(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Laura movie review a 1944 film starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and directed by Otto Preminger A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he’s investigating. Detective Mark McPherson investigates the killing of Laura, found dead on her apartment floor before the movie starts. McPherson builds a mental picture of the dead girl from the suspects whom he interviews. He is helped by the striking painting of the late lamented Laura hanging on her apartment wall. But who would have wanted to kill a girl with whom every man she met seemed to fall in love? To make matters worse, McPherson finds himself falling under her spell too. Then one night, halfway through his investigations, something seriously bizarre happens to make him re-think the whole case. This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man’s gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger’s cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example of the genre, but under the tasteful decor and high-society fashions lies a world seething in jealousy, passion, blackmail, and murder. Vincent Price costars as a blithe gigolo and David Raksin’s lush theme has become a wistful romantic standard. –Sean Axmaker
Comment by E. A Solinas “ea_solinas”
# January 1, 2007,
It’s hard to create an absent character, then feature them front-and-center without destroying all that mystery and power. Just look at “Rebecca.”
But one exception to this rule is “Laura,” a spellbinding film noir about a rough, clever detective and a society girl suspected of being first the victim, then the murderer. Dark atmosphere, red herrings, and a hefty dose of psychology are all part of the mix in one of Hollywood’s strangest love triangles.
A young socialite, Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) has been shot in the face with buckshot. Det. Lt. Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is sent on the case, investigating Laura’s aunt, her gigolo fiancee Shelby (Vincent Price), and her best friend, an acid-tongued gay columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb). No one seems to have a motive for killing Laura — everyone loved her.
And soon McPherson starts to fall in love with Laura too, with a painting as his guide. Then Laura walks into her apartment, alive and well. Now MacPherson must find out who the dead girl was, and struggles with his jealousy when Laura reunites with her cheating fiancee. But who was the real target — and what twisted motives do they have?
Few murder mysteries of any kind are as tight and perfectly plotted as “Laura” is, and few noirs have as deep an insight into the human mind — and just how strange and/or twisted love can become. Not many movies can have a guy who falls in love with a girl through a painting, without making it corny.
The movie is taut, intense and slightly overwhelming, with a twist in the middle that throws out all the previous suspicions. It unwinds slowly throughout the film, with the occasional burst of action (MacPherson punching Shelby), right up to an action-packed finale, full with symbolism… and some seriously twisted motives.
But atmosphere alone isn’t enough, and there’s also some incredibly haunting cinematography and brilliant dialogue (”I don’t use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom”). When MacPherson interviews Laura’s maid, she announces, “I ain’t afraid of cops. I was brought up to spit whenever I saw one.” His reply? “Okay, go ahead and spit if that’ll make you feel better.”
Laura’s a powerful presence in the first half, and a less talented actress would have wrecked the atmosphere, but Tierney handles it well. Andrews has a crackling Bogart-esque presence here, which makes us like the only honest guy in the movie, and Webb is brilliant as the tart-tongued, frustrated Waldo, who sees Laura as his personal Galatea. And Price has a small but juicy role as a smooth gigolo.
“Laura” is one of the greatest films noir, full of wonderful acting, dark atmosphere and twisted passion. It’s nothing short of brilliant.