Rating: 
Summary: THE THREE BLONDE SISTERS
Review: In my opinion, a film noir DVD library never would be complete without the movies directed by german director Fritz Lang in Hollywood in the 1940-1950 period. They simply have to be in it. THE BLUE GARDENIA is the first of these Fritz Lang movies to hit the DVD market thanks to Image. Starring Richard Conte, Anne Baxter, Raymond Burr and Ann Sothern, THE BLUE GARDENIA is about murder, trust and guilt. Anne Baxter thinks she has killed Raymond Burr, the police knows she has killed him because a lot of evidences have been found on the scene of the murder and we know that she's guilty because we have seen the scene with our very eyes. So what ? Where's the suspense ? Nowhere, because there isn't suspense in THE BLUE GARDENIA. Fritz Lang is more interested in describing the behaviour of Anne Baxter who really doesn't act as if she doesn't want to be rediscovered. The director has read the complete works of Freud and is playing with his heroine tortured by guilt. No extra features with this Image presentation except for a scene access. Too bad. A DVD for your library.
Rating:
Summary: The Blue Gardenia
Review: My mother and I ordered this video to see if it beared any resemblance to "The Blue Dahlia" with Alan Ladd. It turned out to be nothing like it, but we love it just tje same. I highly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys classic film noir.
Rating: 
Summary: Fritz Lang Lite -- more murder mystery than noir
Review: No doubt hoping that a title reminiscent of the Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake hit The Blue Dahlia (itself a knockoff of the notorious 1946 Black Dahlia murder in L.A.), the minds behind this movie set Fritz Lang to directing Anne Baxter, Raymond Burr and Ann Sothern in this tame but stylish and watchable thriller. Baxter, on the rebound, agrees to date the boorish Burr. Having drunk lagoons of Zombies at the Polynesian palace that gives the film its name, Baxter tries to fend off Burr. When he's found dead, she remembers nothing.... Fans who know how shocking Lang's The Big Heat still is will find this entry rather tepid, but it's an effective murder story, with half a dozen moments of stunning noir photography and, better yet, with Ann Sothern as Baxter's roommate, smoking a cigarette with rubber gloves while she scrubs the dishes.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Film Noir With A Feminine Twist
Review: The acting by both Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr is exceptional and elevates this to one of my favorite film noirs. Baxter is the young innocent Norah Larkin who is crushed when she receives a 'Dear Jane' letter from her boyfriend in Korea. Devastated and alone, she is easy prey for the slimey Harry Prebble portrayed by Raymond Burr in his pre-Perry Mason period. After a drunken night, Norah can't remember anything except that she was fighting off advances from Prebble. The newspapers are filled with the story of his murder and the mysterious blonde who left a blue gardenia behind. Viewers watch Norah slip deeper and deeper into paraonia as she frantically tries to conceal her involvement yet remember the details of her ill-fated night. Adding to the outstanding cast are Ann Sothern and Jeff Donnell as her roommates and Richard Conte as the newspaper reporter who makes an open appeal for the Blue Gardenia killer to come forward and trust him. As the police web (led by TV's Superman George Reeves) tightens around her, Norah turns to the reporter to help her, but....suffice it to say the happy-ever-after ending is a little too quick and easy. However, this is definitely worth watching and as an added plus you will be treated to the melodic voice of Nat "King" Cole singing the title song throughout the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Film Noir With A Feminine Twist
Review: The acting by both Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr is exceptional and elevates this to one of my favorite film noirs. Baxter is the young innocent Norah Larkin who is crushed when she receives a 'Dear Jane' letter from her boyfriend in Korea. Devastated and alone, she is easy prey for the slimey Harry Prebble portrayed by Raymond Burr in his pre-Perry Mason period. After a drunken night, Norah can't remember anything except that she was fighting off advances from Prebble. The newspapers are filled with the story of his murder and the mysterious blonde who left a blue gardenia behind. Viewers watch Norah slip deeper and deeper into paraonia as she frantically tries to conceal her involvement yet remember the details of her ill-fated night. Adding to the outstanding cast are Ann Sothern and Jeff Donnell as her roommates and Richard Conte as the newspaper reporter who makes an open appeal for the Blue Gardenia killer to come forward and trust him. As the police web (led by TV's Superman George Reeves) tightens around her, Norah turns to the reporter to help her, but....suffice it to say the happy-ever-after ending is a little too quick and easy. However, this is definitely worth watching and as an added plus you will be treated to the melodic voice of Nat "King" Cole singing the title song throughout the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Black Dahlia Knock Off
Review: This film stands by itself as a bonified flim noir classic. Contrary to some opinions that it was made to capitalize on the notorious Black Dahlia murder case, which had just occurred, it is quite the opposite. The Blue Dahlia had already been in release when the murder of Elizabeth Short occurred, and when it was discovered she had a tattoo of a black dahlia on her body, an enterprising L.A. newspaper reporter nicknamed her the Black Dahlia to spice up the interest in the case to sell newspapers. Strangely, after all these years, the murder of Elizabeth Short has still not been solved and the film will always be an eerie reminder of that tragic fact. A pretty good television film titled, Who Killed The Black Dahlia, starring Lucie Arnaz was made around 1974 but I have never seen it on television, video or DVD since.
| 
