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July 19, 2010

Laura (1944)

Ryan resurrected talk about how many of IMDb's top 250 each of us has seen, which made me feel competitive, so I instantly got onto the Roku and searched for movies on the list that I still haven't seen. Laura was one of them. It stars Dana Andrews as Detective Lieutenant Mark McPherson, who is investigating the death of a girl named Laura Hunt. As he interrogates the suspects in the case, he learns all about Laura's personality and her story.

A portrait of Laura hangs above the fireplace in Laura's apartment, which McPherson makes his headquarters for the investigation. He seems to want to be a part of Laura as much as everyone else in her life, such as Waldo Lydecker and Shelby Carptenter. Lydecker (Clifton Webb) is much older than Laura, but helped kick-start her career in advertising, and seems to think that she owes him the rest of her life; I'm not so sure he is in love with Laura, but he's definitely used to having her to himself at any rate. Lydeckers isn't very fond of the idea that Laura had recently become engaged to Shelby Carpenter (a young and pleasant Vincent Price). Carpenter is a bit of a playboy, and behaves a bit oddly when questioned by McPherson.

There is a certain point in the plot that I won't reveal for anyone who plans on seeing it. Once that point is reached, the movie makes a big shift and all the pieces that were nicely laid out in the beginning start to make their moves.

While I did enjoy the movie, I'd have to say that it feels a little more like noir-light from what I understand of the genre. The mystery isn't as complex, the magnetism of Laura isn't as tangible as it should be, and the love story feels more convenient than convincing. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy the movie. Clifton Webb as Lydecker alone makes it worthwhile. It's a good cast overall, and the final scenes are compelling. I'm not sure I'd place it in my personal top 250, but it's still a classic and worth the watch.

Posted by Jeri Email at 02:29:45 pm | movies, netflix/tivo

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