Rating: 
Summary: Surprise in a box
Review: I was loaned a two-film box set, D.O.A. and DIABOLIQUE, and my interest was initially on DIABOLIQUE. Ah, but D.O.A. was the hidden treasure.
From the opening sequence, where Edmond O'Brien strides into the homicide division at a police headquarters, to report that he has been murdered, this film had my attention. No slow spots, no wasted footage. Everything is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but no one knows what picture is on that puzzle. O'Brien's character had fled the boredom of his small-town life and job as a CPA, to have fun in the big city of San Francisco. And, promptly gets poisoned irreversibly. He recounts his weekend to the police, so that they will know what happened to him, what he did in response, and who was responsible. The entire weekend was a mad rush -- first to find some light-hearted fun, and then to figure out the complex set of events that led up to his being poisoned.
If a book is a can't-put-it-down page-turner, what's the movie equivalent? Watch-it-to-the-end and don't-hit-pause-or-stop!
Rating: 
Summary: inventive murder mystery with great plot twist
Review: If you obsess so much over the "funny clothes" that people wear in old movies that you can't follow the plot, this film is not for you. If you'd like to see a mystery that really keeps you involved, esp. the first time you see it, then D.O.A. will do the job. O'Brien also does a good job of portraying a man who goes from self-centered, womanizing lush to tough, grown-up, determined hero because of the torment he's going through. Small budget but great pace. And in 1950, O'Brien was more than capable of handling all the action/running scenes. He had the same trademark face, but was a good deal slimmer in those days.
Rating: 
Summary: A great exhibit for the Film Noir Museum
Review: It's a clever idea, really -- a man who sets out to solve his own murder before he dies. A businessman in San Francisco for a good time is given a poison for which there is no treatment. He has only a day or two to live. Driven by the need to know who did this and why, he uncovers a convoluted plot involving stolen iridium, false identities, and a cast of colorful characters whose motives I had trouble following. The protaganist's character is a bit fuzzy (the exaggerated portrayal of his compulsive girlwatching is just silly), and the dialog between him and his secretary/girlfriend is sometimes downright weird. What's really interesting about this movie is seeing how much certain styles -- at least as portrayed on screen -- have changed in just a generation. All the men wear suits and ties all the time, even while enjoying that crazy "jive" music in a wild jazz club. Edmond O'Brien is an out-of-shape, middle-aged chain smoker with a puffy face and a Ricky Ricardo hairdo, but several attractive women find him irresistable. The women, then as now, are thin and pretty, but hampered by elaborate hair, stiff clothes, and very strange hats. By today's standards, everybody looks old. And the police are polite to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: An unusually cynnical film noir
Review: The concept of a murder victim who functions as his own detective, gives to D.O.A. a unique point of view and also gives it a major status.
The inspiration for D.O.A. comes from a 1931 german film entitled Der mann, der seinen morder sucht, directed by Robert Siodmak (The dark mirror).
People manipulated by forces they are unable to control and comprenhend; that's a another important component of the film noir's profile.
This film, altogether with Kiss me deadly (Robert Aldrich, 1955) are the best exponents in remarking this point, because also establish a crossroad about the unknown consequences derivated from the technology.
Don't miss this weird story; an unvaluable gem and also well done film of Rudolf Mate.
Edmond O' Brien is top-notch.
Rating:
Summary: An unusually cynnical film noir
Review: The concept of a murder victim who functions as his own detective, gives to D.O.A. a unique point of view and also gives it a major status.
The inspiration for D.O.A. comes from a 1931 german film entitled Der mann, der seinen morder sucht, directed by Robert Siodmak (The dark mirror).
People manipulated by forces they are unable to control and comprenhend; that's a another important component of the film noir's profile.
This film, altogether with Kiss me deadly (Robert Aldrich, 1955) are the best exponents in remarking this point, because also establish a crossroad about the unknown consequences derivated from the technology.
Don't miss this weird story; an unvaluable gem and also well done film of Rudolf Mate.
Edmond O' Brien is top-notch.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read the other reviews about D.O.A.
Review: The reviews earlier than this one (shown below this review) reveal too much of the plot of D.O.A. See the movie first then read the remaining reviews. This film combines an unusual plot (with a twist at the beginning), good performances (Edmund O'Brien drips in desperation), a great villain (Neville Brand over the top), real locations (including the Bradbury Building), and other elements which combine to make this authentic film noir.I've noticed at least two DVD versions of D.O.A. I have the Roan Group version which has an "Introduction by Beverly Garland". She is billed in this film as Beverly Campbell. In this extra, she talks about the movie and her early film career. I have seen another version which says "Introducing Beverly Garland". I don't know if this version has the extra segment.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read the other reviews about D.O.A.
Review: This epic 1949 noir thriller, one of the greatest on film, involves the ultimate oxymoron, that of solving your own murder. While seemingly contradictory to the ear, the solid premise makes sense within its own context. Edmond O'Brien, cast as Banning accountant Frank Bigelow, is slipped a fatal dose of luminous toxic poison, finding out too late to save his life but with just enough time ticking on the clock to solve his own murder. By the end of the film he is staggering, stubbornly seeking to endure long enough to put the finishing touches on his detective work. The fatal act occurs not in his hometown just northwest of ritzy Palm Springs, but in San Francisco, where O'Brien, to use his own words, knows "not one soul." He takes the trip to determine ultimately, after one painful divorce, if his secretary Paula Gibson, played by Pamela Britton, is truly right for him. Britton begs O'Brien to take her with him, but ultimately she realizes that he needs the experiment to convince himself that their romance is meant to endure. After one night on the town O'Brien realizes that he loves Paula and he has no more wild oats to sow, but his realization comes too late. In the interim, while visiting The Fisherman, a jazz nightclub on The Wharf, he is slipped luminous toxic poison by a mysterious man with a hat and scarf, who stays just long enough to switch drinks with his victim. O'Brien has a funny feeling in his stomach the following morning and checks out his condition, learning that he has ingested a fatal dose of luminous toxic poison. Had he found out in time his life could have been spared with a stomach wash. After initially reeling from the shocking disclosure, and after running down crowded Market Street like a man totally lost, O'Brien collects his thoughts and decides to solve his own murder before dying. He is told that he may have no more than one day to live. As it turns out, that is all the time that remains for him. O'Brien's first clue is provided by Britton, who phones him to reveal that a Los Angeles export-import operator named Phillips has been eager to reach him. When she telephones Phillips' office again, she learns that the businessman has died in the interim. This convinces O'Brien that he needs to travel quickly to Los Angeles, where he hopes to find the necessary answers to ultimately solve his own murder. Ultimately O'Brien learns that he has been poisoned because he happened to notarize a bill of sale for an order of iridium, which was stolen. Luther Adler plays a ruthless mob boss who initially sold the iridium to Phillips, then bought it back, after which the facts became known and Phillips was arrested. In the center of the action is femme fatale Laurette Luez, a beautiful young model who used his charms to get Phillips to buy the iridium. The plot twists and turns soar at breakneck speed with the clock constantly ticking for O'Brien. At one point he looks as good as dead after Adler turns him over to his would be executioner, psychopathic killer Neville Brand, a sadist who enjoys torturing O'Brien by slugging him in the belly, then reciting in a crazed mantra, "Soft in the belly, he can't take it, he's soft in the belly!" One fast move ultimately gets O'Brien out of harm's path as Brand is gunned down in the Hollywood drugstore O'Brien has entered to escape from the gun wielding executioner. Eventually,with not an extra moment to spare, O'Brien is able to dispose of his killer. From there he is just able to make it to police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and tell his amazing story, after which he collapses on the floor. The homicide boss tells the officer to make out the report on O'Brien as "Dead on Arrival," in police shorthand "D.O.A." The camera work, editing, and direction are superb. Veteran cinematographer Ernest Laszlo did a first rate job, as did Rudolph Mate, the former cinematographer who made Rita Hayworth look so desirable in "Gilda," who was making his directorial debut. Oscar-winning musical composer Dimitri Tiomkin delivered pulse-beating music in concert with the swift pace of the film. Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse, who would later found Seven Arts, delivered a superb script. As for the cast, not a beat was missed. This might well be O'Brien's top acting effort in a leading role. He secured a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "The Barefoot Contessa" starring Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner, playing nervous, perpetually sweating publicist Oscar Muldoon.
Rating:
Summary: Solving Your Own Murder
Review: This epic 1949 noir thriller, one of the greatest on film, involves the ultimate oxymoron, that of solving your own murder. While seemingly contradictory to the ear, the solid premise makes sense within its own context. Edmond O'Brien, cast as Banning accountant Frank Bigelow, is slipped a fatal dose of luminous toxic poison, finding out too late to save his life but with just enough time ticking on the clock to solve his own murder. By the end of the film he is staggering, stubbornly seeking to endure long enough to put the finishing touches on his detective work. The fatal act occurs not in his hometown just northwest of ritzy Palm Springs, but in San Francisco, where O'Brien, to use his own words, knows "not one soul." He takes the trip to determine ultimately, after one painful divorce, if his secretary Paula Gibson, played by Pamela Britton, is truly right for him. Britton begs O'Brien to take her with him, but ultimately she realizes that he needs the experiment to convince himself that their romance is meant to endure. After one night on the town O'Brien realizes that he loves Paula and he has no more wild oats to sow, but his realization comes too late. In the interim, while visiting The Fisherman, a jazz nightclub on The Wharf, he is slipped luminous toxic poison by a mysterious man with a hat and scarf, who stays just long enough to switch drinks with his victim. O'Brien has a funny feeling in his stomach the following morning and checks out his condition, learning that he has ingested a fatal dose of luminous toxic poison. Had he found out in time his life could have been spared with a stomach wash. After initially reeling from the shocking disclosure, and after running down crowded Market Street like a man totally lost, O'Brien collects his thoughts and decides to solve his own murder before dying. He is told that he may have no more than one day to live. As it turns out, that is all the time that remains for him. O'Brien's first clue is provided by Britton, who phones him to reveal that a Los Angeles export-import operator named Phillips has been eager to reach him. When she telephones Phillips' office again, she learns that the businessman has died in the interim. This convinces O'Brien that he needs to travel quickly to Los Angeles, where he hopes to find the necessary answers to ultimately solve his own murder. Ultimately O'Brien learns that he has been poisoned because he happened to notarize a bill of sale for an order of iridium, which was stolen. Luther Adler plays a ruthless mob boss who initially sold the iridium to Phillips, then bought it back, after which the facts became known and Phillips was arrested. In the center of the action is femme fatale Laurette Luez, a beautiful young model who used his charms to get Phillips to buy the iridium. The plot twists and turns soar at breakneck speed with the clock constantly ticking for O'Brien. At one point he looks as good as dead after Adler turns him over to his would be executioner, psychopathic killer Neville Brand, a sadist who enjoys torturing O'Brien by slugging him in the belly, then reciting in a crazed mantra, "Soft in the belly, he can't take it, he's soft in the belly!" One fast move ultimately gets O'Brien out of harm's path as Brand is gunned down in the Hollywood drugstore O'Brien has entered to escape from the gun wielding executioner. Eventually,with not an extra moment to spare, O'Brien is able to dispose of his killer. From there he is just able to make it to police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles and tell his amazing story, after which he collapses on the floor. The homicide boss tells the officer to make out the report on O'Brien as "Dead on Arrival," in police shorthand "D.O.A." The camera work, editing, and direction are superb. Veteran cinematographer Ernest Laszlo did a first rate job, as did Rudolph Mate, the former cinematographer who made Rita Hayworth look so desirable in "Gilda," who was making his directorial debut. Oscar-winning musical composer Dimitri Tiomkin delivered pulse-beating music in concert with the swift pace of the film. Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse, who would later found Seven Arts, delivered a superb script. As for the cast, not a beat was missed. This might well be O'Brien's top acting effort in a leading role. He secured a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "The Barefoot Contessa" starring Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner, playing nervous, perpetually sweating publicist Oscar Muldoon.
Rating:
Summary: As perfect a Noir as they come!
Review: This film has all the classic Noir elements, a character caught in a situation they can't control, unseen enemies and dangers, femme fatale, money, murder, sex, love, no happy endings. And throughout all this, in my opinion, one of the finest peformances by an actor ever caught on film. Edmond O'Brien goes through the emotional roller coster of this role without ever stopping to take a breath. He will have you gasping for your breath up until the last frame. Once the credits start to roll, you will be just as exhausted after having gone on this ride. Then you will know you just watched a masterpiece of what is called Film Noir. It just doesn't get any better than this.
Rating:
Summary: based in false facts but superb
Review: This movie is a clear demonstration of how it's possible to make excellent cinema based on premises frontally opposite to the movies of today. We will see the protagonist to react as a madman when he finds out that someone has poisoned him with an terrible, fluorescent, imaginary toxin. Also I doubt very much that can be real the attitude of the physicians dealing with such a case in saying crudely to the patient that he has only a few hours of life, and I don't dare to enter in ethical considerations. This movie doesn't admit microscopic vision.
And nevertheless and against all these, the spectator follows this unreal plot and remains magnetized by the movie. How is this possible? The response only can be one: an enormous amount of talent. Let's rest in peace the unfortunate DOA, he has deserved it after 90 minutes of a nightmare that we do not understand but fascinates us. Today, with all the special effects and computers of the world the same results aren't reached.
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