Laura is a 1944 American film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, along with Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson.
The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel Laura by Vera Caspary. Laura received five Oscar nominations, including for Best Director, winning for Best Black and White Cinematography.
In 1999, Laura was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, and it also appears on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" series.
Plot
New York City Police Department Detective Mark McPherson investigates the murder of young, beautiful, successful advertising executive Laura Hunt, killed by a shotgun blast to the face just inside her apartment doorway. He first interviews worldly newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker, an imperious, effete older man who relates how he met Laura and became her mentor. She became his platonic friend and steady companion; wishing more, he used his considerable fame, influence, and connections, to advance her career.
Mark also questions Laura's parasitic playboy fiancé, Shelby Carpenter, a "kept man" tethered to Laura's wealthy socialite aunt, Ann Treadwell. Ann is in love with Shelby; she tolerates his infatuation with Laura out of practical acceptance of Shelby's need for the affection of a woman closer to his age. Bessie Clary, Laura's loyal and distraught housekeeper, is also questioned by Mark. Through the testimony of Laura's friends and reading her letters and diary, Mark becomes obsessed with Laura―so much so that Waldo finally accuses him of falling in love with a dead woman. Mark also learns that Waldo was jealous of Laura's suitors, using his newspaper column and influence to keep them at bay.
One night, Mark falls asleep in Laura's apartment in front of her portrait. Awakened by a woman entering with her own key, he is shocked to discover it is Laura. She finds a dress in her closet that belonged to one of her models, Diane Redfern. Mark concludes that the body assumed to be Laura was actually Diane, drawn there for a liaison by Shelby while Laura was away at her country house. With Laura still alive, uncovering the killer becomes even more urgent. By tapping Laura's phone, Mark follows her to a meeting with Shelby, after which Shelby drives to her country house to retrieve a shotgun. When confronted, Shelby claims he did not come forward with the information that Laura was alive because he was panicked. He explains the shotgun by saying he intended to give it to Laura for protection. Mark tests the shotgun against the ballistics from Diane's body and finds that it does not match.
At a party celebrating Laura's return, Mark arrests Laura for Diane's murder. After questioning her, he becomes convinced she is innocent and does not love Shelby. He searches Waldo's apartment, where he notices a clock identical to the one in Laura's apartment. Upon closer inspection, he discovers it has a secret compartment. Mark then returns to Laura's apartment. Waldo is there and observes a growing bond between Laura and the detective. Waldo insults Mark and is sent away by Laura, but he pauses on the stairwell outside. Mark examines Laura's clock and finds the shotgun that killed Diane, but he leaves it there. Laura is finally confronted with the truth that Waldo is the murderer.
Mark and Laura kiss, then he locks her in her apartment, warning her not to admit anyone. After Mark leaves, Waldo slips in by the kitchen entrance, retrieves the shotgun, and tries to kill Laura, saying that if he cannot have her, no one can. She dodges his shot and escapes just as Mark arrives. Mark's sergeant shoots down Waldo. As he dies, Waldo whispers, "Goodbye, Laura. Goodbye, my love."
Cast
Production
Otto Preminger was looking for a theatrical project to direct and first became aware of Vera Caspary's story when her agent offered him the first draft of a play called Ring Twice for Laura. Preminger liked the high-society setting and the unusual plot twist, but he felt the work needed a major revision and offered to rewrite it with its author. Caspary and he disagreed about the direction they should take it, and she opted to collaborate instead with writer George Sklar. Marlene Dietrich expressed interest in portraying the title character, but without the attachment of Dietrich or another major star, Caspary was unable to find a producer willing to finance a national tour or a Broadway run and abandoned the project.
Caspary eventually adapted the play for both a novel with the same title and a sequel, which she titled simply Laura. They were both purchased by 20th Century Fox for $30,000. Fox announced George Sanders and Laird Cregar as the leads.
Interim studio head William Goetz, serving in that capacity while Darryl F. Zanuck was fulfilling his military duty, assigned Preminger the task of developing the books for the screen. Preminger began working with Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt. Recalling the differences of opinion Caspary and he had, Preminger opted not to involve her until the first draft was completed. He sensed the more interesting character was not Laura, but Waldo Lydecker, and expanded his role accordingly. Caspary was unhappy with the plot changes, though.
Zanuck, with whom Preminger previously had clashed, returned to the studio and was angered to discover Goetz had rehired his nemesis. In retaliation, he announced that Preminger could produce Laura but not direct it and assigned him to helm In the Meantime, Darling instead. Several directors, including Lewis Milestone, were offered and rejected Laura until Rouben Mamoulian finally agreed to direct.
Mamoulian immediately ignored all of Preminger's directives as producer and began to rewrite the script. To Preminger's dismay, he cast Laird Cregar, known for his portrayal of Jack the Ripper in The Lodger, in the key role of Lydecker. The producer felt casting an actor with a reputation for playing sinister roles would lead the audience to become suspicious of Lydecker earlier than necessary. He favored Clifton Webb, a noted Broadway actor, who had not appeared before the cameras since 1930, and who at that time was performing in the Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit in Los Angeles.
Fox casting director Rufus LeMaire and Zanuck both objected to Webb because of his effeminate mannerisms, which were exactly what Preminger felt suited the character. Preminger filmed the actor delivering a monologue from the Coward play, and Zanuck agreed that Webb was perfect for the role. Zanuck was similarly campaigning for actor Reginald Gardiner to play the role of Shelby, though Fox contractee Vincent Price finally got the role.
Filming began on April 27, 1944, and from the start, Mamoulian had problems with his cast. He offered relative newcomers Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews little support, allowed theatrically trained Judith Anderson to play to the balcony instead of reining in her performance, and virtually ignored Webb, who had learned that the director was unhappy with his casting.
After viewing the early rushes, Zanuck called a meeting with Mamoulian and Preminger, each of whom blamed the other for the problems on the set. Preminger finally convinced Zanuck that the material needed a more subtle approach than Mamoulian was willing to give it, and the defeated studio head, in frustration, reluctantly allowed Preminger to dismiss Mamoulian and direct the film himself. Preminger immediately hired a new cinematographer and scenic designer and replaced the portrait of Laura – a crucial element of the film; Mamoulian's wife Azadia had painted the original portrait, but Preminger replaced that with an enlarged photograph (taken by Fox photographer Frank Polony) of Tierney, lightly dabbed with oils to give it the ethereal effect he wanted.Tierney Autobiography – 'Self Portrait', pp. 121–122.
Preminger initially experienced resistance from his cast, who had been led to believe Preminger was unhappy with their work by the departing Mamoulian. "Once we got used to Otto, we had a pretty easy time", Vincent Price recalled in a July 1989 interview. Filming was completed on June 29, slightly over budget, but within the projected timetable.
Zanuck was unhappy with Preminger's first cut of the film and insisted it be given a new ending, in which it was revealed Lydecker had imagined the entire story, but following a screening of the Zanuck version, columnist Walter Winchell approached the studio head and told him: "I didn't get [the ending]. You've got to change it." Having lost again, Zanuck relented and allowed Preminger to reinstate his original finale, telling him: "This is your success. I concede."
Music Once the principal photography had been completed, Preminger hired David Raksin to score the film. The director wanted to use "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington for the main theme, but Raksin objected to the choice. Alfred Newman, music director for Fox, persuaded Preminger to give Raksin a weekend to compose an original tune. Furious, Preminger gave Raksin that weekend, but threatened him with dismissal in case he failed.
Inspired by a "Dear John" letter he received from his wife over the course of that weekend, Raksin composed the haunting theme, also titled "Laura", for which Johnny Mercer later wrote lyrics. It eventually became a jazz standard recorded by more than 400 artists, including Stan Kenton, Dick Haymes, Woody Herman, Nat King Cole, The Four Freshmen, Charlie Parker, Billy Eckstine, and Frank Sinatra.[ David Raksin] at AllMusic. Spike Jones did a parody version of the song. Preminger was so pleased with Raksin's score that he not only did not dismiss Raksin, but also collaborated with him on four additional films.
Soundtrack In 1993, Fox Records released a 27-minute suite of Raksin's score on an album paired with Bernard Herrmann's score for Jane Eyre.
In 2013, Kritzerland released the complete Raksin score, along with test demos and the suite from the original album as bonus tracks. Track listing:
"Main Title" (02:18) "The Phonograph" (00:25) "The Café" (04:06) "Waldo Walks Away" (01:01) "Theatre Lobby" (01:27) "Night" (03:05) "The Café/Waldo's Apartment" (04:14) "Laura Leaves" (00:59) "The Portrait" (03:23)
"Mark" (01:05) "Apartment House" (01:21) "Radio" (01:24) "The Party" (03:41) "Outside Waldo's Door" (01:27) "Waldo" (04:30) "End Title" (01:23) "Laura Theme – Test Demos" (01:44) "The Laura Suite – Theme and Variations" (27:20)
Reception Contemporary Reviewing the film for The New York Times, Thomas M. Pryor praised its sustained suspense, strong acting and caustic dialogue, and judged it close to a top-drawer mystery. His principal reservation was Gene Tierney: when Laura finally appears, he wrote, Tierney fails to measure up to the "word-portrait" the other characters have built of her, playing a sophisticated advertising executive with the innocence of a college student. Variety found that the film's leisurely opening and light tone heightened the suspense rather than slackening it, and praised the storytelling: its situations dovetailed credibly, its surprises were logical, and its dialogue was "honest, real and adult".
Retrospective