Review of The Blue Dahlia (1946) by David U — 04 Jul 2004

A few years ago, I realized that, while aware of the genre, I really didn't know what the hell film noir actually was. I therefore had two options: do some research or kill myself. Much to the chagrin of my real and imagined enemies, I opted for the former and [i]The Blue Dahlia[/i] (Paramount, 1946) was the first film noir to cross my path.

[i]Dahlia[/i] has remained one of my favorite examples of the genre ever since, and a good example it is. Most of the elements of good noir are present: jaded ex-servicemen, unfaithful wives and husbands, cops on the take (though in this case he's a rent-a-cop) and an innocent man trying to find the guy who actually dunnit. To top it off, it was written by Raymond Chandler, one of the masters of the roman noir (that means film noir in book form).

One of the keys to most good noir is a plot that gets more complex the further the hero gets involved, and such is the case with[i] Dahlia[/i]. Alan Ladd, William Bendix and Ward Cleaver come home from the army. Bendix is shell-shocked and has a plate in his head, which affects his hearing, making him very sensitive to loud music. The recently departed Doris Dowling is married to Ladd, but sleeping with Howard da Silva, who is married to Veronica Lake. Dowling is killed, Ladd is suspected. Lake has already left da Silva, and picks up Ladd by offering him a lift on a rainy night, though neither realize that their spouse is cheating with the other's. More happens, but I'd rather leave it a surprise to anyone who hasn't seen the film.

Ladd and Lake are terrific together. Most people probably only know Lake as the chick Kim Basinger's supposed to look like in [i]LA Confidential[/i] (which is how I heard of her), but her career is worth exploring. [i]The Glass Key[/i] and [i]This Gun for Hire[/i] are 2 more films noirs she made with Alan Ladd. She fit particularly well into the genre. She had the right mix of beauty, wit and unexpected toughness that suggested she had more than enough "experience" but wasn't necessarily the worse for wear for it. That unique quality epitomized the tone of the post-war reality check that permeated most noir pictures. Among her other credits,[i] I Married a Witch[/i] is very funny (and the inspiration for [i]Bewitched)[/i], but her most well know role is probably as The Girl in Sturges's [i]Sullivan's Travels[/i], the tagline to which was "Veronica Lake is on the Take!".

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention William Bendix's amazing performance as the shell-shocked Buzz. His work here displays the negative impact of combat as well as that handless kid from [i]The Best Years of Our Lives[/i].

I really do love this movie. I couldn't rate it a 10 because it's not perfect. I couldn't rate it a 9 because the ending doesn't feel right and was not, in fact, Chander's original ending. So I give it an 8. See the 8 up there? That's what I give this movie.