Better In Your Head?--LAURA

 

Spoiler Alert: the guy you instantly think did it, did it.

THE BOOK-Written by Vera Caspary, released 1943

THE MOVIE-Directed by Otto Preminger, written by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt, Ring Lardner, Jr. (uncredited)

THE STORY-What a woman, Laura Hunt. Smart as a whip, sweet as a Singapore Sling. Dead as a dodo. Isn't she?

MIND THE GAP-Laura is a marvelous mystery, sick with suspense. The story is told through the eyes of each major player, a super way to puzzle readers as to the culprit's identity as well as the true essence of Laura Hunt. Is she sugar and spice, or snakes and stains? Masculine pride clashes with feminine chagrin in the battle for answers. 

Future legend Otto Preminger oversaw one hell of a production. As the girl who just wants to give of herself without losing herself, Gene Tierney is pure allure. Working the murder case is Detective Mark McPherson, portrayed with proper gruff restlessness by Dana Andrews. The suspects are fiancé Shelby Carpenter (a never-better Vincent Price) and mentor Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb, award-worthy). The former is a self-righteous Southern gentleman in a super-sized suit. The latter is a columnist whose glassware collection and reputation as a wit made me wonder if he wanted to be Laura, rather than be with her. 

The idea that Waldo and Laura's relationship could exist in any realm besides platonic is, to me, hilarious. Like, second season of 30 Rock-level hilarious. Nothing about Waldo Lydecker--either version--suggests a sexual interest in women. In the book, he's a dastardly doughboy, so vain, so shallow, so handicapped by jealousy and the compulsion to romanticize every aspect of his life (Laura included, for if she was a wonderful, generous soul, the people with whom she kept closest company must share those same qualities) that to show him onscreen burdened with a hundred or so extra pounds would just insult the audience's intelligence. So casting the slim Webb was an inspired choice indeed.

BETTER IN YOUR HEAD-Otto Preminger told Vera Caspary that her Laura was a "a non-entity" and while that statement is not entirely true, nor is it laughably false. The screenplay added layers to the lady herself, allowing a glimpse into what made her the object of such affection. Not every change works so well, though. The voice-over narrative is pointless, and switching the murder weapon just baffling.

Laura, novel, is a mystery superbly told. Laura, film, is a mystery superbly shown. Simplification enriches the story, and so the adaptation surpasses the source. 

(Helping the film's case are the following lines, exclusive to it, spoken by Clifton Webb: "I cannot stand these morons any longer. If you don't come with me this instant, I shall run amok."