Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Running time: 96 minutes

Customer Reviews

Engaging Early Noir
Although riddled with improbabilities, Raymond Chandler's tough story and script is well served with a glossy look and the hard-edged performances drawn by director George Marshall from a superior cast. THE BLUE DAHLIA concerns a recently discharged military man Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) who returns home to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been as unfaithful as the day is long--and is presently carrying on with club owner Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva), over whom her hold is not entirely romantic. After stomping out into the rain, Morrison learns Helen has been murdered, and must race to prove his innocence before the coppers pick him up.

Ladd would give considerably more sophistocated performances in his later years, but he strikes all the right ultra-tough chords, and although Veronica Lake is a rather wooden actress she is remarkably beautiful and as a team the pair has considerable chemistry. The standouts in the cast, however, are Da Silva, who gives the role of the heavy a surprising interpretation, and William Bendix, who plays Ladd's war-wounded buddy to great effect. THE BLUE DAHLIA lacks both the moodiness and grittiness of truly great film noir, so it is not in the first rank of the genre--but it is no less enjoyable for that. The film cracks along at a rapid pace with plenty of action and a surprise twist or two that will keep you guessing to the very end. Ladd and Lake fans will love it, and any one who likes the hardboiled style will be in for a real treat. Recommended.

The Ladd/Lake magic continues in "The Blue Dahlia"!
This classic is one of the best examples of film noir of the 1940s, and it's also perhaps the best on-screen pairing of macho Alan Ladd and sexy Veronica Lake. This was Raymond Chandler's first screenplay, adopted from his unfinished 128 page novel, The Blue Dahlia. According to Hollywood legend, he got totally drunk while finishing the script, living up to his reputation as an alcoholic. Nevertheless, this is an excellently-crafted noir murder mystery that will have you guessing right up till the end who the real killer is!

Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, a returning WW2 veteran who is eager to see his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling). He walks into his home only to discover her kissing another man, nightclub owner Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva). As if that wasn't painful enough for him, she also tells him the truth about their child's death during the war: he was killed in a car crash in which she had been driving while drunk. This spells the end of their already troubled marriage, and Johnny leaves her (along with his .45 pistol) behind.

Johnny's two war pals, Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont) get a phone call from Helen saying that he's run out on her, and Buzz goes out looking for her to find out more. The next morning, Helen's lifeless body (killed by Johnny's pistol)is found in her home, and police begin an immediate search for Johnny, who's hitched a ride with a beautiful woman, Joyce (Veronica Lake). Unkown to Johny, Joyce is the unhappy wife of Eddie Harwood! Johnny suspects Eddie of his wife's murder, but nothing is as it seems in this thriller with so many twists you'll be dizzy by the end!

This highly underated film noir has great performances from the outstanding cast, and the Raymond Chandler script is very memorable, especially Alan Ladd's "Every guy has seen you before somewhere, the trick is to find you." to Veronica Lake. I hope Universal will release this classic and "The Glass Key" on dvd soon because the vhs is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

A Masterpiece
The Blue Dahlia is the finest noir film of its kind and everything is absolutely perfect in the third of four films Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake would make together. Raymond Chandler wrote the origional screenplay and George Marshall turned in his finest directing job in this screen classic. This film has the perfect blend of grit and gloss, romance and female treachery, and for my money is better than the film often held up as the perfect noir, Casablanca.

Lt. Morrison (Ladd) returns from WWII with his two buddies only to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been unfaithful, in your face unfaithful, and responsible for his son's death while he was away. He confronts her at a party and blows out in a storm, unaware that someone kills her with his gun only hours later. Joyce Harwood (Lake) meets him for the first time when she offers hm a ride in the pouring rain and an attraction between the two begins.

This film is everything others of its kind during the 1940's tried to be. The noir elements are blendid perfectly with romantic touches sprinkled here and there, creating a masterpiece in the genre. A scene as Johnny and Joyce cross paths a second time in a restaurant overlooking the sea is a particular standout, the romantic view brought back into focus when he overhears a bulletin on the radio alerting him he is being sought by the police for the murder of his wife.

Like Johnny, Joyce is running from something, and trying to help him takes her right back to The Blue Dahlia nightclub. Johnny's loyal war buddies are on hand to help him but the shell shocked Buss (William Bendix) can't quite remember what he did the night Johnny's wife was murdered. The list of suspects begins to grow and includes a slimy hotel detective and the guy Joyce is all tangled up with, who just happens to be the owner of--you guessed it-- The Blue Dahlia .

This may be the most entertaining 100 minutes you'll ever spend watching a movie in this genre and is certain to be one of your all time favorites after you see it for the first time. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were the perfect screen duo. Johnny tells Joyce early on in the film that every guy has seen her somewhere before; meaning the girl we all see in our dreams. When things are all wrapped up Johnny stops her from driving away, reminding her of what he said. We know then as she does that she is Johnny's dream, and ours as well.

This film is a dream come true for Ladd and Lake fans and one you simply can't miss.