Customer Reviews

Blue Dahlia [VHS]

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Although riddled with improbabilities, Raymond Chandler's tough story and script is well served with a glossy look and the hard-edged performances drawn by director George Marshall from a superior cast. THE BLUE DAHLIA concerns a recently discharged military man Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) who returns home to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been as unfaithful as the day is long--and is presently carrying on with club owner Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva), over whom her hold is not entirely romantic. After stomping out into the rain, Morrison learns Helen has been murdered, and must race to prove his innocence before the coppers pick him up.

Ladd would give considerably more sophistocated performances in his later years, but he strikes all the right ultra-tough chords, and although Veronica Lake is a rather wooden actress she is remarkably beautiful and as a team the pair has considerable chemistry. The standouts in the cast, however, are Da Silva, who gives the role of the heavy a surprising interpretation, and William Bendix, who plays Ladd's war-wounded buddy to great effect. THE BLUE DAHLIA lacks both the moodiness and grittiness of truly great film noir, so it is not in the first rank of the genre--but it is no less enjoyable for that. The film cracks along at a rapid pace with plenty of action and a surprise twist or two that will keep you guessing to the very end. Ladd and Lake fans will love it, and any one who likes the hardboiled style will be in for a real treat. Recommended.

This classic is one of the best examples of film noir of the 1940s, and it's also perhaps the best on-screen pairing of macho Alan Ladd and sexy Veronica Lake. This was Raymond Chandler's first screenplay, adopted from his unfinished 128 page novel, The Blue Dahlia. According to Hollywood legend, he got totally drunk while finishing the script, living up to his reputation as an alcoholic. Nevertheless, this is an excellently-crafted noir murder mystery that will have you guessing right up till the end who the real killer is!

Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, a returning WW2 veteran who is eager to see his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling). He walks into his home only to discover her kissing another man, nightclub owner Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva). As if that wasn't painful enough for him, she also tells him the truth about their child's death during the war: he was killed in a car crash in which she had been driving while drunk. This spells the end of their already troubled marriage, and Johnny leaves her (along with his .45 pistol) behind.

Johnny's two war pals, Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont) get a phone call from Helen saying that he's run out on her, and Buzz goes out looking for her to find out more. The next morning, Helen's lifeless body (killed by Johnny's pistol)is found in her home, and police begin an immediate search for Johnny, who's hitched a ride with a beautiful woman, Joyce (Veronica Lake). Unkown to Johny, Joyce is the unhappy wife of Eddie Harwood! Johnny suspects Eddie of his wife's murder, but nothing is as it seems in this thriller with so many twists you'll be dizzy by the end!

This highly underated film noir has great performances from the outstanding cast, and the Raymond Chandler script is very memorable, especially Alan Ladd's "Every guy has seen you before somewhere, the trick is to find you." to Veronica Lake. I hope Universal will release this classic and "The Glass Key" on dvd soon because the vhs is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

"Every guy's seen you before, somewhere." -- Johnny to Joyce


The Blue Dahlia is one the finest noir films made during the 1940's as everything is absolutely perfect in the third of four films Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake would make together. Raymond Chandler wrote the original screenplay and George Marshall turned in his finest directing job in this screen classic. This film has the perfect blend of grit and gloss, romance and female treachery, and while the outlook of its anti-hero isn't quite as jaded as it would have been had Howard Hawks filmed this, it still packs a punch.

Lt. Morrison (Ladd) returns from WWII with his two buddies only to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been unfaithful; in your face unfaithful, and responsible for his son's death while he was away. He confronts her at a party and blows out in a storm, unaware that someone kills her with his own gun only hours later. Joyce Harwood (Lake) meets him for the first time when she offers him a ride in the rain and an attraction between the two begins.

This film is everything others of its kind during the 1940's tried to be, but often failed either in execution or atmosphere. The noir elements of the story are blendid expertly with romantic touches sprinkled throughout, creating a masterpiece in the genre. A scene as Johnny and Joyce cross paths a second time in a restaurant overlooking the sea is a particular standout, the romantic view brought back into dark focus when he overhears a bulletin on the radio alerting him he is being sought by the police for the murder of his wife.

Like Johnny, Joyce is running from something, and trying to help him takes her right back to The Blue Dahlia nightclub. Johnny's loyal war buddies are on hand to help him but the shell-shocked Buss (William Bendix) can't quite remember what he did the night Johnny's wife was murdered. The list of suspects begins to grow and includes a slimy hotel detective and the guy Joyce is all tangled up with, who just happens to be, of course, the owner of The Blue Dahlia. Lake's Joyce is softer than some noir heroines but still holds back information, just a shade less than being on the up and up.

This may be the most entertaining 100 minutes you'll ever spend watching a film in this genre and is certain to become one of your favorites once the end credits roll. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were one of the great screen couples, and one of the most popular during the 1940's. Johnny alludes to Joyce being the girl we all dream about for ourselves near the end of the film when he keeps her from driving away. Ladd and Lake were a dream come true for Paramount, and movie audiences. A fabulous film not to be missed.

I love Noir films. And while Hollywood tries to keep this genre alive today, the movies that come out now, can never be compared to the "classics" of the 30's and 40's. If a noir film doesn't have Alan Ladd, Lana Turner,Veronica Lake, or Orson Welles in it, then, I don't want to see it! "Dahlia" was the first time fammed novelist Raymond Chandler took a crack at writting a screenplay. And the results were amazing. Directed by George Marshall (Some might know him for directing a couple of Bob Hope films like "Fancy Pants", and Monsieur Beaucaire")this movie has all the mystery, suspense,and entertainment you could want from a movie. Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, an ex millitary man comes home to find out that wife has been cheating on him since he's been away with Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva) who runs a club called "The Blue Dahlia". When Johnny and his two friends return Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont)he's furious! He's yelling and screaming and is even more bitter when he finds out that it's because of his wife that their daughter has died! After a house detective notices that Johnny is pushing his wife around, he warns him if he plans on doing that he can at least close his shades. Johnny full of hate steams out of the room and is never seen again. The very next morning his wife is found dead! But did Johnny actually do it?? Well, all I'll say is be was with Joyce Harwood (Veronica Lake) at the time picking up a ride. Soon he finds out tha she's Eddie's wife, and she finds out he's on the run from the police. A lot of twist and turns take place and make this movie enjoyable to watch. We're lead to believe one thing and then in the end, find out something complete different is what happened. A classic noir film is I ever saw one. Great acting by Lake and Ladd, not to mention Da Silva. Good solid directing by Marshall, and a terrific screenplay by Chandler.

Here's another one of those classic favorites that I am still hoping gets transferred to DVD. It's been long overdue. Where is it??!

This is another Alan Ladd-Veronica Lake film (their third of the decade) but William Bendix steals the show as a G.I. who suffered brain damage in World War II. He is something to see and his wise-cracking lines are some of the best ever delivered in a film noir. He had a short temper and insulted everyone he came in contact with. I just laugh out loud at some of his stuff.

Doris Dowling is effective as a nasty woman and it's always fun to see Hugh Beaumont in a role other than the dad in "Leave It To Beaver." Howard da Silva and Will Wright also are entertaining in their supporting roles. Also, for you TV trivia fans: see if you can spot "Lois Lane" (Noel Neill) in here.

Never as gorgeous as billed, Lake still had a unique look and voice but she plays it pretty straight here, character-wise. I like her better when she wisecracks as she did in some of her other films.

This is a pretty good crime story. Nothing exceptional, but at least it keeps you guessing. You're never quite sure until the very end "whodunnit."

"Bourbon, straight, with a bourbon chaser." That's Johnny Morrison's drink. Johnny's just been discharged from the Navy, along with two of his pals who were under his command. There's George Copeland (Hugh Beaumont), easy going and loyal, and Buzz Wancheck (William Bendix), big and burly, just as loyal to Johnny as George is, with a metal plate in his head, a variable memory and who sometimes goes into rages.

Johnny leaves his two pals in a Los Angeles hotel and goes to The Cavendish Court in the evening to meet his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling). The Cavendish is a high priced hotel with private bungalows, a careless attitude about parties and an aging security man who doesn't mind taking a few under-the-table dollars for various services. Johnny finds his wife, alright. He learns quickly what her philosophy is. "I take all the drinks I like, any time, any place," Helen Morrison says at one point. "I go where I want to with anybody I want. I just happen to be that kind of a girl." She's giving a drunken party at her bungalow. Before long Johnny sees her being too friendly with Eddie Harwood (Howard De Silva), a well-dressed hood and owner of The Blue Dahlia nightclub. Johnny punches Harwood and leaves in a cold rage. He's picked up by a blonde in a convertible. "You oughta have more sense than to take chances with strangers like this," he tells her. "It's funny," she says, "but practically all the people I know were strangers when I met them." The next morning he hears on the radio that his wife has been murdered with his gun, and he's being hunted by the cops.

What's he going to do? In this first-rate murder mystery, Johnny decides to find the killer himself. His wife might have been a tramp, but she was his wife. Trouble is, there are a lot of possible murderers. And the blonde who picked him up? It turns out she's Joyce Harwood (Veronica Lake), Eddie's estranged wife. Something clicks between them. When she lets him out of the car that night, they talk briefly and then he turns and walks away. "Don't you ever say good night?" she calls out to him. Johnny walks back. "It's goodbye,' he tells her, "and it's hard to say 'goodbye.'" "Why is it?" Joyce asks him. "You've never seen me before tonight." Johnny looks at her. You can see he's regretting ever marrying his wife. ""Every guy's seen you before, somewhere" he tells her. "The trick is to find you."

The Blue Dahlia has a tight, complex script by Raymond Chandler. The direction by George Marshall is efficient and fast-paced. The characters, and the actors who play them, are vivid, especially Bendix. Buzz Wancheck may be loyal to Johnny, but ticking away behind that metal plate in his head is a potential time bomb. Loud, fast music -- monkey music, Buzz calls it -- can trigger ferocious headaches and the kind of anger-fueled rage you don't want to be around. Howard Da Silva was a fine actor and his Eddie Harwood is more than a conventional gangster. He's smooth, ruthless, friendly, smart, corrupt...and he still is carrying at least a small torch for Joyce. Will Wright as "Dad" Newall turns in a great performance as the sleazy, defensive security man at the Cavendish. He's one more of the great character actors people remember by their faces and their performances, but whose name is never remembered.

This was the third of the Alan Ladd/Vernonica Lake vehicles the two made during the Forties, beginning with This Gun for Hire in 1942 and followed by The Glass Key that same year. Although they evidently didn't much care for each other off screen, on screen they generated quite a bit of electricity. Lake in high heels never topped five feet. She usually came across as sexy but no one's fool. They were blond and small. They went well together. In some way no one has been able to define, the camera found a kind of extra dimension with the two. The Blue Dahlia might not quite match their two classic films, This Gun for Hire and The Glass Key, but it still is an effective murder vehicle for two interesting stars. All three films are solid viewing even after 60 years.

Alan Ladd made no bones about being, or wanting to be, an actor. He was an easy-going guy with one ambition, to be a movie star. With This Gun for Hire he made it, and became a major star during the Forties. Even in the Fifties when the good roles were slipping by him he remained an above-the-title star. But why? He was only 5'5", slightly built and he was no actor. He's quoted as saying, "I have the face of an aging choirboy and the build of an undernourished featherweight. If you can figure out my success on the screen you're a better man than I." Here's what that first-rate film critic David Thomson, from his The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, has to say: "Once Ladd had acquired an unsmiling hardness, he was transformed from an extra to a phenomenon. These films are still exciting, and Ladd's calm slender ferocity make it clear that he was the first American actor to show the killer as a cold angel." For those who are only familiar with Ladd through Shane and some of his other Fifties' films, watch the big three he made in the Forties. Only Gun for Hire is out on DVD, but you can track down VHS tapes of Glass Key and Dahlia.

The Universal VHS tape of The Blue Dahlia has a fine looking picture. It includes the preview for the film.

"The Blue Dahlia" is winning film noir and a first rate murder whodunit. Just try to guess the bad guy! Alan Ladd returns from WW2 and finds right away that his wife, Helen, has been openly unfaithful. In fact, he immediately walks out on her after a "public spat". Lucky for him, he has 2 old buddies to move in with, tough guy William Bendix and straight guy Hugh Beaumont. This is the same HB who played the stern Dad on the "Leave It to Beaver" show. That droll voice, with personality to match, is the same but he plays his role well here. The plot immediately boils when Helen is found murdered, with Ladd as the obvious prime suspect. As is real life, the spouse always is. AL has to skip town to find the real perp. Here is where credibility is smoothly ignored, as willowy Veronica Lake magically appears to "help" Ladd, a total stranger, in a pinch. The chemistry between AL and VL is so good that viewers will ignore her convenient entry to the scene. Counting Bendix and Beaumont, 4 people are now trying to clear Ladd. There are two other suspects: One is none other than the troubled Bendix who may have had an alcoholic blackout the night of the murder and cannot account for his movements. The other is a sleazy nightclub owner, Howard da Silva. He just happened to have been Helen's boyfriend while Ladd was away! He is picture perfect as a refined, well-dressed crook, who has committed a murder in the past-and is married to Lake! What happens? A good review won't reveal an ending, certainly not one to such a solid flick. Like so many noir classics. BD is fast running. Somehow Director George Marshall squeezed in a cast of 60 (!) without any clutter. (All are listed in Silver and Ward's "Film Noir") Viewers will not be bored! The photography is superb; especially Ladd's dark, revealing nocturnal showdown with da Silva and that rainy scene as the perp leaves Helen's apartment. This viewer hit the rewind button 3 times and could not tell who it was. If there is a weak point, it lies in the slam bang wrap-up. The cops trick the real perp into incrimination and the fade out follows. BD ends with Bendix leading Beaumont off to the nearest bar. Beaver and Wally might not have approved but Eddie Haskell would have tagged along!

Raymond Chandler scripted the screenplay of this interesting noir gem. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake (sporting a slightly shorter version of her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle), are reunited in this stylish film noir. Johnny Morrison, just returned from military service, comes home to his Los Angeles bungalow to discover his fickle, unscrupulous wife, Helen (the relatively unknown Doris Dowling, best remembered as Ray Milland's drinking buddy in "The Lost Weekend"), hasn't exactly been waiting in the wings for him - she has been having an affair with Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva) owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub ("You've got the wrong lipstick on, mister!"). She then drunkenly shrieks of how her impaired driving had killed their young son, which leads Johnny to threaten her with a gun, but he promptly leaves before he does something he'll regret later. However, Helen is found dead the next morning, and Johnny, who had made the acquaintance of Joyce (Veronica Lake) is the prime suspect. Joyce offers to help, and Johnny's war buddy (William Benedix) also wants him cleared, but, as with all Chandler noir, there are plenty of red herrings, twists and mazes of clues that don't always make sense. Johnny feels he can't trust Joyce when he discovers that she is the wife of Harwood, although she clearly wants nothing more to do with him. She tries to explain, but, Johnny dismisses her with, "So long, baby!" The truth does come out, but not until after a few fascinating plot twists. Many have said that this is not really noir, since Lake's character is not so much a femme fatale as she is a mystery dame, but hey, if she sparks Ladd's interest, that's more than enough! Benedix, who had teamed with Ladd and Lake in "The Glass Key", four years earlier, gives tremendous support, and his wounded, traumatized war veteran is a compelling character.

Chandler's ungentlemanly treatment of Lake (calling her Moronica Lake and deriding her acting skills couldn't have earned him very many points), may account for the reason why she appears blank in a few scenes, but she pulls the role off and she and Ladd make screen magic, as always. She and Dowling are beautifully costumed by Edith Head. On a rather morbid note, this film's title was the inspiration of giving murder victim Elizabeth Short the moniker, "The Black Dahlia". And the similar turns that both Ladd and Lake's lives would take is very ironic and sad - both would see their careers slide, suffer from depression and die relatively young as a result of alcoholism. If there ever was a screen couple who ran neck and neck, it was these two!

A worthy DVD contender (what the heck is taking so long?) and let's hope when such a day comes, plenty of extras will be included!

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake made some of the best film noir movies of all time and none of them are on DVD. These are great movies if you love old black and white intrigue and mystery however. They are worth getting in any format.

Paramount Pictures present "BLUE DAHLIA" (1946) (100 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard da Silva, Doris Dowling & Hugh Beaumont --- Directed by George Marshalland released in April 19, 1946, our story line and film, Ex-bomber pilot Johnny Morrison and his buddies George and Buzz (who, with a metal plate in his head, can't stand "monkey music"), return from the war to their home town, Hollywood ... In a rude homecoming, Johnny finds his wife Helen behaving like a tramp with oily nightclub owner Eddie Harwood. His marriage over, Johnny wanders off into the night, leaving his gun behind...and someone uses it to murder Helen ... Dodging cops and seeking the real killer, Johnny is aided by blonde Joyce, who just happens to be the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood ... Bendix gets in the top billing with stars Ladd and Lake because he's also a radio star because of the Life of Riley Show ... Bendix shows signs of post traumatic stress at a time when that diagnosis had not been invented --- tidy film noir utilizing the only film script Raymond Chandler wrote directly for the screen - a script for which he earned an Academy Award Nomination --- Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake made 7 films together, "The Blue Dahlia" (1946), "Duffy's Tavern" (1945), "The Glass Key" (1942), "Saigon" (1948), "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1942), "This Gun for Hire" (1942) and "Variety Girl" (1947). "In Variety Girl" (1947), "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1942) and "Duffy's Tavern" (1945) they appear as themselves.

Under George Marshall (Director / Producer), John Houseman (Producer), Raymond Chandler (Screenwriter), Lionel Lindon (Cinematographer), Victor Young (Musical Direction/Supervision / Composer (Music Score), Arthur P. Schmidt (Editor), Hans Dreier (Art Director), Walter Tyler (Art Director), Sam Comer (Set Designer), Jimmy Walter (Set Designer), James M. Walters (Set Designer), Edith Head (Costume Designer), Gene Merritt (Sound/Sound Designer), Joel Moss (Sound/Sound Designer), Wally Westmore (Makeup) - - - - the cast includes Alan Ladd (Johnny Morrison), Veronica Lake (Joyce Harwood), William Bendix (Buzz Wanchek), Howard Da Silva (Eddie Harwood), Doris Dowling (Helen Morrison), 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), Dick Winslow (Piano Player at Party), Harry Tyler (Clerk in Bus Station), Franklin Parker (Police Stenographer), Noel Neill (Hatcheck Girl), Anthony Caruso (Marine Corporal) - - - - - Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe Hollywood crime dramas that set their protagonists in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic...Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hard-boiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression...the term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most of the American filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs..the canon of film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of those involved in the making of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film ... featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Alan Walbridge Ladd
Date of Birth: 3 September 1913 - Hot Springs, Arkansas
Date of Death: 29 January 1964 - Palm Springs, California

2. Veronica Lake (aka: Constance Frances Marie Ockelman)
Date of Birth: 14 November 1919 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 7 July 1973 - Burlington, Vermont

3. William Bendix
Date of Birth: 14 January 1906 - New York, New York
Date of Death: 14 December 1964 - Los Angeles, California

4. George Marshall (Director)
Date of Birth: 29 December 1891 - Chicago, Illinois
Date of Death: 17 February 1975 - Los Angeles, California

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 100 min on VHS ~ Universal Home Video ~ (3/26/1996)