Laura (1944)

A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Vera Caspary (novel), Jay Dratler (screen play)

Stars:

Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Tierney	...	Laura Hunt
Dana Andrews	...	Det. Lt. Mark McPherson
Clifton Webb	...	Waldo Lydecker
Vincent Price	...	Shelby Carpenter
Judith Anderson	...	Ann Treadwell
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grant Mitchell	...	Lancaster Corey (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Detective Mark McPherson investigates the killing of Laura, found dead on her apartment floor before the movie starts. McPherson builds a mental picture of the dead girl from the suspects whom he interviews. He is helped by the striking painting of the late lamented Laura hanging on her apartment wall. But who would have wanted to kill a girl with whom every man she met seemed to fall in love? To make matters worse, McPherson finds himself falling under her spell too. Then one night, halfway through his investigations, something seriously bizarre happens to make him re-think the whole case.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | apartment | detective | investigator | murder | 

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Taglines:

The story of a love that became the most fearful thing that ever happened to a woman!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laura

Filming Locations:

Stage 9, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,020,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Brahm was asked to direct the film but declined.

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Goofs

When McPherson goes to Lydecker's, he is nosing around with some of his art stuff and picks something up. Lydecker tells him to leave it alone or some such, as it is priceless and not to break it. However, we will see that Lydecker is in the bathtub, and the door is nearly completely shut, he could not have seen McPherson doing anything from that vantage.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Waldo Lydecker: [narrating off screen] I shall never forget the weekend Laura died. A silver sun burned through the sky like a huge magnifying glass. It was the hottest Sunday in my recollection. I felt as if I were the only human being left in New York. For with Laura's horrible death, I was alone. I, Waldo Lydecker, was the only one who really knew her, and I had just begun to write Laura's story when another of those detectives came to see me. I had him wait. I could watch him through the ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Bowser Makes a Movie (2005)

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Soundtracks

You Go to My Head
(uncredited)
Music by J. Fred Coots (1938)
Used instrumentally in dance scene

User Reviews

There's something about "Laura"

Alright, I confess...I hadn't got any experience with Otto Preminger-movies before I saw Laura. But, if they're all as promising as this one...I'll soon become his biggest fan for sure! A fan of Vincent Price, I was already. That was my motivation to watch Laura in the first place. I wanted to see this favorite actor of mine in a good old-fashioned and intelligent tale of mystery and murder. I got what I expected PLUS a hell of a lot more!! Laura can be summarized by using one single word: BRILLIANT! Like no other film, Laura is the perfect proof that cinema can be the purest form of art. The dialogues are superb. Every line that's being said in Laura is a highlight, every facial expression made is a stunning one. Preminger's film is Film-Noir perfection. Period. First and foremost, the story of Laura impresses you bigtime. The script is extremely intelligent and it's always one step ahead of you. There were most movies desperately TRY to fool the audience ( and fail ), Laura pulls it off without any effort. The atmosphere and design just sucks you in completely and you're overwhelmed by every surprising twist. I'm not telling anything about the plot or storyline here. It would be a shame to spoil something about this masterpiece. See it for yourself and be astonished! I am willing to write one last word about the cast, though. Laura has the most entire charismatic cast I've ever seen! Gene Tierney was an obvious choice to play the title role, I may say. She's one of the most beautiful girls who ever appeared on the big screen. It's only normal that she's in the spotlights here. Heck, I even fell in love with her myself while watching her. Clifton Webb is terrific as the men-hating critic named Waldo. His constant sarcastic remarks are a joy for all senses. And - as I said before - Vincent Price is the one who's making this film complete. Laura was shot pretty early in his well-filled career but his talent is obviously there already. Even though he grew out to become a legendary horror-icon, he certainly proves here that he could handle all kind of characters.

Go and see Laura! See it now!! It's one of the greatest films ever made and the undeniable proof that classic cinema will always be the best. No matter who're they're trying to impress us with sound and visual aspects nowadays, nothing compares to the charm and intelligence of a good story!