Review of The Blue Dahlia

My second Ladd & Lake film! I'm working my way through the Universal Film Noir box set and I have just been rewarded with another treat in this very good, very entertaining noir. Returned veteran Ladd is accused of murdering his trampy wife, and his servicemen buddies and a beautiful blonde help to clear his name. Ladd & Lake disappointingly don't get many scenes together, but the ones they do have are wonderful, they had excellent chemistry even if they weren't the world's greatest actors. Bendix gives the performance of the picture as Buzz, the veteran with shell-shock. Howard Da Silva is memorably sleazy, and Doris Dowling turns on the femme fatale appeal. I like how, as in The Best Years Of Our Lives, the problems of returning veterans are dealt with realistically. Chandler wrote the screenplay and he gives us some great noir dialogue exchanges, even if we are asked (as with "The Big Sleep") to believe in a plot with a hell of a lot of coincidences, and rushed and silly ending. Marshall does a good job directing. Its not the best noir you'll ever see, but it is great fun, especially if you like Ladd & Lake.