Laura
Short description
In 1940s New York, detective Mark McPherson investigates the murder of Laura Hunt, a successful and alluring advertising executive found shot dead in her apartment. As he questions the men and women in her life, including the columnist Waldo Lydecker and the socialite Shelby Carpenter, McPherson builds a portrait of the victim from their accounts and from the painting that hangs in her home. His professional interest gradually turns into a personal obsession with the woman he is supposed to be avenging.
Otto Preminger directed and produced the film, the first of sixteen features he directed in chronological order, followed by Fallen Angel in 1945. Ring Lardner Jr., Samuel Hoffenstein and Jay Dratler wrote the screenplay. Dana Andrews plays McPherson, with Gene Tierney as Laura and Clifton Webb as Lydecker, alongside Vincent Price, Judith Anderson and Dorothy Adams. The production cost about one million dollars and returned around twice that worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 7.6 out of 10 from 944 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 8.8 out of 10 from 66 reviews, a gap that reflects its standing as a well-regarded example of 1940s mystery filmmaking. With a running time of 88 minutes, it mixes drama and mystery around a single killing and the detective drawn into it.
What's left behind the scenes
- Due to the enduring popularity of this film noir, the Library of Congress included "Laura" in the National Film Registry in 1999, and the American Film Institute ranks the film among the greatest detective stories in Hollywood history.
- Ruben Mamoulian began filming the movie, but was then replaced in the director's chair by producer Otto Preminger. He brought in a new cinematographer, Joseph LaShelle, who received an 'Oscar' for his work on it.
- At least five people worked on the script in turn, and due to the limited budget, not the most well-known actors were cast in the main roles.
- The film is based on Vera Kaspar's novel "Laura" (1942).
- In some countries, the film was released under the title "Vertigo".
- After lengthy discussions, a theme composed by David Raksin was chosen as the musical accompaniment; time proved the wisdom of this decision, and the song became a jazz standard. 'Laura' is the only film from the forties whose music was included in the American Film Institute's list of the greatest film scores.
- The portrait of Laura that hangs in her apartment was painted in oil over a photograph.
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