DIRECTOR: Otto Preminger
BOTTOM LINE: One of the reasons for firing Laura’s” original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was his attitude towards Clifton Webb. His less-than-stellar treatment of the seasoned theatrical actor on the set because of his sexual orientation has become the stuff of Hollywood lore. However, a more likely reason for his dismissal was the direction he was taking the material. Remember, Mamoulian is more famous for the films he didn’t make (was fired from) than those he did – in addition to “Laura,” he was also fired from the sets of “Oklahoma” and “Cleopatra.” Zanuck then handed the film over to producer Otto Preminger. It was a stroke of sheer genius that will never be forgotten. The result is one of the classic film noirs, Blessed with a great score by David Raksin. A star is born in Gene Tierney, and Clifton Webb strikes gold as Waldo Lydecker.
LIKE MOST OF THE GREAT FILM NOIRS FROM THE FORTIES, THE FILM BEGINS WITH A NARRATION, AND THE NARRATIVE UNFOLDS IN A FLASHBACK
“I shall never forget the weekend Laura died. A silver sun burned through the sky like a huge magnifying glass. It was the hottest Sunday in my recollection. I felt as if I were the only human being left in New York. For with Laura’s horrible death, I was alone. I, Waldo Lydecker, was the only one who really knew her. And I had just begun to write Laura’s story when – another of those detectives came to see me. I had him wait. I could watch him through the half-open door. I noted that his attention was fixed upon my clock. There was only one other in existence, and that was in Laura’s apartment in the very room where she was murdered”
Fade in Narration by Clifton Webb as Waldo Lydecker
STREAMING: Amazon Prime and Apple TV+
https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967
https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967-table-summary
https://thebrownees.net/fifty-two-post-hays-code-queer-films-released-in-the-decade-1967-1976
Classic Film Noir At Twentieth Century Fox – TheBrownees
https://thebrownees.net/my-70-all-time-favorite-original-movie-scores/
