A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
47K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Vera Caspary(novel)
- Jay Dratler(screen play by)
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play by)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Vera Caspary(novel)
- Jay Dratler(screen play by)
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play by)
- Stars
- Won 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 4 nominations total
Videos1
Grant Mitchell
- Lancaster Coreyas Lancaster Corey
- (scenes deleted)
Terry Adams
- Womanas Woman
- (uncredited)
John Alban
- Executiveas Executive
- (uncredited)
Wally Albright
- Newsboyas Newsboy
- (uncredited)
Bobby Barber
- Newsboyas Newsboy
- (uncredited)
Edward Biby
- Party Guestas Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Gary Breckner
- Narratoras Narrator
- (uncredited)
James Carlisle
- Party Guestas Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Harry Carter
- Party Guestas Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Lane Chandler
- Detectiveas Detective
- (uncredited)
Bill Chaney
- Newsboyas Newsboy
- (uncredited)
Dorothy Christy
- Womanas Woman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Vera Caspary(novel)
- Jay Dratler(screen play by)
- Samuel Hoffenstein(screen play by)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVincent Price always considered this to be the best movie he ever made.
- GoofsThe clock, which is heard to strike the time, only has one keyhole on its face. However, because the striking mechanism is separate from the timekeeping mechanism, a chiming clock must have at least two separate keyholes - one for the clock itself, and one for the strike. Presumably the prop was made only to keep the time since the production staff knew they would be adding the sound of the chime in post-production.
- Quotes
Waldo Lydecker: I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom.
- Alternate versionsA scene cut from the theatrical version after its initial release was restored to the film in 1990. In it, Waldo Lydecker described how he transformed Laura's appearance and introduced her to high society. The studio worried that this obsession with decadent luxury would be offensive to WWII soldiers serving overseas, so the scene was deleted.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981)
Top review
Has to be considered a classic example of film noir...
LAURA is, quite simply, as good as it gets as far as "film noir" is concerned.
Aside from an interesting story, a witty script, excellent B&W photography of elegant sets and the beautiful Gene Tierney as the center of attention, it works on every level imaginable. Dana Andrews has an intriguing role as the detective drawn to the portrait of Laura after believing her dead. And Clifton Webb has his star-making role of Waldo Lydecker, the snobbish and elegant man who seems just as obsessed with the dead woman as the detective. Adding to the impressive performances are Judith Anderson and Vincent Price.
The only flaw seems to be that Laura herself is not as well-defined in motives and background as the other players. But Gene Tierney's mesmerizing beauty hardly makes that important. Nevertheless, she is too passive in the role and actually gave far stronger performances in films like The Razor's Edge and Leave Her to Heaven, something she herself admitted--but her looks were never used to better advantage.
With several plot twists and turns, it keeps you thoroughly absorbed until it reaches its satisfying climax under Otto Preminger's knowing direction. Not to be missed, it's a classic of its kind.
For a detailed look at the career of DANA ANDREWS, see my current article on him in FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, Summer 2001 with a look at all of his films and many photos.
Aside from an interesting story, a witty script, excellent B&W photography of elegant sets and the beautiful Gene Tierney as the center of attention, it works on every level imaginable. Dana Andrews has an intriguing role as the detective drawn to the portrait of Laura after believing her dead. And Clifton Webb has his star-making role of Waldo Lydecker, the snobbish and elegant man who seems just as obsessed with the dead woman as the detective. Adding to the impressive performances are Judith Anderson and Vincent Price.
The only flaw seems to be that Laura herself is not as well-defined in motives and background as the other players. But Gene Tierney's mesmerizing beauty hardly makes that important. Nevertheless, she is too passive in the role and actually gave far stronger performances in films like The Razor's Edge and Leave Her to Heaven, something she herself admitted--but her looks were never used to better advantage.
With several plot twists and turns, it keeps you thoroughly absorbed until it reaches its satisfying climax under Otto Preminger's knowing direction. Not to be missed, it's a classic of its kind.
For a detailed look at the career of DANA ANDREWS, see my current article on him in FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, Summer 2001 with a look at all of his films and many photos.
helpful•7614
- Doylenf
- Jul 10, 2001
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,020,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $151
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content

Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.