Review of The Blue Dahlia (1946) by Colin F — 13 May 2008

The Blue Dahlia(Details here),a 1946 noir, made in the height of the movementâ??s reign, written by the well respected and renowned Raymond Chandler, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake heading up the cast, this film would seemingly have a great deal to offer, and to a degree, it does deliver.

Johnny Morrison(Ladd) is an ex-bomber pilot who returns home from the service to find his wife with another man. Walking out on her, he later becomes the number one suspect in her murder, which leads him to track down the real person responsible whilst steering clear of the law.

The first thing that grasps you about this movie, is the performances, whilst not amazing from everyone, Alan Ladd really hammers home his role and his interaction with Veronica Lakeâ??s character â??Joyce Harwoodâ?? is a pleasure to view, making the audience want more. Some of the supporting performances are notable, but on the whole they are generally extra baggage that takes away from the central quality.

Direction is generally of a reasonable standard here, but occasionally dips into the fantastic, with a couple of fantastic cuts between shots, and some beautiful cinematography achieved via lighting and a little bit of framing. However this beauty is quite limited throughout the whole piece, but on the whole, itâ??s directed to a decent enough standard.

As with any film, it is usually made or broken by itâ??s dialogue, in this case, it manages to pull off some unusual stylised dialogue, with the help of a few good actors, and make a worthwhile piece from a solid, yet mildly stereotypical, narrative.

In conclusion, whilst The Blue Dahlia is not one of the better products from the film noir movement, it does offer the viewer a great deal of entertainment, mainly through some well conceived characterisation and direction at times. Itâ??s a joy to see a film where the characters are central, rather than plot devices for set pieces or suchlike as is the way with blockbuster films of recent, however the film fails to make a huge impact on the viewer. Watch-able and entertaining, but donâ??t expect too much.