LAURA
A film review by Rod Crawford
Copyright 1997 Rod Crawford
20th Century Fox, B&W, 88 min. Film-Noir/Mystery Director: Otto Preminger (AAN) Cinematographer: Joseph LaShelle (AA, B&W cinematography) >From the 1943 novel by Vera Caspary (all 3 screenwriters AAN) Stars: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb (AAN supporting actor), Vincent Price, Judith Anderson. Full details in Internet Movie Database.
A notable lack of reviews of classics in the r.a.m. review archives has led me to try my hand at what may turn into a series...starting with one of Hollywood's better attempts at filming a mystery novel with atmosphere.
In fact, Preminger here lays on atmosphere with a trowel. The original novel is a nice, readable mystery with good character development, but it falls short of being a classic in its own right. The screenplay adheres closely to the original story, with necessary compression, but adds episodes to make the character conflicts (external and internal) more cinematic and allow for the stormy-night and darkened-room images of the film noir style. A surprising change is total omission of the crucial clue (I won't spoil it) that, in the novel, leads McPherson to the killer. This can't be accidental: in the movie, the mood is the thing, not the mystery.
A very brief plot summary: Homicide detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the murder by shotgun of advertising executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in her posh apartment. Among the suspects: her fiancee Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price) whom she may have been about to dump; her social mentor and platonic lover, super-cultured and bitterly sardonic Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb); her jet-setting aunt and heir (Judith Anderson) who is, shall we say, rather fond of Shelby herself.
In physical types, casting made major departures from the novel, where Waldo was fat (Webb is thin), Laura was thin (Tierney is not), McPherson limped (Andrews doesn't) and Shelby was a hunk (Price is hardly that, though in 1944 he was not yet typed in sinister roles). In acting, however, Webb makes the role of Waldo a dominating one; he thoroughly deserved his Oscar nomination. He also has most of the best lines in a script full of delightful zingers like "I'm not kind, I'm vicious. It's the secret of my charm." Gene Tierney, whom we meet turning heads in flashbacks, was not one of the decade's more charismatic actresses, but her beauty atones for much, and she is here photographed with such lustrous, flattering skill that we accept without question her devastating effect on the men in her orbit. Price is believable in a weak role, but his intermittent attempts at a southern accent are best forgotten. Judith Anderson is perfect; those whose image of her is conditioned by REBECCA (1940) will be surprised at how glamorous she looks here. Dana Andrews starts the film as his usual stolid self, but gets better as he goes along. He really begins to come to life in the scene where McPherson realizes he's falling in love with a woman he knows to be dead: a bizarre, almost necrophilic touch that really gives you an idea of the film's mood.
So here we are, back with mood and atmosphere. David Raksin's haunting "Laura" theme music (which became a big-band standard) contributes largely, as do settings, dialogue and all. Scenes like the mob of sightseers outside the apartment building give a welcome touch of film-noir cynicism. But pictorial effects contribute most to making LAURA a true classic (more so on the big screen than in video). As with more typical film noir, much takes place at night; even by day, cinematographer LaShelle somehow manages to backlight key characters most of the time. The high-contrast black and white images are sharper than "real" life. Shadows are used with skill and precision; the brief scene where McPherson follows Shelby through a stormy night is a gem of its type. And the key, almost dreamlike scenes in Laura's apartment are suitably dominated by the large, watchful-seeming portrait of Laura on the wall. Preminger meant to give his audience the shivers with a very subtle, non-horror dose of pure atmosphere. Despite some small plot holes, I think he succeeded.
Rod Crawford, Seattle, USA
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