D.O.A.

1950

D.O.A.

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

88%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 24

76%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,698

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D.O.A. Photos

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Movie Info

Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien), a certified public accountant, goes on vacation in San Francisco. Awakening after a night of drinking, Frank feels sick and is informed by a doctor that he is suffering from "iridium" poisoning and has only a few days to live. Determined to find his killer, and aided by his secretary and fiancé Paula (Pamela Britton), Frank traces a shipment of iridium which he notarized to Los Angeles. Arriving in Los Angeles, Frank finds the killers, and, after a thrilling chase, kills them, later telling his story to the police. Told entirely in flashbacks -- with the unusual perspective of a murder victim functioning as his own detective, combined with the arbitrary nature of the motive and the circumstances leading to his poisoning -- D.O.A. is an unusually cynical, memorable film. Directed by Rudolph Mate, the film is fast-paced and suspenseful. The use of jazz music, combined with intense close-ups of the musicians, adds to the chaotic, claustrophobic feeling of the film. Edmond O'Brien is excellent as an ordinary man doomed by circumstance and trapped in a nightmare world.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Classics, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
  • Directed By:
    Rudolph Maté
  • Written By:
    Clarence Greene, Russell Rouse
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Acme DVD Works

Cast

Edmond O'Brien
as Frank Bigelow
Pamela Britton
as Paula Gibson
Luther Adler
as Majak
Beverly Campbell
as Miss Foster
Beverly Garland
as Miss Foster
Lynne Baggett
as Mrs. Philips
William Ching
as Holliday
Henry Hart
as Stanley Philips
Neville Brand
as Chester
Laurette Luez
as Marla Rakubian
Jess Kirkpatrick
as Sam
Cay Forester
as Sue
Virginia Lindley
as Jeanie
Virginia Lee
as Jeanie
Michael Ross
as Dave
Lawrence Dobkin
as Dr. Schaefer
Frank Gerstle
as Dr. MacDonald
Carol Hughes
as Kitty
Carolyn Hughes
as Kitty
Fred Jaquet
as Dr. Matson
Diana Barrymore
Donna Sanborn
as Nurse
Jerry Paris
as Bell Hop
View All

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Critic Reviews for D.O.A.

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (3)

  • Mate's direction of the first portion of the story lingers too long over it, spreading the expectancy very thin, but when he does launch his suspense-building it comes over with a solid wallop.

    March 26, 2009 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Incidental pleasures include a bevy of suspiciously beautiful women... the wide lapels and fedoras favored by the heavies, and the ''in'' talk of the period, featuring words like ''hip,'' ''jive'' and ''kicks.''

    March 25, 2006 | Full Review…

    Walter Goodman

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • Mat shoots fast and always to the point as he drives his protagonist through endless doorways and rooms which are like trapdoors and boxes in an accelerating nightmare.

    January 26, 2006 | Full Review…
    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Quote not available.

    June 13, 2001 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
    BBC.com
    Top Critic

  • ...an underwhelming thriller that could and should have fared so much better.

    October 27, 2015 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    David Nusair

    Reel Film Reviews

  • [VIDEO ESSAY] A high-concept movie before there was such a thing, "D.O.A." foreshadowed the poisoning of (possibly) Yasser Arafat and (definitely) Alexander Litvinenko - via polonium-210 - by a half-century.

    April 27, 2014 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

    Cole Smithey

    ColeSmithey.com
View All Critic Reviews (24)

Audience Reviews for D.O.A.

  • Aug 27, 2018
    1950, when this noir was made, was a long time ago (nearly 70 years as of this writing). The wolf whistles played whenever a pretty woman's onscreen (which I first suspected were included after the fact of the filming by some internet prankster), Neville Brand's over-the-top "I'm a craaa-zzzzy psycho" routine, much here seems dated now, but the suspense of watching a dead man search for his killer still packs a wallop. And makes for a good movie experience.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • Jun 27, 2013
    "I want to report a murder." "Who was murdered?" "I was." One of the great "grabber" openings in movie history doesn't disappoint, leading to a tense and fatalistic noir about a poisoned accountant searching for his own killer.
    Greg S Super Reviewer
  • Nov 29, 2012
    Age has done a real number on it, but "D.O.A." still stands as one of the great B noirs. Edmond O'Brien is pitch-perfect as Frank Bigelow, a man put up to the dubious task of solving his own murder. The plot is expertly messy and unravels in a fun yet ingenious way and the acting is top-notch. Even if it isn't pretty to look at it, "D.O.A." is solid entertainment.
    Stephen E Super Reviewer
  • Nov 10, 2011
    I watched the Dennis quaid/Meg ryan 80s remake many years ago, and finally seeing this in 2011, its a pretty decent late 40s film, delving deep into charactors tracking diown of the murderers of him, hes dying due to poison, the plot is good and it comes off well, and itsa always great seeing these films from back then
    scott g Super Reviewer
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