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The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Director: George Marshall
Writer: Raymond Chandler (screenplay)
Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard DeSilva, Doris Dowling
Genre: Film noir
A Navy pilot (Alan Ladd) returns to the U.S. along with two Navy buddies: Hugh Beaumont and William Bendix. Bendix has a metal plate in his head, suffers from PTSD and is easily aggravated. Alan Ladd decides to surprise his wife at her apartment.
Much to his surprise he finds his wife having an affair with the sleazy owner of the Blue Dahlia club (Howard De Silva). In a fit of anger Alan Ladd threatens his wife and storms out of the apartment, leaving his gun on a chair. Later she turns up dead and he becomes the prime suspect. On the run he meets the disenfranchised wife of the nightclub owner, Veronica Lake.
Left to right: The three Navy buddies, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont and Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd pulls a .45 on his cheating wife Doris Dowling.
The Blue Dahlia marks the 3rd out of 4 films that Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were paired together. Along with Bogie and Bacall, Ladd and Lake were one of the most notable onscreen couples of the 40s. The two were paired because of their height. Ladd was only 5' 6" and to look taller in his films they paired him with the petite Veronica Lake who was all of 4' 11". Together they made four films:
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Writer: Raymond Chandler (screenplay)
Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard DeSilva, Doris Dowling
Genre: Film noir
A Navy pilot (Alan Ladd) returns to the U.S. along with two Navy buddies: Hugh Beaumont and William Bendix. Bendix has a metal plate in his head, suffers from PTSD and is easily aggravated. Alan Ladd decides to surprise his wife at her apartment.
Much to his surprise he finds his wife having an affair with the sleazy owner of the Blue Dahlia club (Howard De Silva). In a fit of anger Alan Ladd threatens his wife and storms out of the apartment, leaving his gun on a chair. Later she turns up dead and he becomes the prime suspect. On the run he meets the disenfranchised wife of the nightclub owner, Veronica Lake.
Left to right: The three Navy buddies, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont and Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd pulls a .45 on his cheating wife Doris Dowling.
The Blue Dahlia marks the 3rd out of 4 films that Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were paired together. Along with Bogie and Bacall, Ladd and Lake were one of the most notable onscreen couples of the 40s. The two were paired because of their height. Ladd was only 5' 6" and to look taller in his films they paired him with the petite Veronica Lake who was all of 4' 11". Together they made four films:
This Gun for Hire (1942)
The Glass Key (1942)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Saigon (1948)
The Glass Key (1942)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Saigon (1948)
What makes The Blue Dahlia unique is the famed novelist Raymond Chandler wrote an original screenplay for the movie. It was his first original screenplay and originally the ending was quite different but a change was forced due to concerns of the U.S. Navy. Not surprisingly then, the end scene is the weakest. But we're talking only a few minutes out of the entire film. The dialogue is classic Raymond Chandler with flippant one liners that oozes 40s film noir-ness. By far the best parts are the first 20 minutes when Ladd confronts his drunken wife about the affair.
I found the movie to be a middle of the road film noir. As much as I've liked Ladd and Lake in This Gun for Hire, here I didn't feel their characters were that compelling. By far the most interesting was Ladd's trashy wife played to nasty perfection by Doris Dowling and the cool as a cucumber, but sleazy club owner Howard DeSilva.
Reportedly Raymond Chandler didn't like the director who he thought was uninspired, nor did he like Veronica Lake. But to this reviewer I'd say the scriptwriter is mostly at fault as the characters never get flushed out so aren't that interesting.
I found the movie to be a middle of the road film noir. As much as I've liked Ladd and Lake in This Gun for Hire, here I didn't feel their characters were that compelling. By far the most interesting was Ladd's trashy wife played to nasty perfection by Doris Dowling and the cool as a cucumber, but sleazy club owner Howard DeSilva.
Reportedly Raymond Chandler didn't like the director who he thought was uninspired, nor did he like Veronica Lake. But to this reviewer I'd say the scriptwriter is mostly at fault as the characters never get flushed out so aren't that interesting.