LauraThe opening shot of Otto Preminger's Laura is of the gorgeous portrait of the title character, played by Gene Tierney--one that is frequently revisited, displayed in the background of Laura's apartment, as Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) leads members of Laura's circle of friends through the two-step of questioning; he later obsesses over the painting, over her. Laura is a whodunit mystery, but it is also a study of vanity; what better representation could there be but the ostentatious painting of oneself hanging above one's own mantle...and yet, Laura is far from the most vain character in the cast.
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From the earliest moments of conversation between Mark and overly urbane and wryly sardonic Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), we get the basic conflict at the root of Laura: image dictates behavior for Waldo, and vice versa for Mark. Waldo speaks with diction too precise; certainly appropriate for a penman--sorry, quill man, I'm sure Waldo'd correct me--his parlance is designed to exert his talents, his strengths over those whom he feels are a threat. This is Waldo's vanity, his rapier is his voice, his word, because as it becomes abundantly clear, he is threatened by the "muscular, athletic" kind of men with whom his Laura keeps company. For a film titled Laura, we spend a good deal of time in the company of Waldo, whether we like it or not...in all fairness, his scathing sense of humor is entertaining, so long as we would not find ourselves pressed against his barbs. A word which might be fair to describe Waldo would be a "sociopath". Whether he is oblivious to the sharpness and venom of his behavior, or that he simply doesn't care, is open to interpretation, but he does show indifference to his attitudes, even toward Laura upon their first encounter. I've always felt that Laura's reproach of Waldo would be infuriating, but his response is to take her under his wing, and deliver her from the pedestrian banalities of humdrum mediocrity (I'm channeling Waldo, here), and raise her up to the angelic heights to which he believes she belongs...among the clouds, the angels, dressed in finery and always at his side. Waldo does this out of vanity, and by raising her up, is ironically attempting to drag her down to his level; there is a moment toward the end where we suspect he may have succeeded. Laura is perfect--just ask anyone...and Mark concurs, finding himself becoming obsessed with her and the image of her described in Waldo's testimonies, her correspondences and her diary. Mark's an unorthodox detective to be sure, though he does look the part. He's willing to ask witnesses to call upon him, like Laura's semi-fiance Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price) and his on-again/off-again lover (who is also Laura's friend), Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson), for the sole purpose of seeing their reactions. He also allows Waldo to accompany him on his investigation and even tolerates his interjections into lines of questioning, all while he fiddles with a pocket game. Mark gives the impression to us that he has it all figured out, portraying an image of cool which might work in some cases, but when the pieces start falling into unexpected places, it is more evident that he is only play acting. Waldo observes that Mark built up his reputation as a tough cop who took one in the shin while busting gangsters. The detective thing is probably outside his comfort zone, but he does have a keen mind and remembers facts from fiction...not all that hard when practically everyone is lying to you.
A good deal of Laura takes place in a few, oft-revisited locales, usually differing characters' apartments or the like. At one point, Mark points out that for him to really put one of the pieces of the puzzle in place, he needed to do it in "official surroundings". Mark--like the other characters--are more comfortable on their home turf, and feel they have the advantage when they can dictate the environment. When Waldo first meets Mark, he does so without deigning to exit his bath, a sign that he is in charge, or at least believes himself to be, by disarmingly inviting Mark to question him as he writes in the bath, perhaps portraying himself a la Jean-Paul Marat, an allusion to which Waldo would no doubt take satisfaction were it to go over the head of Mark. Laura's own apartment is the most frequently visited backdrop in the film; objects in the apartment come up repeatedly, keys to unlock the inner workings of Laura, who she is and what she is like...at least, this is the draw for Mark, in his investigation, and perhaps his own unrealized needs. Even the maid Bessie (Dorothy Adams) has an unwavering impression of Laura, an image of the fine lady who wouldn't be caught dead with cheap scotch like "Black Pony" in or around her apartment. It's hard to live under the weight of one's own mythos, and Laura had doubts about her future, primarily after Waldo disclosed to her the findings of his own private investigation into the sordid character of Shelby Carpenter and his involvement with one of Laura's co-workers, Diane Redfern, a testimony which Laura sees as a detestable attempt to tear her away from anyone other than himself...and rightly so. Laura set out to get Waldo's endorsement on a pen, but ended up getting not only that but a reinvention of herself, a kind of transformation into someone caught among the upper echelon of elitism, deception, and even scandal. Had she not made that bold move in the restaurant, maybe she would have remained at her small desk job, never getting anywhere close to affording the posh apartment, maid, and finery which would become her custom, and maybe things would have been much simpler. At the end of the film, Waldo's radio program is played, and he talks about "great lovers in history", about the merits of love and how it is the essential quality us all. But Laura is not really about love, and Waldo knows this, because for him it has never been about love--it is about that other basic human need to feel that we have some control over our environs, that need to feel that we are special, that we deserve some kind of luxurious painting above our mantle, that we can get that unattainable girl, the dark side of love and the love of ourselves: vanity.
Recommended for: Fans of a big and bold murder mystery, a fine early example of film noir, with characters quick with a sharp reply and turn of phrase, of cops and murder, and of twists and motives. Characters like Waldo stick with you as quintessential earmarks of the style and signature of an era of filmmaking both as classic and crisp today as it was then.
A good deal of Laura takes place in a few, oft-revisited locales, usually differing characters' apartments or the like. At one point, Mark points out that for him to really put one of the pieces of the puzzle in place, he needed to do it in "official surroundings". Mark--like the other characters--are more comfortable on their home turf, and feel they have the advantage when they can dictate the environment. When Waldo first meets Mark, he does so without deigning to exit his bath, a sign that he is in charge, or at least believes himself to be, by disarmingly inviting Mark to question him as he writes in the bath, perhaps portraying himself a la Jean-Paul Marat, an allusion to which Waldo would no doubt take satisfaction were it to go over the head of Mark. Laura's own apartment is the most frequently visited backdrop in the film; objects in the apartment come up repeatedly, keys to unlock the inner workings of Laura, who she is and what she is like...at least, this is the draw for Mark, in his investigation, and perhaps his own unrealized needs. Even the maid Bessie (Dorothy Adams) has an unwavering impression of Laura, an image of the fine lady who wouldn't be caught dead with cheap scotch like "Black Pony" in or around her apartment. It's hard to live under the weight of one's own mythos, and Laura had doubts about her future, primarily after Waldo disclosed to her the findings of his own private investigation into the sordid character of Shelby Carpenter and his involvement with one of Laura's co-workers, Diane Redfern, a testimony which Laura sees as a detestable attempt to tear her away from anyone other than himself...and rightly so. Laura set out to get Waldo's endorsement on a pen, but ended up getting not only that but a reinvention of herself, a kind of transformation into someone caught among the upper echelon of elitism, deception, and even scandal. Had she not made that bold move in the restaurant, maybe she would have remained at her small desk job, never getting anywhere close to affording the posh apartment, maid, and finery which would become her custom, and maybe things would have been much simpler. At the end of the film, Waldo's radio program is played, and he talks about "great lovers in history", about the merits of love and how it is the essential quality us all. But Laura is not really about love, and Waldo knows this, because for him it has never been about love--it is about that other basic human need to feel that we have some control over our environs, that need to feel that we are special, that we deserve some kind of luxurious painting above our mantle, that we can get that unattainable girl, the dark side of love and the love of ourselves: vanity.
Recommended for: Fans of a big and bold murder mystery, a fine early example of film noir, with characters quick with a sharp reply and turn of phrase, of cops and murder, and of twists and motives. Characters like Waldo stick with you as quintessential earmarks of the style and signature of an era of filmmaking both as classic and crisp today as it was then.