Laura

Rating 5/5

Laura is a Hollywood Classic that has been one of my favorites for years, so it is with great excitement that I get to write a review about it.

Dana Andrews plays Detective Mark McPherson. A no nonsense man of the law who has been assigned to investigate the murder of Laura Hunt, who was found dead in her apartment from a gunshot to the face. Detective McPherson must interview those who spoke with Laura on her last days, in hopes to uncover the true murderer.

This movie is a hard to review because it has so many different plot elements that I would hate to spoil for anyone who hasn't seen it. So I will focus on all the wonderful elements of the movie that I can, without giving anything away.

Of the many things that I love about Laura, one is Vincent Price's character. Like many movie fans, I had been used to seeing Vincent Price in classic movies of the horror persuasion, so when I first watched Laura, I was very surprised to see him playing such an ordinary man. His performance in this movie proves why he is one of the greats of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He can do more than scare, he can promote concern and intrigue for the characters he portrays.

Similar to Mildred Pierce, we are given an idea of the story's preceding events through flashbacks, and it is in those flashbacks that the stunning Gene Tierney gives us a glimpse of who Laura really was. This movie also makes me think a lot of Rebecca, specifically in how the movie's namesake is idolized by the other characters, and how the use of shadows in the scenes create some truly beautiful movie moments.

Watching Laura is akin to reading a great book that you can't put down. The story is so compelling that you can't take your eyes from the screen and it contains about five of some of the most tense minutes in movie history. With the numerous plot twists and the masterful performances, I find Laura to be one of the greatest films of its' time.