Tonight I watched a movie from my own personal collection, the classic film noir "Laura", starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price. I've probably seen it half a dozen times now, but "Laura" never gets old, and in fact many fans consider it the greatest noir of them all. When it begins, Laura has been murdered before we even meet her. Clifton Webb plays Waldo Lydecker, a famous columnist for a New York City newspaper. His narration will describe how he came to know Laura, played by Gene Tierney, and from there we will delve into the plot.
Noir veteran Dana Andrews is the detective investigating Laura's murder. The first person he interviews is Lydecker, an effete, sarcastic man with a biting wit. Lydecker professes to have venom running through his veins, a trait he is proud of. He was much older than Laura, and was in love with her, though she saw him as a mentor rather than a paramour. They met when Laura worked for an advertising agency, and went one day to visit Lydecker. She wanted him to endorse a fountain pen for a client. He was rude to her as he is to most everyone, and she left without the endorsement after telling him off. But Lydecker was smitten by Laura, and so he does something he would never in a million years do for anybody else : he goes to her place of work to apologize. Then, he asks her to dinner.
It seems improbable that Laura would accept, but Lydecker has a lot of influence in New York media circles. He tells her he can advance her career, and at first he doesn't seem to expect anything in return other than her companionship. He's old enough to be her father, but soon feels proprietary toward her. Once he discovers she has other male friends, he goes out of his way to remove them from her life, one by one. Laura tolerates his intrusions, until she meets Shelby Clark (Vincent Price), a Southern playboy. Clark has a smarmy charm with women. Before long he has convinced Laura to marry him. Things begin to go wrong when Waldo tries his usual tactics on Shelby, using the investigative powers of his newspaper to dig up dirt on the man, but Shelby is too much of a cad to be easily gotten rid of. He is going to marry Laura, despite Waldo's best efforts.
Dana Andrews, meanwhile, has been spending an inordinate amount of time inside Laura's apartment, which is supposed to be a crime scene. Hanging on the living room wall is a painting of the late beauty, a mesmerising portrait that has Andrews transfixed. Clifton Webb even shows up to taunt him, telling Andrews that he's "fallen in love with a corpse". One night, Andrews falls asleep inside the apartment, and when he wakes up, the plot will be entirely transformed. I can't tell you how, but "if you know Laura", as the saying goes in the script, then you'll already be aware of what I'm talking about. This scene is one of the reasons the movie is rated so highly by fans and critics alike.
Now that the story has made a 180 degree turn, the search for the murderer narrows down to a handful of suspects, including the most unlikely person imaginable, who is the first one brought in for questioning. Dana Andrews may have a trick up his sleeve in detaining this suspect, but you'll just have to see for yourself. This is one plot twist I simply cannot reveal.
"Laura" is classic for so many reasons, most of all director Otto Preminger's use of shadow and light to create a stylishly apprehensive atmosphere. Nervous characters light cigarette after cigarette, he spotlit smoke curls to the ceiling. Andrews heads out into the pouring rain with grim determination, to spy on suspects in the middle of the blackest of nights. Waldo Lydecker shows up inappropriately at one location after another, to point the finger at Vincent Price, who rages in return. Price will become a prime suspect at one point, only to worm his way out of contention with an elaborate and phoney sounding excuse. All of this is exquisitely framed and followed by Preminger's fluid camera, while a lush musical motif builds and repeats in the background. This, of course, is the famous "Laura" theme, composed by David Raskin. The script is so tight you could bounce a quarter off it, and you really have to pay attention because every sentence counts.
Gene Tierney is absolutely luminous in her most famous role. She has long been a favorite of mine (she and Jennifer Jones are probably my top two), and I think she was a much better actress than she is given credit for. Often she is remembered only for her beauty or the tragedy of her mental illness, but she was very good in a variety of roles, and here, she is "Laura". Dana Andrews was a cop or private eye in a number of Noirs, and was known for his unflappability and deadpan demeanor. No criminal could ever get the better of him, but he is vulnerable to the lure of Laura's loveliness, even though she's dead.
Finally, you have two of the best character actors in the business in Clifton Webb and Vincent Price. His Shelby Carpenter exudes faux gentility, but he's as big as a linebacker and could do some real damage if he chose to. Webb's Waldo Lydecker, on the other hand, may be scrawny as a stick, and old, but inside he's as ruthless as he is rude. It would be a mistake to discount his capacity for violence.
So, you have a perfect cast plus an exceptional script plus the directorial style of Otto Preminger. Add it all up and you have "Laura", a film so legendary that it was released as #01 in Fox's Noir Series. It was also selected for the National Film Registry and was named as one of AFI's Ten Best Mystery Films of All Time. Those merits speak for themselves; no higher recommendation is necessary. It goes without saying that "Laura" gets my highest possible rating : Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. Not only should you see it, but you should also re-watch it every year or two, as I've been doing, to refresh your appreciation for it's excellence. //////
That's all for the moment. Now I must head to the Libe to look for more movies. We may be dipping into my "private stash" more often this year, as it is getting harder to find unseen films in the library database, but I'll keep looking anyway. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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