courtesy impawards.com

SYNOPSIS
Film noir, a classic film style of the ’40s and ’50s, is noted for its dark themes, stark camera angles and high-contrast lighting. Comprising many of Hollywood’s finest films, film noir tells realistic stories about crime, mystery, femme fatales and moral conflict.

A definitive film noir classic, Laura tells the shocking story of a Park Avenue society beauty murdered in her apartment, which brings Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) to New York’s most elegant neighborhood. As he tries to get inside the head of the victim, Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), he also questions the men in her life — the acerbic critic Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Web) and playboy fiancé Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price). Lulled by her stunning portrait, fine liquor and classical music, McPherson doesn’t know he’s in for a heart-stopping shock with the sudden appearance of a woman who seems to be Laura herself. Steeped in suspense, heightened reality and witty sophistication, Laura leads to a shocking climax.

Source: DVD Cover

REVIEW
No surprise that it won the Oscar for Cinematography; the black and white is stunning and the story was engaging. I was not sure who committed the murder until the end, though I had my suspicions. The writing was excellent and there were some well delivered lines.

The only part of the story that did not work well for me was the impending relationship between Laura and Mark. I found it humorous that Waldo accused Laura of running off with the next muscular man. Who wouldn’t? And what about the suspects giving Detective McPherson a hard time. While I found it a little unbelievable the length to which they pushed, I could see the reality of it being a big fan of today’s crime-related reality shows.

Great!