Laura
1944 Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller
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Credits
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Summary
Inspector Mark McPherson investigates the killing of Laura Hunt.
The prime suspect is Waldo Lydecker, a renowned writer with a high
opinion of himself and a low opinion of everyone else - except
Laura. Lydecker was besotted with Laura from the moment they
first met. She became his friend, his protégée, his
muse, and may have become much more, if she had lived. But Laura
had many admirers, including Shelby Carpenter, the womanising playboy
who is suspect number two. The third suspect is Laura’s aunt Anne
Treadwell, who had hopes of becoming Carpenter’s wife and resents his
interest in Laura. Things take an unexpected turn when
McPherson falls asleep in Laura’s apartment one evening - and awakes to
see the murder victim standing before him, apparently unharmed...
Review
One of the most elegant and seductive examples of classic film noir is
this haunting study in obsession. It is unusual in that it uses
the familiar noir motifs to lend a dreamlike character to the
narrative, contrasting with other film noir dramas where these techniques are
usually intended to add a sense of realism through their psychological
impact. The film was based on a popular crime novel by Vera
Caspary. Rouben Mamoulian was initially hired to direct it, but
he was sacked by Twentieth Century Fox executive Daryl F. Zanuck shortly
after filming began, and replaced with Otto Preminger. Zanuck was
disappointed with the film’s original ending and insisted it be
replaced with something better. Laura is both a compelling murder mystery and a dark satire on male attitudes towards women. The two principal characters Waldo Lydecker and Mark McPherson are about as different as they would be - the one is a self-opinionated intellectual, the other a laconic muscle man. Yet they both have a craving for the female sex which has the power to drive them to destruction. The obviously gay Lydecker wants a woman he can possess like a rare ornament, to be admired for its aesthetic and spiritual qualities. McPherson’s attraction for Laura may have a more natural, earthier basis, but it is strange that he should fall in love with her in full knowledge of the fact that she is dead. For both men, it is the unattainability of Laura which makes her an irresistible object of desire, but whereas one of the two is driven by his love to kill her, it is the love of the other that brings her back to life. All of the central performances in this film are faultless, but the one that stands out is Clifton Webb’s. His Waldo Lydecker exudes the mix of suave velvet campness and intellectual pomposity that you only ever find in the senior common rooms of the older Oxford colleges, yet he delivers venomous put-down one-liners with the precision and force of an Olympic javelin thrower. Webb was nominated for an Oscar, one of the film’s five nominations. As it turned out, the film won just one Oscar, for Joseph LaShelle’s beautiful and highly atmospheric noir cinematography. In one of his early film appearances, many years before he became closely associated with the fantasy-horror genre, Vincent Price revels in the part of a handsome playboy. He gets to say the film's best line: "I can afford a blemish on my character, but not on my clothes." © James Travers 2008
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