Tired Old Queen at the Movies: 'Laura' (1944)

This week Steve Hayes reviews "Laura." The Tired Old Queen says: Murder in the Smart Set is the backdrop for this week's film noir, Otto Preminger's "Laura," starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price and Judith Anderson. Taking over directing duties when Rouben Mamoulian was fired, Preminger was nominated for an Oscar for best director for his very first assignment.

Tierney was the second choice to play the enigmatic Laura after Jennifer Jones had turned it down -- and Darryl F. Zanuck's male choice, Laird Cregar, was vetoed by Preminger in favor of Clifton Webb, to play the venomous Waldo Lydecker, a role that set him up for the next 20 years at Fox and made him an overnight sensation at 55. The combination of a haunting score by David Raksin, Oscar-winning cinematography by Joseph LaShelle, a chic wardrobe by Bonnie Cashin and the legendary beauty of Gene Tierney, helped LAURA earn its reputation as the "sophisticated whodunit."

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