Beauty Falls

One poster screamed, "Niagara and Marilyn Monroe: The two most electrifying sights in the world!" That's truth in advertising. Niagara (1953) was Monroe's first big starring role, as a fatale of the femme-est variety who runs around on her husband as they stay at the Rainbow Cabins motel, the famous falls thundering in the background of nearly every scene. The production actually built the faux-tel on location beside the falls, and a single building from the set still stands to this day.

SPOILER ALERT: Monroe's life may have ended too soon, but her on-screen personas always fared better -- except in Niagara, her only movie where her character dies.

What A Lovely Daughter You Have

The Farmer's Daughter motel, across from the Farmers Market in Los Angeles:

Not only do they offer the closest Market-adjacent beds in town, there is an employee who conducts "Contestant Orientations" for folks headed to The Price Is Right at CBS Television City, also across the street. Plus the Daughter is where Alysia and I voted in the 2003 California Recall Election, thereby completing the lodging/game show prep/democracy trifecta.

But mostly, I just love the icon. Steve Wynn might have had a little more success if his hotels boasted his saucy silhouette.