One of the most famous movies that features Niagara Falls is Superman II.
Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
The movie stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman
Here are some Niagara Falls specific scenes in the movie:
0:33:10
A shot of Table Rock is shown. The camera pans up the river and you see the Skylon Tower.
You see Lois and Clark in a hotel room and Lois explains why they are in Niagara Falls:
“[we’re] posing as newlyweds to expose a honeymoon racket in Niagara Falls.”
0:36:39
This scene ends.0:37:10
Overhead shot of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. This is the scene where the boy falls in the water and Superman appears to save him.
0:37:31
Clark looks at the Falls and says, “Golly, isn’t it beautiful?”
0:39:29
The boy falls into the crevasse. You see him falling with a backdrop of the Falls. I guess for 1980 the effects weren’t bad, but today they looked pretty cheesy.
0:39:51
You see the Maid of the Mist IV and the people on the boat cheer Superman along.
0:39:58
Superman catches the boy before he hits the rocks below. Apparently it takes at least 29 seconds to fall the entire height of the Falls.
0:40:30
As Superman flies away, you see the Minolta Tower. Notice that there are no large hotels around it. Today there are large hotels surrounding it and the Minolta Tower actually looks small.
0:41:41
This scene ends.0:46:17
This is the start of the scene where Lois tries to make Clark admit he’s Superman. They are at “Niagara’s Great Gorge Trip” and while they are talking you see several of the boats (Ray Weaver’s boat, Major L. Hill’s boat, William “Red” Hill, Sr.’s boat) that are now in the Daredevil Exhibit at the IMAX Theatre in Niagara Falls.
0:47:31
Lois jumps into the rapids
0:47:42
Superman runs down the walkway and walks past a couple and a child. This is Neil and Denise Burton (of Thorold, ON) and a kid who isn’t theirs. I know Neil and he tells a story that he was told not to turn around and look into the camera, but he did anyway since he thought it was more realistic (if someone bumped you as they ran by, wouldn’t you turn and look?). The director was upset that he turned around, but they didn’t want to reshoot it so they left it in.
0:49:30
Lois is ok, and Clark’s secret is still a secret.
0:49:40
This scene ends.0:51:38
They are back in the hotel room.
0:52:28
Clark trips over a pink bear rug, and falls into the fire. He isn’t hurt so Lois confronts him.
0:53:18
Clark officially reveals himself to be Superman, right here in Niagara Falls!
0:54:52
The last of the Niagara Falls scenes ends.2:06:44
During closing credits
“The producers wish to thank:
The Niagara Parks Commission“
You can purchase Superman II from Amazon.ca.
Thanks go out to my sister Andrea who helped me record all these details.