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The Blue Gardenia

Play trailer Poster for The Blue Gardenia 1953 1h 30m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Deeply distraught that her GI ex-boyfriend plans to marry another woman, Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter) agrees to go out on a date with lothario Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr). Norah's drunken night out with Prebble ends in a hazily remembered confrontation and the next day a startling discovery: Harry has been murdered, and the police have found Norah's personal effects at the scene. Tipped off to the breaking news, reporter Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) invites Norah to tell her side of the story.
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The Blue Gardenia

Critics Reviews

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Bosley Crowther New York Times 02/25/2013
The weakness in this case clearly lies in a script by Charles Hoffman, which is hackneyed and tedious from beginning to end. Go to Full Review TIME Magazine 02/25/2013
The somewhat wilted plot manages to take on an unaccustomed bloom in Fritz Lang's direction and the acting of an adept cast. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 07/06/2010
A stock story and handling keep The Blue Gardenia from being anything more than a regulation mystery melodrama. Go to Full Review Joshua Polanski Midwest Film Journal May 4
The Blue Gardenia challenges [the] narrative of complacency and Lang’s supposed wont to “sleepwalking through history.” Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 12/03/2022
Fritz Lang transforms the rather conventional low budget thriller into a paranoid nightmare, his cheap sets and flat backdrops a tawdry world peopled by cynics and opportunists preying upon the guileless... Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 11/29/2022
A
This noir entry would probably be considered a very minor Fritz Lang film, but he made it fast (90 minutes), entertaining, and not without much-welcome doses of humor. Good fun. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Andee D Nov 16 Solid film though far from Lang's best See more Charles D B Nov 5 When Raymond Burr dies,so does the film.He's the whole show,playing a rotter supreme. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 12/19/2024 Low budget and not populated with the greatest actors, I still enjoyed this one quite a bit. See more nick s @Nick_S 12/09/2023 A well executed film noir. The story was fairly simple and didn't have any unexpected twists, but it was enjoyable to watch all the same. Great acting. See more Steve D 04/04/2023 Baxter is great and the sarcastic tone works well. See more Luca D @JoeCamel7 11/09/2021 A very bland noir. It keeps a subtle sense of suspense, other than that the acting is just decent. The plot twist at the end is not really interesting or surprising at all. Probably won't watch again. See more Read all reviews
The Blue Gardenia

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Cast & Crew

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Fritz Lang

Director

Anne Baxter

Norah Larkin

Richard Conte

Casey Mayo

Ann Sothern

Crystal Carpenter

Raymond Burr

Harry Prebble

Jeff Donnell

Sally Ellis

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The Blue Gardenia

The Blue Gardenia (1953) The Blue Gardenia (1953) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Deeply distraught that her GI ex-boyfriend plans to marry another woman, Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter) agrees to go out on a date with lothario Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr). Norah's drunken night out with Prebble ends in a hazily remembered confrontation and the next day a startling discovery: Harry has been murdered, and the police have found Norah's personal effects at the scene. Tipped off to the breaking news, reporter Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) invites Norah to tell her side of the story.
Director
Fritz Lang
Producer
Alex Gottlieb
Screenwriter
Charles Hoffman
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 23, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
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