Le Dahlia bleu

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 sophisticated 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.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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."

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.

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.

"The Blue Dahlia" is a flower and a nightclub, both of which figure in the plot of this 1946 film starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix and Howard da Silva. There's plenty of the busy, somewhat chaotic post-war atmosphere in this movie as war pals Johnny Morrison (Ladd), Buzz Wanchek (Bendix) and George Copeland (Hugh Beaumont) return from service. While the brain-damaged Buzz and Copeland get an apartment together, Morrison returns to his beautiful wife (Doris Dowling) whom he finds has been living a wild, party-filled existence and cheating on him with club owner Eddie Harwood (da Silva). Hurt and angry, Morrison, trying to get a cab in the rain, is picked up by none other than a beautiful blond named Joyce, who he does not know is actually Mrs. Harwood. After parting company, they both stay at the same inn without realizing it. The next morning, Morrison hears on the radio that his wife is dead, and the police are looking for him. On the run, and with some help from Joyce, Morrison tries to find out who really killed his wife.

This is a pretty good noir with a solid, effective performance from Ladd and excellent work by both Bendix and da Silva. There are plenty of suspects, too - viewers will have their pick. Though "The Blue Dahlia" is a decent noir, it's the frenetic post-war energy that makes it watchable rather than the story, which as one reviewer here pointed out, has the strange coincidence of Johnny being picked up by Mrs. Harwood. The other odd thing to this viewer, anyway, is the fact that the Bendix character is so obviously brain-damaged from the war (he has a plate in his head), yet no one seems to really pick up on it, or at least acknowledge it, until later in the film. He's told to pull himself together and allowed to drink. Meanwhile, loud music drives him nearly insane, and he suggests getting on a bus, not remembering he just got off of it.

The Veronica Lake role is criticized - it's true she doesn't have much to do; it's also true that not many people liked working with her; and that she wasn't the world's greatest actress (Raymond Chandler called her Moronica), but she and Ladd made a great, if short, team, and she was always beautiful to look at and listen to.

All in all, worth watching for one of the great noir teamings and some good performances.