Directed by Otto Preminger. Written by Vera Caspary, Jay Dratler, and Samuel Hoffenstein
A satisfying mystery with a fold-down-the-middle, turn-it-all-upside-down twist, Otto Preminger’s Laura is about as quintessential film noir as you’re going to get, and features charismatic performances among which Clifton Webb’s work as Waldo Lydecker stands eternal.
It checks the list of genre traits like it wrote it in the first place: hard-drinking, hard-boiled detective, voiceover narration, downpours, trench coats, enigmatic suspects, unrequited love, a damsel in distress, and of course, a central murder: who killed Laura Hunt, shining socialite?
Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is assigned the case, and he first calls upon Lydecker, famous columnist, outrageous dandy, and confidant of the deceased. Due to detective logic reserved for film noir policemen, Lydecker accompanies McPherson as he runs down his list of suspects, be it fiancé Shelby (Vincent Price, oily), his down-bad devotee Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson, stifled in yearning), or Laura’s maid Bessie (Dorothy Adams, slavishly devoted).
These performances are comic, tragic, an affront, a delight, but Webb as Lydecker remains the guiding star. A foppish man so slick his facial hair won’t stay on long enough to become an actual mustache, Webb grows an acid tongue to deliver the stinging one-liners in Caspary, Dratler, and Hoffenstein’s script. As an outsized character, even in the stark character studies inherent to the genre, he’s also unforgettable. A snob, an elitist, an insufferable condescender to all around him, he’s a classic love-to-hate acquaintance, and Webb breathes animosity with his very being in the role.
The almost ostentatious nature of Lydecker extends to production design as a whole. There’s a lot to take in for set design aficionados, with the interior design of Lydecker and Laura’s apartments a lavish offering. Against our modern drive towards minimalism, the ostentatious spread of these homes have their own visual pull.
Laura is a classic murder mystery thriller, and oozes smooth intrigue, but it also packs an emotional punch in secret, telling a story of unrequited passions and the harmful potential of those ill-equipped to handle it. The genre trappings and the perhaps larger-than-life performances might hide it from you, but Laura is a bleak story of covetousness and wasted feelings curdled into obsessive devotion.
With intrigue, a shocking twist, and a well-oiled machine of a story, Laura is one of the finest examples of its genre, and if the textbook film noir experience isn’t reason enough, you can also enjoy a vivid portrayal of the foul things mankind’s capable of when left unfulfilled.
Mikkel Frederiksen 