D.O.A. (1950)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Russell Rouse (writer) and
Clarence Greene (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

A picture as excitingly different as its title!

Plot:

Frank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.

Plot Keywords:

Accountant | Doctor | Dying Man | Attempted Murder | Photographer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Edmond O'Brien	...	Frank Bigelow
Pamela Britton	...	Paula Gibson
Luther Adler	...	Majak
Beverly Garland	...	Miss Foster (as Beverly Campbell)
Lynn Baggett	...	Mrs. Philips
William Ching	...	Halliday
Henry Hart	...	Stanley Philips
Neville Brand	...	Chester
Laurette Luez	...	Marla Rakubian
Jess Kirkpatrick	...	Sam
Cay Forrester	...	Sue
Frank Jaquet	...	Dr. Matson (as Fred Jaquet)
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Dr. Schaefer (as Larry Dobkin)
Frank Gerstle	...	Dr. MacDonald
Carol Hughes	...	Kitty

Runtime:

83 min | West Germany:77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1950-1956) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cardinal Pictures (II)

Trivia:

Debut of Neville Brand.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Frank leaves the St. Francis and gets on the cable car, it is going towards the end of the line on Market Street, a few blocks away. But in the next scene, the cable car is going uphill in the opposite direction.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Homicide Detective: Can I help you?
Frank Bigelow: I'd like to see the man in charge.
Homicide Detective: In here...
Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder.
Homicide Captain: Sit down. Where was this murder committed?
Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night.
Homicide Captain: Who was murdered?
Frank Bigelow: I was.

Movie Connections:

Featured in In a Spiral State (2009)

Businessman is innocently involved in a murder plot

Good mystery about an accountant who had the wrong guy for a client. A sinister killer needs to see him dead in order to tie up any unforseen loose ends that may louse up his scheme. Very well done with a realistic sense of how something like this would go down. Neville Brand made a perfect evil creep as Chester the psycho, a part he always plays to perfection.