Dahlias and Dead Girls
"Every guy's seen you before somewhere. The trick is to find you"
The reason why I like it is that its just so simple to watch the plot basically is this:
Johnny (Alan Ladd) returns from the war to a find his wife is in the middle of a wild party, yes Helen has become a party girl (she also has taken to dressing like Draculas Daughter) Despite going through a war Helen really couldn't give a sh*t that he is back and basically implies shes had more meat than a butcher, after clashing about her life style he leaves her and flees to the coast, hitching a lift with Joyce (Veronica Lake)
The next morning he awakes to find the radio announcing his wife has been murdered and he is suspect number one.
The rest of the film deals with Johnnys quest to find the truth as the list of suspects grow, including his mad friend Buzz and Joyces estranged husband Eddie. This being 1940s Hollywood naturally it ends with a kiss, but the rest of the story is quite dark for its time.
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| Elizabeth Short |
rumor has it the title of the film inspired the name "The Black Dahlia" that was given to the L.A. murder victim Elizabeth Short.
All the actors hold themselves well, Doris Dowling vamps it up as Helen Morrison, from what I gather Helen seems to have gone from Jennifer Aniston to Angelina Jolie after the truma of losing her son and is now the best ride in town. William Bendix almost steals the film as the shell shocked Buzz, Bendix is such an underrated actor, despite playing a character who gets angry when he hears "that Jungle music" his portrayal of a man with a violent mental illness is both believable and sensitive.
Speaking of mental illness Veronica Lake was being slowly destroyed by her own. In the days when such subjects were taboo, Lake was self-medicating her schizophrenia with alcohol and bad taste in men, there were also rumors of a wild sex life with random strangers (which only makes her hotter). Though she made other films The Blue Dahlia was really Lakes swan song as one of Hollywoods leading sirens it never got any better after that, she died almost forgotten, unhappy and alone at the early age of 50. Alan Ladd had more luck in his career yet like Lake he to was plagued by demons though what these were remain unknown, the pressures of Hollywood probably never helped, also like Lake he never made it past 50 dying of a drug overdose, it was ruled accidental but he had tried to shoot himself the year before so you join the dots.....
However saying that I find these two on screen to be a charismatic combo, they made not have had the heat of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (Big Sleep) or the depth of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity) but my god they were iconic, Veronica Lakes look has become the standard for any femme fatal, for any more proof you only have to look at Kim Basingers Oscar winning performance in L.A. Confidential. Lake once described herself as a "sex zombie" and never thought much of herself as an actress, she was doing herself down I think, both her and Alan Ladd have something going on behind the eyes, maybe its their demons, what ever it is I find them so watchable. I would like to add Lake was HOT and can hold her own in the looks department.
Many of you may find this film lacking in some areas, it may not have the plot twists of say The Big Sleep or Double Indemnity, its may not have the melodrama of Mildred Pierce or The Postman Always Rings Twice, and some may find that the best Ladd and Lake film is This Gun for Hire, however it has something, it has atmosphere.In this film Hollywood is a dark place, you can almost feel the humidity. Theres something about L.A. when it comes to film noirs, maybe it's the heat, the people in noirs are cold hearted, soulless, dazzling, lonely, ready to explode like a dormant volcano, just like the City of Angels in which they inhabit, reality and fantasy become one. All this adds up for a most watchable film, if you like film noirs there are loads to choose from and this won't be the last to pop up on here, I got my copy of the film in the Film Noir Collection, it should be on Amazon, look it up its a great collection and is a great way to start watching these films.Stand out day player
To sum up....
Los Angeles. Its the middle of the night. Somewhere, while the innocent sleep, Barbara Stanwyck plots to murder her husband, Humprey Bogart tries to crack a case, on a lonely highway drive Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, on the run from fame, heading to nowhere.
This may not be the perfect film noir but The Blue Dahlia is perfect at 2am.
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| Image by Regted |
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