Laura

Rating:
Summary: Noir At It's Best
Review: I am thrilled to see that this outstanding film is due for DVD release. It is befuddling why it has taken this long--and why other truly great classic films (viz., Gaslight, Out of the Past, The Letter, Asphalt Jungle, High Sierra, Force of Evil, Dark Passage,The Sea Wolf, Magnificent Ambersons, Ace in the Hole) are still awaiting DVD issue. So much merdre gets released each week--it is truly astonishing that a film such as Laura has to take a number and wait. Well, that gripe aside--this is a taut thriller that is psychologically deep, witty, romantic,sexy, and suspenseful. How much more could one ask of a movie--that it solve the budget crisis? For an earlier reviewer who thought it ... that the Clifton Webb character leads the detective along, this device is part of the personality of Lydecker ("Lie", get it?), who is so narcissistic that he has to confess his perfection in both love and murder in order to appease his vanity, to be admired, to be known for the genius he believes himself to be--even be it for crime and a date with Ol' Sparky. He is constantly proving his superiority by insulting McPherson and Shelby and showing them up in Laura's eyes--so he thinks. He is a master manipulator, perfectionist, and control freak--even if it means implicating himself! So this bit of character development is completely in keeping with Lydecker's temperament and is what drives the story. Gene Tierney is incredibly gorgeous in this part, and Dana Andres is both muscular and tender--when he needs to be. Clifton Webb astonishes, with some of the best, most crackling dialogue ever composed---and just tons of snobbery!!! I'll score and watch this DVD the day it comes out!

Rating:
Summary: Classic Suspense!!!
Review: It is my opinion that classic B/W movies win anyday over anything that is around today. Give me a Friday night, a bag of popcorn or ice cream, and an old movie...and you've got one happy camper!!

The first time I saw Laura was on AMC. I taped it. This movie had me hooked!! I never expected what happened midway to have happened!! This was a great "who dun it?" movie. No one is left unsuspected!!

I loved this movie so much, I even made myself an audio cassette tape to listen to!!! And you know what, even w/o the visual, it still holds the same suspense!!!

Rating:
Summary: More contemporary than it appears
Review: As I pen this, the DVD is not yet out. The 5-stars are for the movie itself. Anyone who has spent the 80's and 90's in an urban professional environment knows what is going on in this tale set in 50's Manhattan. This would make an interesting remake: Laura clearly was a woman "up to stuff" that would probably be portrayed a bit more graphically today. She had her "male friends," obviously, but what would be blatant on today's screen is only hinted at here. As the prissy Waldo Lydeker (Clifton Webb) puts it to Laura (Gene Tierney): "You always felt that a hard body was the mark of a man...I hope you have a perfectly earthy relationship." Clear enough for you?
This film is truly a perfect noir...but a noir with a hint of velvet. I eagerly await the DVD, which I will watch (if not from the bathtub, a la Waldo Lydeker), then with a VERY cold martini and canape. I HIGHLY suggest you ALL do the same.

Rating:
Summary: In love with Laura
Review: My personal all-time favorite and widely considered to be one of the best film noirs ever made, I envy anyone who has yet to see this film. Complete with story and plot, mood and atmosphere, twists and turns, this film picks up the audience, completely surrounding it so that nothing else matters, and takes control of the collective mind from beginning to end.

Laura's beauty and character touched everyone who knew her. The acerbic columnist, in love with her and willing to do anything to keep her; the good-for-nothing heir, keeping up the pretense of living of another's fortune; the aunt who hated her for her beauty and wished her dead; the maid who worshiped her for her kindness; the hard-boiled detective in love with the portrait of a dead woman.

And then there is Laura herself. Beautifully played by Gene Tierney at the height of her career, we are at once drawn to her and once we have seen her, nothing else matters. The shy advertising artist, the blossoming career woman, and finally, the self-assured beauty that is worshipped by those around her--and we are there to witness the transformation. But it is not really a transformation; we are just beginning to really understand her.

In film noir, the opening scene is critical and often plays with the mind of the audience, where nothing is as it seems. And this film is a classic example. It opens up with a haunting scene in the outer foyer of Waldo Lydecker's home with his voice-over "I shall never forget the weekend that Laura died..." Beautifully acted, scripted, and directed, this is a must see for classic and noir fans alike. Get set. You are in for a real treat.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most enduring murder mysteries of the 1940s
Review: While LAURA is delightful to watch upon a reviewing, this has to be one of the most delightfully shocking films to see on a first viewing ever made. What a wonderful plot! And what an astonishing collection of characters! The hero of the film is solid and reliable Detective Mark McPherson is ably played by Dana Andrews, but while the ostensible lead, he is usually upstaged by the marvelous assortment of character actors and actresses. Gene Tierney's Laura is one of the most intriguing female characters in the movies, and completely justifies in her performance the fascination that McPherson feels for her. Most modern film goers are usually mildly shocked when they see Vincent Price for the first time, not realizing what a remarkably handsome man he was before turning to horror films. Juliet Anderson is great as the keeper of a much younger man.

But despite the other fine performances, this film belongs to Clifton Webb, transparently imitating Alexander Woollcott, a columnist, radio commentator, and famous wit. Woollcott was the dominating figure around the famous Algonquin Round Table. Although Webb did not resemble Woollcott in the least--Woollcott was quite rotund--he unquestionably caught his playful arrogance and somewhat sadistic tone. The film role was a triumph for Webb, who had been more or less blackballed from the movies since the advent of sound films for his out-in-the-open homosexuality. He managed an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (he was beaten out by Barry Fitzgerald's portrayal as a priest in GOING MY WAY), and he remained active in film for the next decade, most notably in THE RAZOR'S EDGE and the Belvedere pictures. In this film, any scene in which he appears is memorable, and he provides nearly all the finest lines. Examples: "I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom" (upon being asked to endorse a pen for an advertisement). "I should be sincerely sorry to see my neighbor's children devoured by wolves." "It's lavish, but I call it home." "In my case, self-absorption is completely justified. I have never discovered any other subject quite so worthy of my attention."

I have to add some astonishment at the widespread and indiscriminant use of the term "film noir." There are specific elements that make a film noir, and most of them are missing from this film. LAURA is an old-fashioned murder mystery with a couple of twists, and has more in common with an Agatha Christie parlor mystery than a film noir. Not all murder mysteries filmed in black and white are film noir. The biggest problem with attempting to label LAURA a film noir is the way this designation causes the description to lose much meaning. Film noir usually is characterized by a stark contrast in lighting with lots of shadow and stark, harsh whites. Also by a morally ambiguous hero or anti-hero. Dana Andrews is quite definitely a good guy, with none of the world-weariness found in most film noir heroes. Nor is the devious female found in most film noirs present in LAURA. Gene Tierney's character is mysterious, but she is pretty clearly not the least sinister. Compare all these to THE MALTESE FALCON or DOUBLE INDEMNITY to see how very, very different it is from a genuine film noir.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever!
Review: Oh my goodness. The first time I ever saw Laura I had rented it from my local library. I watched it 5 times in two days. After I had to return it I promptly went out and bought my own copy. Now, after several years, the copy is beginning to skip. I have been waiting patiently for years for the dvd to come out and was extremely excited that when I checked this time it was up. I have every line of this movie memorized. The murder mystery and love story are intertwined beautifully. I would truly recommend this movie to anyone who loves classic movies.

Rating:
Summary: "How singularly innocent I look this morning."
Review: Many consider Otto Preminger's "Laura" to be one of the shining stars of the film noir genre. The concept of a murdered woman who may not be dead after all certainly is compelling enough to serve as the basis for an intriguing film, but "Laura" just cannot make the most of its potential.

Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is investigating the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), an up-and-comer in the advertising business. His two prime suspects are Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), a mentor to the deceased woman, and Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), a slimy opportunist who was wooing the victim. As McPherson gets deeper into his investigation, he starts to develop an obsession with the dead woman. He gazes at her portrait longingly and wonders to himself just what kind of woman she was. One night after searching her apartment, McPherson dozes off and is shocked by the identity of the person who eventually awakens him.

"Laura" is one of those frustrating films that should have been better than it was. The performances are all notable with Webb's being a particular standout. Tierney is beautiful as the victim of the story and it is easy to see why she would attract McPherson's attention even after her death. Yet, it becomes tiring to see McPherson bluffing his way out of situations over and over in an investigation where Lydecker actually does most of the investigating. Additionally, the sequence where McPherson finds the murder weapon is so clumsily shot that it drains all credibility from the film. In the end, the only certain thing that can be said about "Laura" is that among the better regarded film noir works from decades past, it is the one with the highest "camp" quotient and that isn't necessarily a good thing.

Rating:
Summary: A homicide detective falls in love with a dead woman
Review: "Laura" is one of those movies, like "Psycho" and "The Crying Game," where hopefully you get to see it before the cat is out of the bag. The problem with this classic 1944 film from director Otto Preminger is that if you have not then the cover of the videotape/DVD gives the game away (a visual spoiler if ever you have seen one). Detective Lt. Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is investigating the murder of beautiful Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), who answered her door and had her pretty face destroyed by a double-barreled shotgun blast. The chief suspects are the men who loved Laura, the haughty Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), acerbic critic of all things human (think Alexander Wolcott), and the dapper Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), who is just a gigolo. What makes this one special is that McPherson also falls under Laura's spell. He is used to dames and dolls in his world, but the gorgeous portrait of Laura over the mantle of her fireplace sparks something different within him.

This compelling twist works to make the viewing forgive a lot of the holes in this film noir, mostly notably the idea that if a detective finds what he believes to be the murder weapon that he returns it to its hiding spot so he can come back and pick it up in the morning. Dana Andrews is not exactly a romantic figure, but in this film he gets that role mostly by default since Webb's Lydecker is too smarmy and Price's Carpenter is too slimy. Lydecker overwhelms every scene in which he is in, from his over the top opening narration, to his first appearance on scene sitting imperiously in his bathtub, on to his cutting wit during his first meeting with Laura. Still, as hard as the three men try to make the film and the world about themselves, this is all about the beautiful Laura, magnified by not only the haunting portrait but also David Raskin's lovely musical theme. No wonder McPherson has a crush on her so extreme that he goes to her apartment at night to look through her letters, fondle her dresses, enjoy her perfume, and sit beneath her portrait drinking her booze.

Everybody has a secret in this film, usually more, and in due course McPherson finds them all out. Of course Laura in person cannot compete with the idealized image that is created by the living room shrine in her apartment, but by then the mystery of "whodunit" comes into play and we go along with the image of her that is in McPherson's eyes because that is what the plot demands. Tierney has the look to be Laura, the siren from beyond the grave, but she does not give the character the sort of life that would justify all this attention. The legacy of the film ends up being Clifton Webb, who parlayed his performance in this film into a career of note, although he was 55 when "Laura" was filmed. Still, Preminger proves how far you can go with a film when you have a great idea and a definite sense of style.

Rating:
Summary: "Laura" -- the best film noir ever produced
Review: "Laura" is one of those rare creative exercises that come along only once per generation. Script, performances, photography and sets blend into an artistic masterpiece. Director Otto Preminger probably helped some, although not as much as he liked to think.

Rating:
Summary: One of Otto Preminger's best
Review: This is film noir played in part as a comedy of manners. (Incidentally, a comedy of manners gets its name from the satirical possibilities in the differing class views on proper behavior--manners--exploited by playwrights to the delight of an audience placed in a superior position--they think--of social discernment. Here we can see the differentials, but they are not played for comedic effect.)

Gene Tierney (at twenty-four) stars as Laura Hunt, a beautiful career girl who, as the picture opens, has been murdered. (Shot in face with a double barreled shotgun, a point of information not dwelled on by director Otto Preminger. Today's directors, of course, would have begun with a full facial shot of the corpse.) Dana Andrews is the leading man, playing Mark McPherson, a hard-boiled police detective with a soft heart. Vincent Price, who before he became a maven of horror, was actually a soft-spoken, hunkish ladies man, plays Shelby Carpenter, who could afford to have his reputation blemished, but not his clothes. He is a man about town who would fit nicely into a British comedy of manners at the turn of the nineteenth century.

But the surprising star is Clifton Webb who plays Waldo Lydecker, venomous columnist and radio personality, who against his first impressions, falls madly (and of course hopelessly) in love with Laura and becomes her mentor. This was before the genteel and very precise veteran of the musical stage was Mr. Belvedere, and before his triumph in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), that is to say, before he was typecast as an irascible but lovable middle aged man--but not before his fiftieth birthday; strange how the fortunes of actors may go. By the way, George Sanders's Oscar-winning performance as the cynical critic in All About Eve (1950), owes something to Webb's work here.

The strength of the movie is in the intriguing storyline featuring surprising but agreeable plot twists, and especially in the fine acting by Webb, Andrews, Tierney and Price. Webb in particular is brilliant. I think this is another example of Otto Preminger getting a lot more out of his actors than he is usually given credit for. See Anatomy of a Murder 1959, starring James Stewart and Lee Remick, for another example. Known for turning commercial novels into commercial movies (e.g., The Man with the Golden Arm (1955); Exodus (1960); Advise and Consent (1962)) Preminger is at his best when he lets the material have its way. I call that the invisible style of directing and he follows it here. Add the beautiful score by David Raksin and this movie is a special treat.

As a mystery however it is a little predictable. We know from the beginning not only who will get the girl, but with a very high probability who pulled the trigger. What we don't know in the first case is how, since she is presumably dead, and in the second case, why. The lack of motive hides the killer's identity from us. But rest assured, all is unraveled in the final reel.

See this for Clifton Webb whose improbable Hollywood success, beginning with this movie, started when he was in his fifties and ended when he was in his sixties. If I were a thirty-year-old actor running to auditions, I would call that inspiration.