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:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Twentieth Century Fox asked celebrated songwriter Johnny Mercer to write lyrics to go with "Laura's Theme", and he happily obliged. It also was a smash hit, becoming an instant standard, recorded over the years by countless artists including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

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Goofs

Lydecker reaches for the cigarette case twice.

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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 Remington Steele: Coffee, Tea or Steele (1985)

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Soundtracks

Laura
Words by Johnny Mercer
Music by David Raksin

User Reviews

One of the very best Hollywood movies of the 1940s starring the most beautiful actress of all time.

'Laura' is one of the most entertaining mystery movies I've ever seen. A mystery? Also a romance, a Film Noir and even in some ways a comedy. It's quite a unique movie from the legendary Otto Preminger, who took over from the original director and started from scratch. Gene Tierney plays the title character, a woman who seems to bewitch every man she meets. It's no wonder because Tierney is mesmerizing to watch. I think she could well be the most beautiful actress of all time. Dana Andrews, Vincent Price and Clifton Webb play the three men in Laura's life. Andrews ('Night Of The Demon') plays a detective investigating Laura's apparent murder, Price, years before becoming a horror icon, a gigolo type who is due to marry her, and Webb (best known as Mr. Belvedere) is a snobby columnist and wit who is Laura's mentor. All four actors are just terrific and the plot is full of twists and surprises. I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. 'Laura' is one of the very best Hollywood movies of the 1940s. Highly recommended

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