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The Blue Dahlia Photos
Movie Info
Discharged naval officer Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns to his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling), in Hollywood after fighting in the South Pacific, and with him are two military friends, George (Hugh Beaumont) and shell-shocked Buzz (William Bendix). Johnny is stunned to discover Helen's unfaithfulness with a local nightclub owner named Eddie (Howard Da Silva), who then breaks it off with her. When Helen is found murdered, everyone seems to have a motive.
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Genre: Crime, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: George Marshall
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Producer: John Houseman
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Writer: Raymond Chandler
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Paramount Pictures
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Production Co: Paramount Pictures
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Sound Mix: Mono
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Aspect Ratio: 35mm
Cast & Crew
Critic Reviews for The Blue Dahlia
Audience Reviews for The Blue Dahlia
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Shooting on The Blue Dahlia began without a completed screenplay. There is a lack of command over the material by the director, perhaps because script pages were being seen just days before shooting. In fact, scriptwriter Raymond Chandler was forced to re-write the ending and suffered writer's block, and dissatisfaction with the process. All of these problems - and others - show on the screen. But, there are definitely some moments But, overall, I'm not a fan.
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Returning home after WWII, a GI (Alan Ladd) and his two buddies (William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont) get mixed up in some nefarious business. Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, who's come home to an alcholic, two-timing wife that shows interest only in drinking, partying and her nightclub owner boyfriend Eddie. When she reveals to Johnny that it was her drunk driving that was responsible for their son's death, he leaves her to never come back. The next morning, she's found dead, and a manhunt for Johnny ensues. But who murdered his wife? Was it Eddie, the man with the dark past back east, or perhaps it was even his army buddy Buzz (Bendix), whose war wound causes him to lose his mind everytime he hears loud music? And where does Eddie's wife (Veronica Lake) fit into all this? Is she a co-conspirator or is her meeting with Johnny just a coincidence? With it's tough guy lead, bizarre affectations and lurid situations, The Blue Dahlia is just about as pulpy as it gets. The William Bendix character is quite memorable, but I feel like the Eddie Harwood character is the most understated of the lot. He's clearly meant to be the bad guy of the film, but he's one of the least violent characters of the lot. He also seems to have gotten in over his head with the events surrounding him, and he's clearly trying to wrestle loose of them. In fact, this might be one of the only noire films where the true villain of the picture was the victim herself. The wife (Doris Dowling) is a truly unrepentant figure, even going so far as to laugh in her husband's face as she decribes the death of their son. The conclusion of the film and the actual reveal of the killer are a little unsatisfying for my taste, but let's not quibble over the destination when the journey was so much fun.
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The story of a man who must prove his innocence in a murder case. It's a story you've seen before, but this movie is enjoyable anyway.
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As it usually happens, yet again another Black & White flick that I was avoiding for so long turns out to be quite good. William Bendix is quite entertaining as Buzz Wanchek. He truly steals the show. His dialogues are incredibly penned & his dialogue delivery is equally incredible. The best one is the sequence of his conversation (accompanied by his friend Captain Hendrickson, played by Tom Powers) with the house keeper. I lol'd (& I mean it literally here) when they refer to him as house-peeper. The story is quite engaging & well done till the disappointing climax. The revelation of who-dun-it turned out to be quite disappointing for me. But I read that the writer had to change it owing to certain pressures (if I reveal what it is, it'd be a major spoiler; which I'd not prefer), so now it's understandable. Then again, with the original ending, it'd have made it all quite predictable. While I wouldn't consider it as a must watch, it's surely quite enjoyable.
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