Waldo Lydecker: “Love is eternal. It has been the strongest motivation for human actions throughout history. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death.”
Some people just have a natural aura. . . a mesmeric vibe that draws people to them. Whether it’s looks, personality, a combination of both, or perhaps something else that’s completely inexplicable, other human beings are just instinctively attracted to them. Of course, that happened in the comedy There’s Something About Mary (1998), but long before that, a similar scenario involving the titular character in the legendary film noir Laura (1944) occurred, all orchestrated by producer and eventual director Otto Preminger – River of No Return). . . but more on that complicated tale later.
Opening with the news that Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney – The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Night and the City) is dead by way of murder, it is all told by way of our voice-over narrator (and famed writer/radio voice) Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) – there is no denying that he is one of the gents truly infatuated with the lady. Slick with his pen as well as his tongue, he is quick to insult any possible suitor waiting in line for Laura. . . prompt to dismiss each and every man as a loser, a lout, or any other descriptor that will paint the particular bloke in a negative light.
And, of course, when there is a murder, there is a detective – in this case, Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews), oddly enough, a man who somehow also becomes smitten with the essence of the dead lady through a haunting portrait of her that hangs upon her wall (the artist who painted Laura was supposedly also ensnared by her beauty – though we never meet him). When unbelievably stressed, he takes out a toy baseball game to calm his thought process – something the posh Lydecker finds unbelievably uncouth and irksome.
Add to the mess Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price – House of Usher; the 1953 version of House of Wax), as he is her most recent suitor. . . now her fiancé, he has a penchant for lying, as well as a rather murky and unflattering background. It doesn’t help that Laura’s wealthy socialite aunt, Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson), is infatuated with the man, as is Diane Redfern (Carol Thurston), a model who works under Laura at the advertising company they are both employed by.
With everyone seemingly haunted by Laura’s ethereal charm, each and every character (outside of the detective) seems like they could have something to do with the complex murder mystery. Might McPherson lean to fingering the hoity-toity writer, the slippery fiancé, perhaps the jealous aunt, or maybe even someone else? One thing is for sure, not all is what it seems.
Woven in a knotty web by writers Vera Caspary (the writer of the novel of the same name released in 1943; also known for the script A Letter to Three Wives), Jay Dratler (Call Northside 777), Samuel Hoffenstein (the 1944 version of Phantom of the Opera), Betty Reinhardt, and then handled with precision by Preminger himself, it was originally Fox’s interim studio head William Goetz, who was replacing Darryl F. Zanuck while he was fulfilling his military service during World War II, who brought in Preminger for the project (his first change to the story was to add more Lydecker – opposing Caspary’s script while bringing in Dratler, Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt for the rewrite). Upon Zanuck’s return, he was royally upset upon hearing of the man’s hiring – he couldn’t stand Preminger from a previous project (hence they had been feuding since 1937).
Punishing him by taking away his directorial credit and only leaving him as a producer on the project, Rouben Mamoulian was hired in his stead. . . which, as you might imagine, led to further confrontation. Desiring to change the story once again and ignore all of Preminger’s narrative and casting ideas, this would soon lead to a two person blame game with a studio head in the middle.
Eventually, Preminger got his way with casting Webb, and after early rushes watched by Zanuck were not very impressive (and re-shoots were just as bad), he finally relented and allowed Preminger to direct, much to his chagrin (as he had sworn that that man would never direct for the studio again). Though Zanuck tried to change the ending (the longtime grudge continuing), early screenings backfired on Zanuck, as Preminger’s finale was much better, with the Fox head finally having to claim, “This is your success. I concede”.
A clever, twisty tale chock full of mysterious characters maneuvering through death, lies, and treachery, Laura is a gem of a film noir. Lit with linear chiaroscuro charm by Joseph LaShelle – it won him an Oscar, as well as featuring the long loved ‘Laura’s Theme’ written by composer David Raksin, every element of this feature helps concoct a most haunting atmosphere centred on murder and Laura’s spellbinding portrait. . . helping classify it as a top noir that should make everyone’s must watch list. So, make sure to punch the clock. . . you’ll fall in love with Laura.