The Blue Dahlia (1946)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Blue Dahlia (1946) – G. Marshall

Raymond Chandler’s only credited solo screenplay (he worked with others on Double Indemnity, 1944, and Strangers on a Train, 1951 and many of his novels were adapted for the screen by others), although he complained that director George Marshall took many liberties, including changing the ending (which is to say the actual murderer!).  Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) and his buddies Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont) are airmen just back from WWII, trying to return to civilian life.  Buzz has a steel plate in his head and is disoriented and aggressive most of the time – George tries to look after him and they take an apartment together. Johnny returns to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) turned into a party girl, drunk most of the time, and obviously sleeping with club owner Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva) – he walks out on her.  Of course, that night, she is murdered (this is noir, after all).  Johnny avoids the cops, hoping to find Helen’s killer and exonerate himself and his friends; he’s helped by Veronica Lake, a mysterious woman who picks him up in the rain. Ladd and Lake were often teamed up but apparently disliked each other; Chandler called her Moronica and felt that she hurt the film.  My view is that she’s no Lauren Bacall but she manages an underwritten role okay. Although the film feels less formulaic for most of its runtime, the ending does turn toward the standard whodunit. Chandler’s original plot would have been a lot more poignant -- which is not to say we still don’t feel for these returned veterans.