La dalia azzurra

Raymond Chandler wrote this script and it is him through and through, I think. It's a very bleak tale of returning war veterans' findings when they reach "home." Unfaithful wife, hoodlums, and just general corruption and bleakness. The scenes with Veronica Lake are the shafts of light in this one's blackness (what did you expect, she's Veronica Lake, one of the most beautiful screen starlet ever), but all in all it conjours up dark images in one's mind. I once heard someone argue that this wasn't film noir. I disagree as much as I can. There is much inner struggle in the characters, settings of bleakness, amnesia, corruption everywhere, unfaithful spouses, murders, cops, criminals, and finally the dark visual expression (with rain as an added bonus). Do not miss this film.

"The Blue Dahlia" (1946) is a film noir directed by George Marshall and stars Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva and Will Wright. It was the third pairing of the box-office bombshells Ladd and Lake and it is a marked improvement on their previous two outings, "This Gun for Hire" and "The Glass Key", both from 1942. The key credit to this should probably go to scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, probably the best hardboiled crime novelist there ever was along with Dashiell Hammett.

The story is classic noir: Johnny Morrison (Ladd), war veteran of the South Pacific, returns home to find his wife (Doris Dowling) has been unfaithful. He walks out on her, and shortly after she is found dead. His war buddies Buzz Wanchek (William Bendix) and George Copeland (Hugh Beaumont) believe he is innocent, but everything points towards to Morrison...

The screenplay has some vintage Chandler lines, and characters like Bendix's disturbed veteran and Wright's marvelously smarmy house peeper could have jumped out of his Philip Marlowe novels. However, the ending is weak due to interference from the U.S. military, but the movie as a whole still packs a sizable punch. Director Marshall serves his material admirably and cinematographer Lionel Lindon gives us some very dark and atmospheric shots. Acting wise, Bendix takes the top honours, but Ladd and Lake are both very good, as is Howard Da Silva, owner of the eponymous "Blue Dahlia Club" .

This film noir is one definitely to check out.

Blue Dahlia, The (1946)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Alan Ladd plays a pilot returning home after serving in WWII only to discover that his wife has been cheating on him. The wife ends up dead and Ladd is the main suspect so he takes off to prove his innocence and this is when he meets the wife (Veronica Lake) of the man who was having an affair with his wife. This film has the reputation of being a classic but I wouldn't hold it up that high as I found some of the plot to be rather boring and many scenes stretched out too long. With that said, the film does offer up some nice performances and fans of noir will probably want to check it out. I think the main reason to watch the film is for the performance of Ladd. He manages to be very believable in the role and I loved how laid back he was no matter what was going on. He could be flirting with Lake or fighting off some thugs but he remains the same level of calmness throughout. As for Lake, I wouldn't say she gives a good performance but she fits her role just fine. William Bendix and Hugh Beaumont play Ladd's buddies who also return home with him. I found Bendix to be quite good in his role, although I think the "monkey music" dialogue gets a bit old. Howard Da Silva, Howard Freeman, Doris Dowling and Tom Powers do nice work as well. The film contains some pretty good cinematography and director Marshall is able to build up a nice atmosphere throughout. The biggest problem I had with the film is that it really doesn't try to be anything that we haven't seen before. The dialogue isn't the strongest and it's pretty obvious who the killer is from the first time we see him. That is, the original killer. The studio changed the ending of the film and the new killer doesn't work at all and it comes across incredibly forced and stupid. So, either way, the ending really doesn't work because had they kept the original killer then it was way too obvious. The way they changed the killer comes off very silly. Either way, Ladd makes the film worth viewing at least once.

Here's another one of those classic favorites that I am still hoping gets transferred to DVD. It's been long overdue.

This is another Alan Ladd-Veronica Lake film (their third of the decade) but William Bendix steals the show as a G.I. who suffered brain damage in World War II. He is something to see and his wise-cracking lines are some of the best ever delivered in a film noir. He had a short temper and insulted everyone he came in contact with. I just laugh out loud at some of his stuff.

Doris Dowling is effective as a nasty woman and it's always fun to see Hugh Beaumont in a role other than the dad in "Leave It To Beaver." Howard da Silva and Will Wright also are entertaining in their supporting roles. Also, for you TV trivia fans: see if you can spot "Lois Lane" (Noel Neill) in here.

Never as gorgeous as billed, Lake still had a unique look and voice but she plays it pretty straight here, character-wise. I like her better when she wisecracks as she did in some of her other films.

This is a pretty good crime story. Nothing exceptional, but at least it keeps you guessing. You're never quite sure until the very end "whodunnit."

The trailer for The Blue Dahlia advertised the film as Ladd, Lake, and Bendix. Not a mention about Raymond Chandler, maybe he wanted it that way.

The Blue Dahlia has mystery writer Raymond Chandler writing an original screenplay and Chandler delivers a good movie for the most part. Nice suspenseful noir film, but it could have been better.

The main weakness in the plot is Veronica Lake. Chandler couldn't stand her and called her Moronica Lake as a reflection of her acting ability. In fairness it's a poorly defined role and her meeting with Alan Ladd in this film is too too coincidental. I guess you had to give the star a love interest, but the idea that Ladd is hunting for the killer of his wife and just happens to come upon the wife of his number one suspect is way too unreal.

The number one suspect of the killing is Howard DaSilva. If I had to name the best performance in this film it would have to be DaSilva. He's the dapper, elegant owner of a Hollywood nightclub, but he exudes a menace that chills you. His best scene in the film is paying off blackmailer Will Wright. He pays him, THIS TIME. Wright gets the message he'd better not come back for more.

I believe it was Raymond Chandler who also said that Alan Ladd was a small boy's idea of a tough guy. That is unfair to Ladd who delivers a more than competent performance here as the returning war veteran who's on the hunt for his wife's killer while being suspected of the crime itself.

Check out Alan Ladd's scene at the farm with DaSilva's thugs. Very similar in the way they end up to how Bogart handled the baddies in The Big Sleep.

Bill Bendix gets in the top billing with stars Ladd and Lake because he's also a radio star because of the Life of Riley Show. Bendix and Hugh Beaumont are Ladd's wartime buddies and Bendix never was bad in any film he did. He shows signs of post traumatic stress at a time when that diagnosis had not been invented.

A bit too contrived, but a nice film noir.