Synopsis
The Blue Dahlia (1946) is George Marshall's classic film noir, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Navy flier Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) comes home from the war to find that his wife has not been waiting faithfully.
A short, vicious argument sends him out the door — and he leaves his gun behind. Hours later Helen turns up shot dead, and Johnny is suspect number one. He drops out of sight to hunt the real killer himself. Several threads tangle the case: his war buddy Buzz (William Bendix), whose head wound brings blackouts and a creeping fear that he pulled the trigger; the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub, who was the dead woman's lover; and that man's wife, Joyce (Veronica Lake), who offers Johnny help while keeping her own motives in the dark.
The screenplay came from Raymond Chandler — the only original, not-from-his-own-novel script he ever wrote, and it earned him an Oscar nomination. This was the third pairing of Ladd and Lake, and their cool, low-temperature chemistry holds the whole thing together. Lean, cynical and steeped in cigarette smoke and shadow, it's a model 1940s detective picture for anyone who loves vintage noir. Stream The Blue Dahlia online on iFILM.
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