Film Review: Laura (1944)

Music is one of the important components of a film, but on few occasions it appears to be the most important, or at least the most effective, element. Some soundtracks can elevate films to unseen heights and some can become instantly recognisable pieces of cultural legacy. One such soundtrack was written by David Raksin for Laura, a 1944 crime film produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

The film is based on the eponymous 1943 novel by Vera Caspary. The plot is set in New York City, and deals with Laura Hunt (played by Gene Tierney), a beautiful advertising executive, apparently murdered by a shotgun blast that obliterated her face. The crime is being investigated by Lt. Mark MacPherson (played by Dana Andrews), an NYPD detective who begins by interviewing the people closest to the victim. One of those persons is Waldo Lydecker (played by Clifton Webb), an influential columnist and syndicated radio host who credits himself for helping Laura’s career and was apparently deeply infatuated with her despite their age disparity. Much closer to Laura’s age was Shelby Carpenter (played by Vincent Price), her fiancé, a suave man with a lack of morals, financially supported by his wealthy, middle-aged aunt Ann Treadwell (played by Judith Anderson). MacPherson discovers that Laura, shortly before the murder, had second thoughts about her impending marriage. While he tries to uncover possible motives and find the killer, he also realises that he has become infatuated with the image of the murdered woman.

Laura is often considered to be a film noir. If it is, it is very atypical for the genre, because it is set in a high-society milieu and its plot and characters resemble “whodunnit” mysteries like those from the works of Agatha Christie rather than the “hard-boiled” detective fiction characteristic of the genre. The only trace of the latter can be found in the character of Lt. MacPherson, who is clearly depicted as someone who belongs to the lower strata of society and whose apparent lack of sophistication and “good manners” is often mocked by the members of New York’s elite he has to interrogate.

Laura works much better as a psychological thriller and a more generic form of murder mystery, which is resolved perhaps in a not-too-spectacular manner and with the help of a truly unexpected plot twist that occurs about halfway through the film. Otto Preminger directs the film superbly, keeping the running time under an hour and a half and taking great care with the production design, also helped by Oscar-award-winning black-and-white cinematography from Joseph LaShelle. Gene Tierney, one of the most beautiful actresses of her generation and one of the few with an upper-class background, delivers a very good performance in probably the most iconic role of her career. This was achieved despite her character not appearing that much in the film and despite Tierney suffering serious personal problems during production. Dana Andrews is also very good as a no-nonsense, blue-collar detective who, despite his macho exterior, actually uses his intellect to solve the murder. Andrews would later build a career on the basis of this performance, often playing “tough guys” in film noirs and similar kinds of films. Laura also provides an opportunity to see a young Vincent Price, who plays a character who is, despite a lack of morality, actually quite effete and weak.

All those performances are overshadowed by Clifton Webb, a middle-aged actor who returned to the screen from the stage after a quarter-century pause. He plays a character obviously modelled on Alexander Woolcott, an influential drama critic and commentator and a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table (which is paid homage in a scene that actually takes place in the Algonquin Hotel). Webb, whose homosexuality was an open secret in Hollywood, portrays a character who is witty and well-spoken, but mean-spirited, and whose infatuation with his beautiful protégée can be ambiguous and interpreted in various ways.

The best-known element of Laura, however, is Raksin’s rich, magnificent jazz-based score that is instantly recognisable to most fans of film music and which sounds timeless. It also entered the history books as one of the first soundtracks to be released as an audio album.

Laura became a big hit, and its success is even more impressive considering the difficulties during production. Most of those had to do with creative conflicts between Preminger and 20th Century Fox executive Daryl F. Zanuck. Laura represents one of the rare instances when such battles ended with a victory for the filmmaker. Preminger managed to overrule most of Zanuck’s decisions and even replaced Rouben Mamoulian, who had been originally hired as director. Despite production having to start from scratch, Laura was shot quickly and under budget. This success allowed Preminger to build a career during which he would create not only many notable films, but also maintain his independence and win many important battles in the struggle against censorship.

But even without this historic context, Laura is one of the finest works of Classic Hollywood that could be recommended to today’s viewers.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
Leofinance blog https://leofinance.io/@drax.leo

Stars Arnea: https://www.starsarena.com/?ref=draxblog
Unstoppable Domains: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=3fc23fc42c1b417
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax y
Bitcoin Lightning HIVE donations: https://v4v.app/v1/lnurlp/qrcode/drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7