Laura (Laura)

This adaptation of a novel by American writer Vera Caspary is undoubtedly one of the most elegant film noirs ever produced by the Hollywood studio system. Set against the backdrop of New York’s intelligentsia and high society, it is a story of love and jealousy that leads to a brutal murder. Cynical detective Mark McPherson is assigned to investigate the death of the beautiful and gifted Laura. But as he interviews each new witness and finds new evidence, he himself falls more under the spell of the dead girl. Or could things be entirely different? Producer and director Otto Preminger managed to turn an unassuming project into a masterpiece that rests on several pillars: snappy narration and biting dialogue, stylish mise-en-scene, Joseph LaShelle’s Oscar-winning cinematography, a haunting score by David Raksin (with a title theme that became a hit) and a spot-on cast in which everyone complements each other perfectly.

Milan Hain