Tom overhears him maligning Margy, he takes a swing at Tom. The punch accidentally lands on Sam, though, propelling him backwards until he lands on top of Emmy. Later, when Tom and Margy try to check out of their suite, Sam, now more determined than ever to force them to make peace with each other, holds a gun on them and insists that they make up. After ordering Tom and Margy to kiss, Sam shoots out their phone line and locks them in their room. Tom makes repeated attempts to escape from the room, but Sam, whose room looks onto Tom and Margy's, foils all his attempts. Eventually, Tom softens towards Margy and becomes enamored of her, but she dashes his hope for an easy romance by insisting on marriage first. During Tom's final escape attempt, in which he exits the room via the window using a tied bedsheet, he passes by the room of a minister and gets an idea to bring the priest up to his suite with a witness to marry him and Margy. Margy and Tom kiss and are married, but the entire hotel is thrown into a panic when it is discovered that an unmarried couple are staying at the hotel. Sam and Emmy are mistaken for the unmarried couple and are ejected from the hotel, thus abruptly ending their honeymoon. Sam finishes telling the peanut vendor the story of his misfortunes, but as soon as he concedes that he has now overcome his depression, he accidentally falls off the cliff and lands in the water.

Less

Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

TOP SEARCHES

Psycho

Actor Vaughn Taylor's surname is misspelled "Tayler" in the onscreen credits. Several Jun and Jul 1959 HR news items erroneously refer to the film as Psyche. ... >>

The Grapes of Wrath

According to materials contained in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department at the UCLA Theater Arts Library, Fox paid John Steinbeck $70,000 for the rights to his ... >>

Blue Movie

The 25 Jun 1969 Var review noted that Blue Movie was shot in Sep 1968 in New York City. Along with several other contemporary sources, ... >>

Harold and Maude

During the opening credits for the film, Bud Cort, as the character "Harold Chasen," sets the stage for a mock suicide. As director Hal Ashby's credit appears, Harold jumps ... >>

Batman Returns

According to a 14 Jun 1992 LAT article, Warner Bros. was very eager for Tim Burton to direct the sequel to his 1989 film Batman ... >>

The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.