The Blue Dahlia

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The Blue Dahlia

1946

1h 36m

Crime

Drama

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100%

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12 Reviews

71%

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1,000+ Ratings

Discharged naval officer Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns to his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling), in Hollywood after fighting in the South Pacific, and with him are two military friends, George (Hugh Beaumont) and shell-shocked Buzz (William Bendix). Johnny is stunned to discover Helen's unfaithfulness with a local nightclub owner named Eddie (Howard Da Silva), who then breaks it off with her. When Helen is found murdered, everyone seems to have a motive.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

The core of the drama is the torment of the debilitated Buzz—and the hell reserved at home for heroes, who often faced their traumas in silence.

Nov 7, 2022

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James Agee

The Nation

It knows its own weight and size perfectly and carries them gracefully and without self-importance; it is, barring occasional victories and noble accidents, about as good a movie as can be expected from the big factories.

Jun 23, 2021

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H. Viggo Andersen

Hartford Courant

Alan Ladd and William Bendix are in rare form, and Miss Lake is seen to best advantage in many a film.

Mar 31, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The finale is smartly unpredictable, though by the time the killer is revealed, some of the steam and intensity has dissipated.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 3, 2020

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Thomas Delapa

Boulder Weekly

Rated: 3/5

Nov 4, 2005

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Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Rated: 4/5

Jul 1, 2005

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Joel H

The Blue Dahlia is a mediocre film noir. Alan Ladd is a fine enough leading man, and I’m always happy to see Veronica Lake on the screen, but it felt like the rest of the cast was rehearsing for a melodramatic stage play instead of a movie. Also, the plot felt forced and the twists were more befuddling than surprising. There was also almost no score whatsoever, which made the experience feel stark and empty. I read that Raymond Chandler is a renowned detective fiction writer, but I’m afraid that I’m going to need to see additional evidence of this aside from The Blue Dahlia to corroborate those claims.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/20/25

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Jay B

Spectacular cast and story!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

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Audience Member

Shooting on The Blue Dahlia began without a completed screenplay. There is a lack of command over the material by the director, perhaps because script pages were being seen just days before shooting. In fact, scriptwriter Raymond Chandler was forced to re-write the ending and suffered writer's block, and dissatisfaction with the process. All of these problems - and others - show on the screen. But, there are definitely some moments But, overall, I'm not a fan.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Good! Stylish and Classy! First rate acting to! Great Chandler dialog!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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steve d

Ladd and Lake are always great together even if the story is nothing special.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Typically stylish film noir with a hard-boiled Chandler script, but absent that amoral/non-judgmental quality that marks out the best of the genre. No anti-heroes here. Sad to find out that this was Veronica Lake's last major picture as she is great in it. Interesting also to see a sympathetic treatment of (what we now call) PTSD and brain injury.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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George Marshall

Director

Alan Ladd

Johnny Morrison

Veronica Lake

Joyce Harwood

William Bendix

Buzz Wanchek

Howard Da Silva

Eddie Harwood

Doris Dowling

Helen Morrison

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Synopsis

Discharged naval officer Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns to his wife, Helen (Doris Dowling), in Hollywood after fighting in the South Pacific, and with him are two military friends, George (Hugh Beaumont) and shell-shocked Buzz (William Bendix). Johnny is stunned to discover Helen's unfaithfulness with a local nightclub owner named Eddie (Howard Da Silva), who then breaks it off with her. When Helen is found murdered, everyone seems to have a motive.

Director: George Marshall
Producer: John Houseman
Screenwriter: Raymond Chandler
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 18, 1946, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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