Film Review: Laura (dir. Otto Preminger, 1944)

This is a new DVD release of a classic of film noir. As one expects in this genre, there are surprising twists--"things are not always as they seem"--a beautiful woman, a hard-boiled detective, and a few colorful characters just to make things interesting. It's always raining. Oh yeah, and there's a murder mystery. The movie is watchable, though, because of its high camp value. Waldo Lydecker, played by Clifton Webb, is supposed to be in love with Laura, played by the beautiful Gene Tierney. But his character is clearly, um, playing for the other team. I kept expecting someone to say to him: "Look, Waldo--you can't be in love with Laura, can you? I mean, aren't you . . . ?" But this was 1944, I guess.

Another highlight: Vincent Price plays Laura's playboy boyfriend. I'm serious. With a Southern accent. His character's name is "Shelby Campbell." Seriously. I kept expecting him to say: "Laura isn't dead. She's one of the . . . undead."

At under 90 minutes running time, this movie is a quick bit of B&W fun. You'll see the twist coming, and if you have seen one or two of these noir movies, you'll figure out where the murder weapon is before the detective, and thus the identity of the killer, too.