Thursday, October 15, 2009

Laura (1944): Sophisticated Murder


Gene Tierney was "undeniably the most beautiful actress in movie history" according to her boss at 20th Century-Fox, Darryl F. Zanuck. Indeed, she was one of the screen's most gorgeous stars, with a persona of elegance and cool sophistication. It was this graceful elegance which lent itself perfectly to Laura (1944), the stylish and sophisticated murder mystery that made her a star and is the movie with which she is most readily associated. Unusual in one respect, compared to most films of its time, the main character, Laura, doesn't appear on screen at all for the first quarter of the movie, except in the representation of a portrait above her fireplace, and for the next quarter, only in flashback.


The film begins in the plush New York City apartment of Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), an acid tongued, poison-penned columnist and radio personality who is being questioned by detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) while typing his newest column in his ornate bathtub (Thank goodness its not an electric typewriter....say, what's a typewriter). Detective McPherson is investigating the murder of beautiful Laura Hunt (Tierney), successful ad executive and protegee of Lydecker. McPherson's investigation finds a menagerie of decadent, amoral Manhattenites with various relationships to Laura. As the case progresses, the tough talking, hard boiled detective becomes infatuated with the portrait of the victim and obsessed with her via personal interviews and the dead woman's private papers. Falling asleep one night in Laura's apartment, under her mezmorizing portrait, he is awakened by none other than the object of his obsession. Laura is alive and it turns out that the dead woman, whose face was obliterated by the gunshot, is a model at the ad agency who was using Laura's apartment the night of the murder. So who tried to kill Laura and is she now safe?

The film was wrought with problems and delays from the outset. According to Tierney's autobiography, Jennifer Jones was originally offered the title role but refused (as did Hedy Lamarr). Stylistic director Rouben Mamoulian was originally assigned to oversee the picture but fired well into production. Producer Otto Preminger was then allowed to produce and direct the film, a job that was first denied him by boss Darryl Zanuck, due to an old grudge between the two. It turned out to be, what some call, Preminger's finest work, and the bald headed Austrian was nominated for an Academy Award.



Prissy and effete stage actor Clifton Webb was Preminger's choice for the prissy and effete character of Waldo Lydecker. Zanuck, however, didn't care for Webb, a known homosexual. After a test revealed that Webb's mannerisms were perfect for the character, Zanuck relented and the actor won both an Oscar nomination for the role as well as a long term contract with the studio. It is hard to believe that Webb's aging dandy would actually lust after the young and nubile Tierney~and even harder to believe that she would have any physical attraction to him. His interest would be seen as having more of a controlling rather than romantic nature, despite what the script might try to imply. It is also hard to imagine Laura's romantic involvement with her fiancee, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), a weak, sponging Southern gigolo, who plays pattycake with Laura's wealthy aunt, Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson). Her vitality and vivaciousness is much more suited to the virile detective McPherson and an immediate attraction can be felt between these two. Both Tierney and Andrews had rather mediocre careers before they made the noir classic, but the films popularity made instant stars of both.

Besides the Oscar nomination for Preminger and Webb, the movie also raked in nods for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction (B&W) and Best Cinematography (B&W). The latter won the coveted prize for Joseph LaShelle. Composer David Raksin's score was also very notable including the haunting title tune which became a beloved standard. On the strength of her performance in Laura, Tierney was cast in the plum role of Ellen in the dark Leave Her to Heaven, the following year and received her own nomination from the Academy.

17 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you wrote about this, one of my favorite movies. I saw this for the first time in college & I was very lucky to watch it as it intended--in a theater on a big screen. This film was structured so brilliantly by introducing us to Laura in flashback. The audience gets to know & identify with her and we fall for her as much as the detective. Thus, when she walks in alive we're as happy to see her as McPherson. Gene Tierney was exquisite. Clifton Webb was perfect in the role although hardy the sexual Svengali his character became.
    Years later Twin Peaks paid homage to the film in many ways. The dead girl that everyone was obsessed with was named Laura. A myna bird that talked too much for its own good was named Waldo. There's also a Lydecker Animal Clinic in the series, an offscreen character named Diane, and a psychiatrist named Jacoby.
    Laura is also wonderful on repeated viewings which can't be said for that many movies.

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  2. Nicely done, Rupert. I just found your blog and I'm already a big fan. I agree with your take on Laura, an overlooked and, unfortunately, lost film.

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  3. It's curious that you wrote an item about "Laura" at about the same time I did. In case you would like to read mine:
    http://hollywoodexcellence.blogspot.com/2009/09/dissecting-laura-1944-goofs-in-otto.html

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  4. Another great review, Rupert. I think it is, without a doubt, Dana Andrews best film, and I do remember falling in love with Gene Tierney right along with Det. McPherson. Although it's hard to argue with the Best Director competition in 1944 (Preminger's LAURA was up against GOING MY WAY and DOUBLE INDEMNITY), I do think he had the best contructed film of that year.

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  5. Wow, I had no idea that Jennifer Jones was considered for Laura-- I'm so glad that Gene Tierney got it, I like her so much better!

    And I always thought that her pairing with Vincent Price's slimy character was kind of an ill-match, too. He's too slick, conniving and strangely bumbling for her. Definitely one of my favorite film noirs, though! Great review :)

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  6. I still see Mamoulian listed on IMDB as an uncredited director so I wonder if any of his scenes remain.

    But I really enjoyed reading this. Laura is one of my favorite film noirs.

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  7. Rupert, great work. You hit all the salient points about this memorable movie. I'd agree with the assertion that it's Preminger's finest work (with "Anatomy of a Murder" as runner-up). An anecdote about the film you might be interested in: Preminger planned to use Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" as the theme song, but Raksin begged for one more day to write his own theme song, went home, and composed the classic title tune overnight. Johnny Mercer supplied the lyrics a few months after the movie was released.

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  8. Kim's question about Mamoulian reminded me of something I'd read, so I went back and found it. It comes from a Netherlands-based site called the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers, under the entry on Lucien Ballard (who was DP for Mamoulian when he was working on the movie). Ballard is quoted from an interview with Leonard Maltin in 1971:

    Laura [Otto Preminger (replaced Rouben Mamoulian)] replaced by doph Joseph LaShelle well into shooting; 'We [Mamoulian & Ballard] shot 75% of that together, and it was going so well that everyone wanted to take credit for it - and it was all Mamoulian. Finally he was taken off the film, and Otto Preminger came in with another cameraman - but even there he had it easy, because Mamoulian had set every scene.'

    I wonder how accurate Ballard's memory of this is. It certainly raises some questions about the "authorship" of the film.

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  9. I have to say that I do consider Laura to be Preminger's finest work, as well as Gene Tierney's. I honestly think it was the perfect marriage of director and star.

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  10. My opinion is that the finest work of Tirney is the film "Leave her to heaven".
    Laura is from the best of noir films but not in the very best, for example: "Out of the Past" or "Double Indemnity" are more attractive and more complicated. I like the film better in the first half, it's poetic, dark and with strong promises for the second half.
    Dana Andrews is an underrated actor. I really cannot find the reason. Pemminger's "Man with the golden arm" is his strongest film for many reasons.
    Laura has the "touch" finally but it's little bit "hype" for noir history. Maby I am the only who feel tired with Clifton Webb but Vincent Price was the gift of the film.
    Have a nice day.

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  11. Rupert, LAURA, is one of my favorite films. Gene Tieney, is one of my favorite actress. Anyone who loves classic films or film noir should see this awesome film. I loved how the director uses light and shadows. I also thought the theme song is a beautiful piece that fits the film.

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  12. Very nice review of a brilliant film. The novel is also very special, though it doesn't have the raw, nervous presence of Dana Andrews (for shame, I nearly wrote Dana Carvey!)

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  13. My all-time favourite movie - great choice, and great posting. So many people have never heard of this one! I mention it and get glassy stares... sigh...

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  14. LAURA is also one of my all-time faves. But the first version of LAURA I saw was the one shown on ABC in 1968. It wasn't bad actually, with Robert Stack as Mark, Farley Granger as Shelby, and George Sanders as Waldo. The one weak link was Lee Bouvier (Jackie's younger sister) in the title role.

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  15. Also, it seems like SHARKEY'S MACHINE, starring Burt Reynolds, borrows the central twist from LAURA.

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  16. Tierney was great in this movie. Still like her more in Leave Her To Heaven but I still love this film too. I like the pairing of Price and Tierney. Well the movies they are in together. Dragonwyck was also a good movie. Great review as always Rupert. You always find something that I didn't know some how. Try to show me up eh? I did not know Jennifer Jones was up for the part.

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  17. Alas, for the first time I respectfully disagree regarding one of you comments. Andrews considered his work in the earlier THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943) to be among his best work ever. It certainly was not a mediocre film.

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