Finally, the contractee's voice was heard by studio management. Given the go-ahead for an original suspense thriller, Raymond Chandler set to work on "The Blue Dahlia" (1946).
In many ways vintage Chandler, with lots of atmospheric touches, cynical dialogue, a fabulous femme fatale (Doris Dowling) and an embittered hero (played with an appropriate lack of emotion by Alan Ladd), the completed script hit an unexpected snag.
The Navy Department complained to the studio that portraying neurotic veterans as potential killers violated the senior service's no-no code.
A compromise was reached, forcing Chandler to re-work the ending of the movie.
That he did so under protest is evident by the slip-shod, utterly unconvincing way he "remedied" the situation.
In fact, when he revised his last word on Blue Dahlia, he tore up his contract, vowing never to work in Hollywood again.
(Available on a 10/10 Universal DVD).
In many ways vintage Chandler, with lots of atmospheric touches, cynical dialogue, a fabulous femme fatale (Doris Dowling) and an embittered hero (played with an appropriate lack of emotion by Alan Ladd), the completed script hit an unexpected snag.
The Navy Department complained to the studio that portraying neurotic veterans as potential killers violated the senior service's no-no code.
A compromise was reached, forcing Chandler to re-work the ending of the movie.
That he did so under protest is evident by the slip-shod, utterly unconvincing way he "remedied" the situation.
In fact, when he revised his last word on Blue Dahlia, he tore up his contract, vowing never to work in Hollywood again.
(Available on a 10/10 Universal DVD).