There's a lot of great noir flicks out there; but if you ask me; this isn't one of them. It probably doesn't help that I saw the fantastic noir classic 'They Drive by Night' just before seeing this one, but even so; I wouldn't list The Blue Dahlia among my favourite noirs. The film actually does have a lot going for it, and it's a real shame that this wasn't better considering the plot, which could easily have lead into a great little mystery thriller. The Blue Dahlia focuses on Johnny Morrison, an army bomber pilot who returns home to Hollywood along with his two pals, George and Buzz (complete with metal plate in his head). It's not long before he goes to see his wife and discovers that, in his absence, she's become something of a tramp, and is having an affair with a man named Eddie Harwood; owner of 'The Blue Dahlia' nightclub. Naturally, Johnny isn't pleased at this development and storms off after threatening to shoot his wife. Things take a turn for the worse when Johnny's wife later turns up dead; the offending weapon being the one he used to threaten her with...
The atmosphere is one of the key elements in any noir flick; and this one unfortunately falls down on that point, as the film lacks atmosphere and actually comes off feeling rather cheap. The plot itself doesn't move well either; the first half hour is good, but the mystery doesn't build well, and the route towards finding out who really did it is paved with unlikely happenings, which doesn't do the film any favours. The cast is decent enough, with Alan Ladd providing a good leading role. He is supported by the beautiful Veronica Lake, though her role never really feels all that important...which kind of makes her feel like window dressing. William Bendix is the one that steals the show as is the case with most of his films as the soldier with a metal plate in his head. The film has a pretty big problem where the resolution to the ending is concerned also; personally, I wasn't really bothered who did it by then, and it's quite a good job I felt that way as the resolution is completely unsatisfying. I won't say that this is a completely dreadful film; but there's a lot of better noir out there.
The atmosphere is one of the key elements in any noir flick; and this one unfortunately falls down on that point, as the film lacks atmosphere and actually comes off feeling rather cheap. The plot itself doesn't move well either; the first half hour is good, but the mystery doesn't build well, and the route towards finding out who really did it is paved with unlikely happenings, which doesn't do the film any favours. The cast is decent enough, with Alan Ladd providing a good leading role. He is supported by the beautiful Veronica Lake, though her role never really feels all that important...which kind of makes her feel like window dressing. William Bendix is the one that steals the show as is the case with most of his films as the soldier with a metal plate in his head. The film has a pretty big problem where the resolution to the ending is concerned also; personally, I wasn't really bothered who did it by then, and it's quite a good job I felt that way as the resolution is completely unsatisfying. I won't say that this is a completely dreadful film; but there's a lot of better noir out there.