The Plot Summary says, "...looks west from the U.S. side, with the river running right to left...". Reviewer J Hailey also mentions the swift current and the small island (see below).
Trivia says, "First film shot in Canada".
Reviewer Snow Leopard mentions, "2 parts of the falls with water rushing past in the foreground and farther toward the background a stretch of the falls themselves". Reviewer Alice Liddel notes the same arrangement.
Snow Leopard also mentions "an observation point in the middle of the falls". Reviewer James Haugh writes of that same small island and goes on to say that the shot was from Goat Island back toward the American falls.
I lived in the area some 50 years ago. Niagara Falls consists of two cataracts, the 'American' and the 'Horseshoe'. They are separated by Goat Island (U.S. soil, not Canadian). The Niagara River flows straight out of the 'Horseshoe' falls and downstream left to right below the 'American' falls.
The quoted part of the Plot Summary is flat wrong. Looking west from anywhere along the face of the 'American' falls, from the right (or east) bank out to Goat Island, would be a view across the gorge below the falls toward the left (or west) bank. The 'American' falls range basically north-south. Looking south along the lip toward Goat Island, the river runs left to right. Ditto for a shot "west" (south, really) from Goat Island...and there was no islet or observation point between there and the Canadian side.
The Trivia entry *could* be right. I saw the film about 10 years ago and don't recall it precisely, but it *feels* right with the description of the water rushing past in the foreground (running right to left). The view would be from Canada, back upstream a bit from their end of the 'Horseshoe' (to capture the river's rush). The stretch of the falls in the background would be the 'American' falls in their entirety. That observation point would be Goat Island.
But the shot could as easily have been *from* Goat Island. I recall that before I came to the area, there used to be an islet between Goat Island and the U.S. side and there may have been an observation point on it, but it has since fallen over the lip. The view, however, would have to be "east" (north, really, along the face of the 'American' falls...but with right to left flow) toward the U.S. bank. That side of the river is relatively shallow with lots of rocks breaking up the surface. The water doesn't rush past so much as it splashes past, unlike the deeper 'Horseshoe' falls.
Lumiere would have taken the most interesting shot possible, right? To my mind's eye, that would be from the Canadian side as described above, but he would have had to deal with the mist that is constantly rising from the pool at the foot of the 'Horseshoe'. Second best would be from the U.S. side out past Goat Island and centered on the 'Horseshoe', as little or no mist rises from the rubble at the foot of the 'American'.
I'm looking for a copy of The Movies Begin so I can re-view this clip.
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