Classics: Laura

“Laura” is an irresistible whodunit with a seductive style that heats up with every scene.

When a young woman is murdered, Det. Lt. Mark McPherson is called in to solve the crime. Dana Andrews plays McPherson. He’s slick and cool and knows how to play his suspects. But the hitch in his game is falling in love.

This isn’t just any murder victim—it’s her… Laura.

McPherson is haunted by the large picture of her that hangs in the living room. His life is set to pause as he practically lives at her apartment, looking through her personal affects—Laura’s pictures, diaries and letters written by her suiters. All this is necessary to solve the case but an obsession forms and it seems he can’t pull himself away.

Now, every mystery needs its cast of suspects. And this casts is highly entertaining…

There’s Waldo (Clifton Webb), the narcissistic writer who’s as wealthy as he is influential. He’s an older man obsessed with Laura. But it seems everyone is obsessed with her. Waldo snubs his nose at those beneath him, which means he does a lot of snubbing because he has the highest regard of himself.

Shelby (Vincent Price) is the unemployed boy toy who loves Laura while involved with another suspect Ann (Judith Anderson). He’s weak minded and needs to be kept to survive.

Ann is a rich woman who has no problem financially keeping her man. And she has her eyes set on Shelby.

There are twists and turns in this mystery, keeping you guessing at every turn. McPherson has a knack for keeping his suspects off balance with a provocative way of making them defensive while relaxing and keeping a sly coolness about him.

The tone has a sexy noir feeling. With enough rain to give that classic film aura usually found in this genre. Flashbacks are perfectly woven in to see how Laura fits into their lives. She’s a beautiful woman with a tremendous heart and a toughness that makes her difficult to tame, which is also part of her allure.

I’ve watched this film several times and I never tire of it. I wish it was longer because I can’t get enough of these characters and this world. The film centers on McPherson so we don’t see as much of the lives of the suspects except for how they connect with Laura. But that’s to be expected in a whodunit. It has a satisfying ending that makes sense and doesn’t feel forced. And the acting and character interactions are on point.


Score: 9.25/10

Classics REVIEW: Touch of Evil

“Touch of Evil” is worth the viewing if for no other reason than the opening sequence. It begins with a long one-shot scene that serves to fill the audience with dramatic tension as the camera travels along a street.

Orson Welles shows why he is known as one of the greatest directors to ever film. His varying of camera angles and use of bizarre close-ups help to create mood and dread. Though as with the sign of those times, some of the moments can be a little hokey or overacted with exaggerated expressions. But that’s to be expected.

The story is set on the Mexican-American border where a murder forces both sides to work together. It plays as more than a murder mystery with the issue of morality injected into the story where corruptness comes at the main character from different places.

Charlton Heston stars as Mike Vargas, a Mexican lawman. I admit, it’s a bit odd seeing him play a Mexican and I’m not a fan of whitewashing, but I can give this 1958 movie a pass. Though I had to keep reminding myself who he was playing, particularly during the scenes where he interacted with Mexicans. He’s a newly married man, who is asked to solve this crime. Though he’d rather spend time with his wife.

Orson Wells plays the American Police Captain, Hank Quinlan—a hardened man who may have been idealistic at one time; but there is no sign of that man in this film. However, there is a slight crack that shows he may have cared for someone once. He’s a recovering alcoholic who believes in doing whatever is necessary to get his man. And as the choices he has to make get difficult, he finds himself one step closer to the bottle.

The plot of “Touch of Evil” weaves in various characters and their motivations that, on the onset, don’t seem to connect until midway through the movie when both Quinlan and Vargas question a suspect.

There are seedy elements that come into play that try to influence the outcome of the investigation.

This Film Noir carries the mystery till the end, folding in some twists that alter the path of where you think the story is going to go. There are some very tense moments throughout, especially with Janet Leigh’s character, who plays Susan Vargas—the wife of Charlton Heston’s character.

Criminals use Susan as a tool to get to Mike Vargas. And this is where I think some elements veered off into…


The land of implausibility…


These moments are brief. But what makes them stand out is that they are essential to the plot or at least how Mike Vargas is affected.

Susan Vargas’ character is sort of stalked or harassed by a subplot. And there are moments that make me shake my head and ask:

• Why would she go off with them all alone?
• Why would her husband leave her in some isolated place?
• Why is this place kept by someone who doesn’t seem to know what the heck is going on?
• Also, when Mike Vargas goes to the hotel, he seems more upset about a missing gun than a missing… well… 

All in all, if you’re looking for a Film Noir, “Touch of Evil” offers both the tension and multi-layered story that has you wondering what will happen next. It’s unpredictable and very well acted.

Ending Questions

This movie leaves two questions:

1) Did they catch the killer? It would seem the answer is YES. It was mentioned that he confessed. Though I do wonder because Quinlan wanted the suspect to be pressed hard, to be broken because the suspect wouldn’t confess (at first). Just how hard was he pressed?

Considering this is a Film Noir, I think it fits better for the answer to be YES because it makes it all the more tragic at the end. They had the right guy all along, and so all that occurred after the scene with the explosives in the box didn’t need to happen.

That’s how I like my Film Noirs!

2) Was she raped? My guess is NO. But I think she was supposed to be assaulted in the original script. There were supposedly re-shoots. Add that to the fact that one of the characters wanted to “watch”. Surely she wasn’t there to “watch” nothing.

I think the studio changed its mind and so we have the conversation between characters that say she was just drugged to make her believe something bad happened. I think this was added later when the studio had changes made. I also think she was originally going to be drugged with something other than sodium pentothal.

Times were different back then. The fact they they had a lesbian was probably a bit much for them, let alone all the other things.


 Score: 9/10

Movie Review: Sunset Boulevard

Score: 10/10

As part of the ‘First Thursday of Every Month’ Classics, I took a stroll down Sunset Boulevard and revisited an old friend, whose star has faded—like the once glistening pavement now marred by the passage of time.

…I’m talking about Norma Desmond.

She once was a silent-picture actress who used to be big. Though she’d defiantly tell you…

“I am big. It's the pictures that got small.” - by Norma Desmond

And so we witness the mental breakdown of a woman trapped in a past she could never go back to; after all, movies have words now.

There’s so much about this movie that is brilliant, including this one shot of Norma visiting the studio. A microphone passes overhead and gently bumps into her, sort of like a nudge, reminding her of something she angrily wants to forget… She is no longer a star and she never will be again.

It’s something that many can relate to albeit in a different way, without the cameras and such. Like working in a job until one day technology has gotten so that your skill is no longer required or you have someone become outdated, making you feel as if you’re being left to pasture.

A stranger comes a knocking

Our window into Norma’s world is seen through the eyes of a man who comes to her house. Joe Gillis finds himself unable to get through to her or unwilling to waste his time trying…

“You don't yell at a sleepwalker - he may fall and break his neck. That's it: she was still sleepwalking along the giddy heights of a lost career.” - by Joe Gillis

(some spoilers)

Joe is a broke screenwriter, who’s creditors are knocking. But without a screenplay that anyone wants to buy, he finds himself at her doorstep.

She’s wealthy and he can smell the money from her estate, which houses just her and her man servant, Max. Thinking he’s got one over on her, Joe convinces her to offer him a job to work on a screenplay that would be her comeback. But ultimately, he plays into her hands.

And so we watch as he ends up trapped in her web with a dark cloud blanketing him. He can’t seem to free himself.

But why does he stay?

It’s the question that makes sense when watching the film. He’s has no money. And aside from a few friends, he doesn’t seem to have much else in Hollywood. As so he believes he only has two options: stay there with her or go back to his small town home and start a new life.

Though, I think there’s something deeper. Her life is one of solitude and being around her taps into a similar feeling. It borders on a psychological issue for him. A sense of helplessness that festers into anger. Anger at himself and in Norma for being Norma. She can’t help who she is because she’s sick. And every minute he stays with her, makes him sick as well.

Until he sees a friend…

Betty represents the light. A wannabe screenwriter, who reminds him of how he used to be—filled with life and hope.

Sunset Boulevard is a compelling, yet tragic tale of two people who get what they want in the harshest way possible. Joe is part of the larger than life story and Norma gets to be in front of the cameras once more.