"THE BLUE DAHLIA" (1946) ReviewSometime during World War II, novelist Raymond Chandler was hired by Paramount Pictures to co-write the 1944 film classic, "DOUBLE INDEMNITY", with writer-director Billy Wilder. Another two years passed before the studio assigned him to write a post-war film noir movie, 1946’s "THE BLUE DAHLIA".Directed by George Marshall, ”THE BLUE DAHLIA” was about a U.S. Navy pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Johnny Morrison, who returns home to Los Angeles with his buddies and medically discharged crewmates, Buzz Wanchek and George Copeland. Buzz is prone to memory lapses and headaches, and is often short tempered, all likely due to his head wound. Johnny finds his wife Helen living and partying in a hotel bungalow. He also spots her kissing her boyfriend, owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub, Eddie Harwood. After punching Eddie, Johnny lets Helen know that he is willing to try to salvage their marriage. However, Helen is not willing and she informs him that their son did not die of dipththeria as she had written, but from a car accident caused by her when she was drunk. Johnny momentarily threatens her with a gun, but decides she is not worth the trouble. He leaves her, taking a framed photograph of their son. Helen meets both Buzz (who has been searching for Johnny) and Eddie before she is mysteriously shot to death in the stomach.”THE BLUE DAHLIA” is a pretty solid murder mystery that featured the second of three movies with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Chandler created some very interesting characters, including the smarmy Eddie Harwood, who seemed very adept at seducing married wives like Helen Morrison and hiring others to do his dirty work; Helen Morrison, who seemed like a curious mixture of a bitchy wife and a grieving mother; the solid Johnny Morrison, who manages to radiate an aura of menace when crossed; and the nosy and sharp-tongued hotel detective, “Dad” Newell. But Chandler’s best creation turned out to be Buzz Wanchek, a loyal, Navy veteran with a short temper, dislike of jazz music and a metal plate in his head.As I had stated earlier, Chandler’s story proved to be pretty solid. His skillful setup of Helen Morrison’s murder made it easy for many of the characters to become suspects. Johnny’s discovery of her affair with Eddie Harwood and their subsequent violent quarrel made him an easy suspect. The script eventually revealed that Helen had discovered that Eddie Harwood was a wanted fugitive sought by the New Jersey cops for the death of a man during a robbery, fifteen years earlier. Johnny also met one Joyce Harwood, Eddie’s estranged wife, who had become weary of her husband’s infidelity. And finally there was Buzz, who had been seen meeting Helen at her hotel’s bar and following her to her bungalow. All of this had been witnessed by “Dad” Newell. I understand that Chandler had intended the mystery to evolve into a message about the difficulties – medical and otherwise – faced by veterans returning home from the war. This message would have been utilized with the revelation of Buzz as Helen’s killer. The movie also featured some brutal fight scenes between Ladd and the actors portraying Eddie Harwood’s thugs. In fact, I have noticed that a good number of brutal fights always seemed to pop up in many of Ladd’s movies. Director George Marshall certainly did justice to the fight scene in ”THE BLUE DAHLIA” that rivaled those found in other Ladd crime dramas.Unfortunately, ”THE BLUE DAHLIA” had some flaws that prevented it from being better than it could. One, I found Sam Comer and James M. Walters Senior’s set decorations to be pedestrian . . . almost cheap looking. And Lionel Lindon’s uninspiring cinematography did not help. And the movie could have benefitted with a better score than the one provided by Victor Young, the same composer who won a posthumous Oscar for 1956’s ”AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS”. And thanks to the U.S. military and the Production Code Administration under Joseph Breen, Chandler was forced to neuter his script by tossing aside the resolution that made Buzz the murderer. Both Chandler and Marshall were forced to dump the crime on another character, in what seemed like a contrived plot twist.If there is one thing that ”THE BLUE DAHLIA” benefitted was from its cast. Chandler had compared Alan Ladd to Warners star, Humphrey Bogart, to the former’s detriment. One, I have no idea why Chandler even bothered to compare the two actors. Both had their own styles as leading men in a crime drama. Ladd certainly gave a top-notch performance as returning veteran Johnny Morrison. His best scenes included one he shared with Doris Dowling that featured the bitter argument and marital breakup of the Morrisons; another with Howard Da Silva, in which Morrison revealed his knowledge of Harwood’s past as a wanted fugitive; and finally the fight scene between Johnny and Harwood’s thugs. Not only did he handle the fight scenes very well, he also proved that he could be a first-rate dramatic performer, who knew how to act in front of a camera.Ladd received solid support from Veronica Lake, who gave a charming performance as the compassionate and perhaps, slightly manipulative Joyce Harwood, the nightclub owner’s estranged wife. I was very impressed by Doris Dowling’s portrayal of the morally conflicted Helen Morrison. Not only did she convey the woman’s bitchy personality with great effect, but also her lingering grief over her son’s death. Howard Da Silva was superb as nightclub owner Eddie Harwood. The actor did justice to Chandler’s portrayal of a man ruthless enough to deal with any threat to his livelihood, yet compassionate enough to feel remorse over his killing of an innocent man during a bank robbery. And character actor Will Wright gave a humorous and complex portrayal of the nosy and slimy house detective, “Dad” Newell. Hugh Beaumont gave a solid performance as one of Johnny’s friends, the level-headed and dependable George Copeland; but his portrayal did not exactly set me on fire. William Bendix’s portrayal of a slightly disturbed Buzz Wanchek. His performance struck me as funny, caustic and a bit frightening at times. He was very effective in conveying the aftereffects of a man who had not only been trained to kill, but whose war wound (which resulted in a metal plate in the head) led him to suffer from a great deal of mental stress.Do not get me wrong. I enjoyed ”THE BLUE DAHLIA”. Chandler’s mystery struck me as solid and well written. And the movie benefited from a strong cast led by Alan Ladd. But it lacked any production values – set decorations, photography and score – that struck me as impressive. And in the end, the movie’s finale was undermined by censorship from the U.S. military and the local censor board. But I can honestly say that it is worth viewing.
"THIS GUN FOR HIRE" (1942) ReviewIn response to the success of Warner Brother's 1941 movie, "THE MALTESE FALCON", Paramount Pictures followed up with its own film noir flick with its adaptation of Graham Greene's 1936 novel, "A Gun for Sale". This film not only made Alan Ladd a star, despite receiving fourth billing; it also marked the first of his four movies with co-star Veronica Lake. Set during the early months of America's participation in World War II, the movie opened with a hitman named Raven killing a chemist and blackmailer in San Francisco. Raven's employer, a nightclub owner named Willard Gates, also serves as a middle-man for the employer of the murdered chemist. After Raven hands over a stolen chemical formula to Gates, the latter pays him with marked bills and reports them to the Los Angeles Police as stolen cash from his company, Nitro Chemical. Raven learns of the set up and seeks revenge against both Gates and the latter's employer, Alvin Brewster. Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Michael Crane is in San Francisco, visiting his girlfriend and nightclub entertainer Ellen Graham, when he is assigned to the case. Unfortunately, Raven manages to escape from San Francisco aboard a passenger train bound for Los Angeles. One of his fellow passengers is Ellen, who has maneuvered herself to be hired by Gates to entertain in his Hollywood nightclub. Unbeknownst to everyone other than Ellen, Gates and Brewster are under suspicion as traitors selling secrets to the enemy. After the train arrives in Los Angeles, Raven becomes aware of the police and uses Ellen as a hostage to elude from them.In a nutshell, "THIS GUN FOR HIRE" is a pretty damn good crime drama that seemed to defy the usual formula of film noir. To be honest, it seemed more like a combination of a crime drama, psychological thriller and a espionage tale. Although Alan Ladd was billed fourth in the movie, his character, the psychologically unstable Raven, pretty much dominated the story. Because of this, I found myself wondering why Paramount Studios even bothered to give him fourth billing. Veronica Lake, who had already become a star within a year or two, received top billing. The story allowed her to pair off with both the movie's leading man Robert Preston and Ladd. She had a nice screen chemistry with Preston, who portrayed her fiancé. But with Ladd, she really sizzled. Come to think of it, Preston had a better screen chemistry with Ladd, six years later in the 1948 Western called "WHISPERING SMITH" than he did with Lake.I have never read Graham Greene's 1936. One blogger once compared it unfavorably to the 1942 film adaptation. Others have claimed that it is a pretty good novel, if not one of Greene's best. However, I can say that the screenplay written by Albert Maltz and W.R. Burnett for the 1942 film is well written. The movie featured a strong narrative filled filled with exciting action, well crafted characterizations and a great deal of tension. A few of my favorite scenes featured some good action, including Raven's escape from the police at the Union Station railyard, his rescue of Ellen from Gates' Hollywood mansion and the finale set inside the Nitro Chemical building. I was very impressed by director Frank Tuttle's handling of Raven's escape from the San Francisco boarding house, following his murder of the blackmailing chemist. Although I would not consider it an action scene, it was filled with some pretty damn good tension. And one of the movie's best scenes featured Raven's conversation with Ellen about his brutal childhood at the hands of an abusive aunt. This scene elevated Raven from a cold-blood thug to a damaged man who seemed to long for some kind of friendship or warmth from another human being.I just realized that most of my favorite scenes in "THIS GUN FOR HIRE" featured Alan Ladd as Raven. No wonder this movie made him a star. He was the best thing about this film. And I defy any actor to steal a film away from the likes of Robert Preston, Veronica Lake, Marc Lawrence and especially Laird Cregar. But I thought he did. I have always believed that Ladd was underrated as a screen actor. The role of Raven, along with a few others, have convinced me that he was a much better actor than most people realize - even to this day. But"THIS GUN FOR HIRE" also featured first-rate performances from the rest of the cast. Veronica Lake gave a charming performance as Ellen Graham, the magician/entertainer who becomes a temporary spy for the U.S. Although her character is held hostage either by Raven or Gates, I like the fact that her Ellen is an emotionally tough character who manages to hold her own in the company of killers. Robert Preston found himself stuck with a rather dull character in the form of LAPD Detective Mike Crane. Paramount and Tuttle were damn lucky to get Preston for this role. Because thanks to him, he injected a good deal of energy into the character, allowing the latter to be a lot more bearable and sympathetic than it would have been in the hands of a lesser actor. Marc Lawrence gave a memorably funny performance as Gates' chauffeur/henchman Tommy. Yes, Lawrence was funny. He was also a bit scary. And the actor did a first-rate job in balancing the two aspects of the character. Tully Marshall had another year to live and three more films to make when he portrayed the poisonous owner of Nitro Chemical - Alvin Brewster. I thought he did a pretty good job in portraying capitalism at its most corrupt. But there were moments in that final scene between Brewster and Raven that his performance seemed a bit hammy. It is a damn pity that Laird Cregar only had another two-and-a-half years left to live when he portrayed the anxiety-ridden Willard Gates. Cregar probably gave my second favorite performance in the entire movie. Cregar's Gates turned out to be one of the most unusual villains I have ever seen in a Hollywood movie - smooth-tongued and intelligent, yet at the same time, extremely nervous and a bit cowardly. Watching Cregar twitch his way across the screen, I found it amazing that his character proved capable of making ruthless decision.Was there anything about "THIS GUN FOR HIRE" that I found unappealing? Other than Tully Marshall's occasional forays into hammy acting, I found the earlier rail yard sequence that featured Ellen and Raven's evasion from the police a bit too long for my tastes. Aside from Raven's childhood recollections, this scene nearly put me to sleep. Was there anything else? Hmmm . . . I found the idea of Ellen being recruited by a U.S. senator to expose Gates and Brewster a little hard to accept. Nor did I understand why Mike Crane took on the job of finding Raven, while he was still on vacation in San Francisco. This would have been easier to accept if he had been an F.B.I. agent.However, "THIS GUN FOR HIRE" still proved to be an excellent crime drama filled with good action, drama and storytelling. It also proved to be an first-rate stepping stone for Alan Ladd's career. And the movie also featured excellent performances from the likes of Veronica Lake, Robert Preston and especially Laird Cregar. Is it a film noir? I cannot honestly say. Then again, I never believe there was a definition of film noir, despite what many film critics might say.
