This was the 2nd episode of the anthology TV series The 20th Century- Fox Hour. This episode is an adaptation of Vera Caspary's novel 'Laura' which was famously turned into a 1944 film noir (which not surprisingly was also made at 20th Century-Fox). In this adaptation Robert Stack ('House Of Bamboo') plays Mark MacPherson who's investigating the murder of Dana 'Laura' Wynter ('Invasion Of The Body Snatchers'), with George Sanders ('All About Eve') as Waldo Lydecker, Laura's mentor and an influential columnist, and Scott Forbes ('The Adventues Of Jim Bowie') as Laura's fiancé Shelby Carpenter. None of them can match the original cast, but George Sanders is a natural follow-up for Clifton Webb's portrayal, as with a number of his roles this is worth watching just for his performance. Dana Wynters, pretty as she is, is no match for Gene Tierney however, esp not when the whole premise rests on Stack/MacPherson falling in love with her based only on a portrait!
Putting that aside however, this TV episode works remarkably well... The short format, under 45 minutes, means only the essentials of the story have been kept impact, and things move at a rapid pace. And it does work. It probably does help if you've seen the original, it makes some scenes all that more enjoyable, in particular the bath scene with George Sanders. Aside from the noir original and the noirs some of the actors appeared in, director John Brahm also directed some noirs such as 'The Lodger' and 'Hangover Square' and the DoP was Lloyd Ahern ('Cry Of The City', 'The Brasher Doubloon'). They manage to infuse this TV episode with some noir visuals, adding to the overall enjoyment. No, this doesn't come close to the original, how could it? But I enjoyed this much more than I had expected to. Recommended!
