Main Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
This neat, fast-paced perfectly cast film noir reflects the hard-boiled, grim wit of the author of its screenplay, Raymond Chandler. Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns from the war to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) having a party and in the arms of another man. Johnny and Helen have a terrible fight, and later Helen is found dead. Johnny must prove his innocence and he enlists the aid of Joyce Haywood (Veronica Lake), the ex-wife of Helen's lover. Pursued by the cops, and never sure if he is being set-up for the murder, Johnny finally solves the murder and clears his name. Alan Ladd is at his hard-boiled, no-nonsense best as Johnny and Veronica Lake is, as always, the perfect noir femme-fatale, mysterious and alluring. Nicely directed by George Marshall, the film moves with great pace to an exciting, satisfying conclusion. The screenplay, the only one written by Chandler directly for the screen, was nominated for an Academy Award. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Review
Though many of Raymond Chandler's books were turned into films (Murder My Sweet, The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye) and he himself adapted other writers' novels into screenplays (Double Indemnity, Strangers on a Train), the only work that the author ever wrote directly for the screen was Blue Dahlia. It's fitting, then, that the film is laden with the fast-paced dialogue, disillusioned attitude, hard-boiled men, and mysterious women common to Chandler's work. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, who appeared in seven successful films together in the 1940s, are the usual suspects this time around, and both performers play up their strong suits: Ladd acts steely, and Lake looks as seductive as ever. Mostly known for his comedies, director George Marshall did surprisingly well with the film noir material, particularly at a time when the genre was at its peak. In historical context, The Blue Dahlia is an above-average, enjoyable post-war mystery with little to distinguish it from other films of its time. The film would be John Houseman's first success as a Hollywood producer; he was previously best-known for his stage productions. Chandler would be nominated for a second Academy Award for screenplay (his first being Double Indemnity). ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Tom Powers - Capt. Hendrickson; Hugh Beaumont - George Copeland; Howard Freeman - Corelli; Don Costello - Leo; Will Wright - Dad Newell; Frank Faylen - The Man; Walter Sande - Heath, Gangster; Ernie S. Adams - Joe, Man in Coveralls; Nina Borget - Mexican Waitress; Mae Busch - Jenny the maid; George Carleton - Clerk at DeAnza Hotel; Douglas Carter - Bus Driver; Anthony Caruso - Marine Corporal; Jack Clifford - Plainclothesman; Thomas P. Dillon - Prowl Car Cop; Jimmie Dundee - Driver of Gangster Car; Dick Elliott - Motor Court Owner; Brooke Evans - Guest at Cocktail Party; Jack Gargan - Cab Driver; Harry Hayden - Mr. Hughes, the Assistant Hotel Manager; Stan Johnson - Naval Officer; Roberta Jonay - Girl Hotel Clerk; Milt Kibbee - Night Hotel Clerk; Lucy Knoch; Perc Launders - Hotel Clerk; Arthur Loft - the Wolf; Vera Marshe - Blonde; Matt McHugh - Bartender; James Millican - Photographer; Noel Neill - Hatcheck Girl; Franklin Parker - Police Stenographer; George Sorel - Paul, the Captain of Waiters; Beverly Thompson - Guest at Cocktail Party; Harry Tyler - Clerk in Bus Station; Dick Winslow - Piano Player at Party; Harry Barris - Bellhop; George Barton - Cab Driver; Charles Anthony Hughes - Lt. Lloyd; Jerry James - Guest at Cocktail Party; William Meader - Party Guest; Ed Randolph - Cop; Albert Ruiz - Photographer; Gloria Williams - Assistant Maid; Bea Allen - News Clerk; Paul Gustine - Doorman; Audrey Korn; Charles Mayon - Guest at Cocktail Party; Henry Vroom - Master Sergeant
Credit
Hans Dreier - Art Director, Walter Tyler - Art Director, Edith Head - Costume Designer, George Marshall - Director, Arthur P. Schmidt - Editor, Victor Young - Composer (Music Score), Victor Young - Musical Direction/Supervision, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Lionel Lindon - Cinematographer, John Houseman - Producer, George Marshall - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Jimmy Walter - Set Designer, James M. Walters - Set Designer, Gene Merritt - Sound/Sound Designer, Joel Moss - Sound/Sound Designer, Raymond Chandler - Screenwriter
Representative Albums: "The Blue Dahlia," "A Tribute to Frank Sinatra"
Biography
The Blue Dahlia were a major departure for Athan Maroulis, who is best known for his lead vocals with the industrial/darkwave band Spahn Ranch. Sounding nothing at all like Spahn Ranch or any of the other alternative outfits who Maroulis had performed with -- which include goth rockers Fahrenheit 451 and the industrial-oriented Tubalcain -- the Blue Dahlia are a throwback to the vocal jazz and jazz-influenced pre-rock pop of the '40s. As the Blue Dahlia's lead singer, Maroulis is cast as a smooth, romantic crooner along the lines of Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole, and early Frank Sinatra. In fact, the Blue Dahlia take their name from Raymond Chandler's classic 1946 film noir thriller, which starred Alan Ladd as a World War II veteran who was falsely accused of his wife's murder and blonde bombshell Veronica Lake as the one of the people who believed in his innocence. Maroulis' companion/collaborator in the Blue Dahlia is producer/arranger Skip Heller, who was well aware of the singer's work with Spahn Ranch but knew that he was also a major fan of jazz and pre-rock pop. Maroulis and Heller started making plans for an album in 1999, and in 2000 the Blue Dahlia's self-titled debut album was released on Cleopatra's Stardust label. In 2001, the Blue Dahlia followed up with the similar A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, which paid homage to the pop icon's '40s work. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Halfway through the script, Chandler became unable to write. A former alcoholic, he'd become a teetotaler for health reasons. He decided that the only way he could get inspiration to finish the script was drunk. For several weeks, he drank heavily, and at the end of that time, presented the finished script.[1]
Helen admits her alcoholism (a car accident, driving while intoxicated) caused their son's death. Johnny pulls a gun on her but decides she's not worth it. Later, Helen picks up Buzz in a bar and brings him home. She is found dead and Johnny is the prime suspect. Johnny teams up with Joyce (Veronica Lake), the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood, to help clear his name.
The staff at Variety magazine gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Playing a discharged naval flier returning home from the Pacific first to find his wife unfaithful, then to find her murdered and himself in hiding as the suspect, Alan Ladd does a bangup job. Performance has a warm appeal, while in his relentless track down of the real criminal, Ladd has a cold, steel-like quality that is potent. Fight scenes are stark and brutal, and tremendously effective."[3]
Critic Dennis Schwartz called the film, "A fresh smelling film noir directed with great skill by George Marshall from the screenplay of Raymond Chandler (the only one he ever wrote for the screen, his other films were adapted from his novels). It eschews moral judgment in favor of a hard-boiled tale that flaunts its flowery style as its way of swimming madly along in LA's postwar boom and decadence."[4]
Awards
Nominations
Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Raymond Chandler; 1947.
The Black Dahlia
Real life aspiring actress and 1947 murder victim Elizabeth Short may have been given the name the "Black Dahlia" as a play on this film's title. Universal Studios, the current rights-holder to this film, released The Black Dahlia in 2006 based on Short's murder.
Adaptations to Other Media
The Blue Dahlia was dramatized as a half-hour radio play on the April 21, 1949 broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd in their original film roles.
Notes
^ Judith Freeman, The Long Embrace, Random House (2008) pages 228-31[1]
