[review] Laura (1944)

Otto Preminger's 1944 classic mystery 'Laura' stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, and Vincent Price.

Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is your typical 1940s hard-boiled detective investigating the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney). He starts by interviewing the wealthy Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) and then moves on to Laura’s half polished bumpkin fiancé Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price). Through these interviews Laura’s story is told by a series of personalized narrative flashbacks. Through the series of vignettes we begin to uncover how Lydecker fell for Laura, how Laura began to fall for Shelby, and how the obsessions her two suitors result in her apparent death.
The screen play is as masterfully crafted as Preminger's direction. But apparently Preminger was not the first director on board with this picture. But when the material had become a disater in another man's hands Mr. Preminger came in to create one of noir's great pictures.

Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt adapted the best selling 1943 detective novel by Vera Caspary. The story is filled with intrigue and mind bending plot twists. Continually conclusions that fall apart in just the blink of an eye. Late in the third act of the picture you find yourself scrutinizing a room full of people gathered at a social party thinking "Is it him? Is it her? Or are those two over there co-conspirators." You will never know until the very last moments of this picture.