The Blue Dahlia (1946)

Directed by George Marshall

Running Time: 100 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 1946

Rating: 15 Certificate

Production Country: USA

Filmed in Black and White

This tough and taut thriller, written by Raymond Chandler, is one of the great unsung film-noirs. Released in 1946, it stars Alan Ladd - on terrific form - as super-cool Second World War veteran Johnny Morrison who returns home to discover that his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been unfaithful, fooling around with Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva), the oily owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Distraught, Johnny wanders off into the night, leaving his gun behind. Helen winds up dead, but who shot her and why? Johnny - the prime suspect - is determined to uncover the truth. While on the killer's trail, he teams up with sultry Joyce - Veronica Lake - who, by chance, is the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood...

Brilliantly directed by George Marshall, it's a fine movie. Ladd and Lake's scenes are terrific, and, surprisingly, the fight sequences are quite tough for the time. Also look out for a strong performance from William Bendix as Johnny's shell-shocked war buddy Buzz Wanchek.

Highly recommended.

Click to see when The Blue Dahlia is coming up on TV: UK

Cast

	Alan Ladd		Johnny Morrison /Jimmy Moore
	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		Man recommending a motel
	Walter Sande		Heath
	Dick Elliott		Motor court owner
	Milton Kibbee		Night hotel clerk