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poster of The Blue Gardenia
Rating: 6.489/10 by 87 users

The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.

Directing:
  • Fritz Lang
  • Emmett Emerson
  • Don McDougall
Writing:
  • Charles Hoffman
  • Vera Caspary
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Mar 20, 1953

Rating: 6.489/10 by 87 users

Alternative Title:
Gardenia - Eine Frau will vergessen - DE

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 29 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: film noir, clinch and kill

Anne Baxter
Norah Larkin
Ann Sothern
Crystal Carpenter
Raymond Burr
Harry Prebble
Jeff Donnell
Sally Ellis
Ruth Storey
Rose Miller
Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Fay Baker
Switchboard Monitor (uncredited)
Robert Bice
Policeman (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake
Music Shop Clerk (uncredited)
Lela Bliss
Miss Stanley (uncredited)
Gail Bonney
Policewoman (uncredited)
Edward Clark
News Stand Dealer (uncredited)
Papa John Creach
Man Playing Violin (uncredited)
Mike Donovan
Fingerprint Officer (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson
Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Finn
Photographer (uncredited)
Elizabeth Flournoy
Assistant Switchboard Monitor (uncredited)
Dolores Fuller
Woman At Bar (uncredited)
Alex Gottlieb
Man (uncredited)
William Haade
Patrolman Hopper (uncredited)
Sam Harris
Nightclub Patron at Blue Gardenia (uncredited)
Victoria Horne
Disturbed Woman w/Big Feet (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Jess Kirkpatrick
Detective (uncredited)
Frank Kreig
Drunken Reporter (uncredited)
Norman Leavitt
Bill (uncredited)
Tommy Lee
Waiter (uncredited)
Celia Lovsky
Mary (uncredited)
Peggy McKim
Sneezing Girl (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor
Passerby (uncredited)
Lee Phelps
Information Desk Guard (uncredited)
William Phipps
Lt. George Foster (voice / uncredited)
Joey Ray
Prebble's Assistant (uncredited)
Hugh Sanders
'Chronicle' Managing Editor (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre
Police Recorder (uncredited)
Almira Sessions
Cleaning Lady (uncredited)
Robert Shayne
Doctor (uncredited)
Carl Sklover
Photographer (uncredited)
Marjorie Stapp
Policewoman (uncredited)
Amzie Strickland
Woman at Bar (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent
Drunken Sailor (uncredited)
Victor Sen Yung
Blue Gardenia Waiter (uncredited)

John Chard

A Letter to an Unknown Murderess. The Blue Gardenia is directed by Fritz Lang and adapted to screenplay by Charles Hoffman from the short story "Gardenia" written by Vera Caspary. It stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr and George Reeves. Music is by Raoul Kraushaar and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. Norah Larkin (Baxter), after receiving some horrible news, ends up drunk and at the mercy of a Lothario in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with the distinct feeling she may have committed murder. More solid than anything spectacular, this minor Lang is never less than interesting. The Blue Gardenia of the title is a nightclub, one where Nat King Cole no less, sings the title song. However, it's the local newspaper that is the key element of the story, the place of work of ace journalist Casey Mayo (Conte), who gets in deep with the story and of course that means Norah as well. There's some sparky dialogue as the story ticks away, with Sothern (sadly underused) wonderfully waspish, the murder mystery element remains strong enough, while there's dark at work as well (Burr is effectively on a mission to date rape). However, the pairing of Lang and Musuraca should be a dream team, but although there's the odd flash of noir visualisations during night sequences, you can't help but lament more wasn't provided for Musuraca to weave his magic. A good show from the cast helps ease the pain of the script's inadequacies, especially as regards the not very clever final revelations. So all in all, it's more a case of a mystery melodrama with noir touches than anything thrilling, and really it's one for Lang fans to tick off their to see lists, not to be visited again. 6.5/10


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