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 2 wins & 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 Lieutenant Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the killing of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), found dead on her apartment floor before the movie starts. McPherson builds a mental picture of the dead girl from the suspects 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:

narrated by character | portrait painting | police detective | multiple suspects | investigation | 

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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:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Photographs were shot in the Algonquin Hotel of the table at which Alexander Woollcott had habitually dined, as well as of the headwaiter who served him. These photographs were used to build a replica of the hotel's dining room on the studio lot, for the scene in which Laura first encounters Waldo.

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Goofs

When Waldo retrieves the shotgun at a quarter-to-ten, the clock chimes the 45 minute signal, but never chimes the 9:00 o'clock hour.

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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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Alternate Versions

A scene cut from the theatrical version after its initial release was restored to the film in 1990. In it, Waldo Lydecker described how he transformed Laura's appearance and introduced her to high society. The studio worried that this obsession with decadent luxury would be offensive to WWII soldiers serving overseas, so the scene was deleted.

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Connections

Referenced in Endeavour: Ride (2016)

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Soundtracks

Laura
Words by Johnny Mercer
Music by David Raksin

User Reviews

Classic Film Noir with Perfect Cast

Laura is a wonderful example of film noir. The cast is perfect. Dana Andrews is the detective assigned to investigate the murder of Laura (played by Gene Tierney). As he interviews her associates and becomes mesmerized by her portrait, he begins to fall for Laura posthumously. Clifton Webb plays her mentor perfectly and Vincent Price is classic as Laura's pretty boy fiance. Although the movie begins with Laura's murder, it still has incredible surprises and an awesome denouement. Andrews hard boiled detective and the dark, raining sets illustrate the meaning of film noir. I highly recommend it.

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1