NIAGRA FALLS (1941) Marjorie Woodworth, Tom Brown & Zasu Pitts | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Short | B&W

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Niagara Falls is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Marjorie Woodworth, Tom Brown and ZaSu Pitts. A comedy of errors, it was one of Hal Roach's Streamliners.

SYNOPSIS
Margie Blake, who wants to get married young and have two dozen kids, has a flat tire and traveling salesman Tom Wilson, who believes in "loving 'em and leaving 'em" stops to help. They soon discover they are polar opposites and dislike each other very much. Oklahoma oilman Sam Sawyer and his new bride Emmy, on their way to honeymoon in Niagara Falls, come along and offer help and Sam gets the idea that Margie and Tom are married and having a lover's spat. Later when all are checking into the hotel, the befuddled manager, thanks to Sam who is still trying to get them to kiss and make up, gives them a room together which Marge and Tom don't realize, since Sam has given up his and Emmy's Honeymoon Suite in order to get them over their spat. Sam takes over and locks them in the suite together for the night and stands guard outside the room until they solve their marital problems. Sam has some of his own with the frustrated Emmy as they have put off their wedding for twenty years in order to afford to honeymoon in Niagara Falls.

A peanut vendor sights a man named Sam Sawyer attempting suicide by jumping off a cliff into the waters below. The vendor offers a free bag of peanuts to hear Sam's story of what brought him to make such a decision.

As the two are not keen on the idea, Sam marches them at gunpoint into the smaller room he and Emily had taken in exchange for the bridal suite, and locks them in. To the distress of Emily, Sam is so keen on bringing the couple together he stays up all night with his large revolver facing their room to prevent escape attempts.

The film cuts back to Sam, who concludes the story and says, "Nothing will ever cure me". The peanut vendor says, "I wouldn't say that", and pushes him off the cliff. Sam holds on to a branch stating, "I'm gonna start minding my own business before it's too late". The branch snaps, Sam says, "Too late!" and crashes into the water. It is assumed that he is ok as he treads water.

CAST & CREW
Marjorie Woodworth as Margie Blake
Tom Brown as Tom Wilson
ZaSu Pitts as Emmy Sawyer
Slim Summerville as Sam Sawyer
Chester Clute as Hotel Manager Potter
Edgar Dearing as Motorcycle Cop
Edward Gargan as Chuck
Gladys Blake as Trixie
Leon Belasco as Head Waiter
Charlie Hall as Bellhop
Rand Brooks as Honeymooner
Margaret Roach as Honeymooner
Jack Rice as Hotel Desk Clerk

Directed by Gordon Douglas
Written by Eugene Conrad (writer)
Paul Gerard Smith (writer) Hal Yates (writer)
Produced by Fred Guiol (producer) Hal Roach (executive producer)
Cinematography Robert Pittack
Edited by Bert Jordan
Production Company Hal Roach Studios
Distributed by United Artists
Release date October 17, 1941
Running time 43 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $105,770
Box office $218,965

NOTES
ZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville had made a streamliner prequel Miss Polly playing the same characters. When some cinemas refused to accept double features, Hal Roach combined the two films into one standard length feature with the same title.