The Blue Dahlia
David B. writes:
TCM is showing “The Blue Dahlia” at 10 AM ET tomorrow (Saturday). It stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. The film is from an original screenplay by Raymond Chandler and was filmed in the spring of 1945. You can see what Hollywood, Malibu, and Encino looked like then. It begins with a crowd scene at a bus stop in Hollywood.
The Blue Dahlia might not be considered one of the “great” noir films, but it is a personal favorite and is not shown on TV that often.
Ladd plays a Navy veteran who has just come back from the South Pacific. William Bendix and Hugh Beaumont, his bomber crew, are with him. Bendix is messed up by a plate in his skull. Upon arriving, Ladd goes to his Hollywood apartment and finds his wife, Doris Dowling, throwing a wild party. When Ladd finds out that his wife was carrying on with Howard Da Silva, he slugs him, and the party breaks up.
His unfaithful wife then taunts Ladd, and tells him that their son was killed in a car crash when she was drunk. Ladd leaves in a state of resigned bitterness. The next morning, Ladd’s wife is found dead in the apartment. The police naturally suspect Ladd, who goes into hiding. He then is picked up while hitch-hiking by Veronica Lake, who just happens to be Da Silva’s estranged wife. This is a typical Raymond Chandler-style story with a complex plot, lots of suspects, and sharp dialogue. Chandler wrote the screenplay in between drinks.
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January 10
Kidist Paulos Asrat writes:
Your commenter talks about “The Blue Dahlia” as being his favorite film noir. Mine is “Laura” by Otto Preminger.
Just like “The Blue Dahlia”, it is a quirky story, full of unusual characters and turns of story. The main character is a beautiful woman, a little too involved with herself (I think the first feminist, in a way). But, at the same time, her kind and gentle personality win her many admirers. The film involves her apparent murder, and the down-to-earth, pragmatic type detective who tries to solve it, who gets obsessed by her home and her painting. I’m always surprised by these early films. I expect them to be so straight and narrow, but find they’re full of all kinds of characters. Just shows that people have been the same for ever, and it is just the way we address our quirks that makes the difference between then and now. And even film noir engages us in such interesting ways. Of course, it is also a pleasure to see the black and white film and great cinematography.
I have blogged about Laura here.
LA replies:
I really like your description: kind and gentle, but a little too involved with herself.
Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 09, 2009 03:17 PM | Send