Marilyn Monroe: A Look at the Legend – Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) & Niagara(1953)
Friday, November 12, 2010, 7 p.m.
Niagara (1953) Image courtesy Photofest
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) 76 min. Directed by Roy Ward Baker. Starring Richard Widmark, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Bancroft, Donna Corcoran.
In Don’t Bother to Knock, a tense, little psychological thriller, Monroe plays Nell Forbes, a mentally unstable babysitter working at a New York hotel. Richard Widmark is an airline pilot who, having recently broken up with his girlfriend, allows himself to be seduced by Monroe much to his regret as soon finds out that she is murderous trouble. This was Monroe’s first starring role.
Niagara (1953) 92 min. Directed by Henry Hathaway. Starring Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Max Showalter, Denis O’Dea.
Niagara features Monroe as Rose Loomis, a beautiful femme fatale, who, with the help of her lover, plans to murder her husband while vacationing in Niagara Falls. The film is an enjoyable Technicolor thriller ripe with film noir elements and a notably dark performance by Monroe.
Complete Series Schedule:
November 12, 2010
Don’t Bother to Knock(1952) 76 min. Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Niagara (1953) 92 min. Directed by Henry Hathaway
November 19, 2010
River of No Return(1954) 91 min. Directed by Otto Preminger
December 3, 2010
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(1953) 91 min. Directed by Howard Hawks
How to Marry a Millionaire(1953) 95 min. Directed by Dir. Jean Negulesco
December 10, 2010
Some Like It Hot(1959) 120 min. Directed by Billy Wilder
Pittsburgh author and journalist Barry Paris will introduce the film.
December 17, 2010
The Misfits(1961) 124 min. Directed by John Huston
Additional Information
Programmed in conjunction with the exhibition Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend
Niagara (1953) Image courtesy Photofest
