Laura

Focusing on a portrait of the main character, Laura, credits appear as David Raksin’s music blares in the background. As the credits fade to black, we hear: “I shall never forget the weekend Laura died. A silver sun burned through the sky like a huge magnifying glass. It was the hottest Sunday in my memory. I felt like I was the only person left in New York. Over Laura’s horrible death, I was alone. I, Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), was the only one who truly knew her. And I had just begun to write Laura’s story when another detective came to see me. I had him wait. I could watch him through the half-open door.” The policeman, Det. Lt. Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews), looks around the large room, focusing on an ornate grandfather clock. “There was only one other in existence, and that was in Laura’s apartment, in the very room where she was murdered.”

As Mark opens a glass case to grab an artifact, we hear Lydecker yell, “Careful there, that stuff is priceless! Come in here, please.” McPherson calmly enters the room and sees Waldo sitting in the bathtub typing. The policeman compliments him on his home. He reads his recent testimony aloud to Mark, word for word. Mark asks why he wrote it down. “Afraid you’d forget it?” Lydecker responds that he is the most misquoted man in America and wants people to get his quote right the first time.

Then Lydecker remembers him as the cop who got the Siege of Babylon, managing to get “A leg full of lead, but the man who went in and got him.” Three years ago, McPherson asks, you started to write a book review, but later in the column switched over to discussing the Harrington murder case. You said, “Harrington was rubbed out with a shotgun loaded with buckshot. The way Laura Hunt was murdered the night before last. But he was really killed with a sash whip,” Lydecker argues, “His way was superior.” Lydecker never bothers with details, but McPherson stresses he does! Lydecker asks if he can join Mark during his investigation, as murder is his favorite crime, and he wants to observe people’s reactions.

Before continuing his investigation, McPherson asks if he loved Laura or if Laura loved him. Lydecker confidently replies, “Laura considered me the wisest, wittiest, and most interesting man she ever met. I totally agreed with her on that point. She thought I was the kindest, gentlest, and most sympathetic man in the world.” He tells McPherson he tried to become that man for her.

The first person they visit is Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson), Laura’s aunt. She claims she adored Laura. She fainted when identifying the mutilated body, but McPherson confirms this would be accepted. When asked about the maid, Betsie, Ann says Laura loved her, having had her for years. “I’ll never forget her scream when she saw Laura lying there.” She seems unsure when asked about her upcoming marriage to Mr. Carpenter. McPherson notes that two small checks were issued to Carpenter by her. Ann says she asked him to do some shopping for her. Recently, she has been withdrawing larger amounts of money from the bank. On the same day, she withdrew a large sum of money, and Mr. Carpenter deposited a similar amount into his account. Incensed, Ann says she loaned Carpenter some money. At this point, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price) enters the room.

Shelby states he was just lying down because his hotel room was too hot. “I’m at your disposal, Lieutenant. I’m as eager to find the murderer as you are. But what possible motive could there be for killing Laura? Miss Hunt and I were supposed to be married this week.” Lydecker interrupts, noting that Laura hadn’t definitely decided to marry and was still thinking it over. Mark is ready to leave, and Carpenter asks if he may tag along.

The next stop is Laura’s apartment, where McPherson tries to reenact the crime, alluding to her as a “dame,” which angers Lydecker, who makes the cop look at the lavish apartment and the beautiful portrait of her. Carpenter states, “I know it sounds suspicious, but I’m resigned to that now. I’m a natural-born suspect because I’m not the conventional type. While looking for the key to Laura’s apartment, Carpenter finds one in her bottom bedroom drawer. Strange, the key was not there yesterday when the police checked for it. McPherson says directly to Carpenter, “You put it there, didn’t you?” And wearing a glum expression, Carpenter admits he planted it there. “I didn’t want to give it to you while Waldo was present.” Mark flashes a goofy face of disbelief. The relationship between Waldo and Shelby grows heated as Waldo makes accusations that Shelby was involved in Laura’s murder. The cop has to separate the men.

Next, we enter a luxurious restaurant where an orchestra plays Laura’s Theme. Waldo and McPherson are eating at a table. Waldo says this is the table where Laura and I sat. He holds vivid memories of dining with her, but he recalls meeting her five years earlier at the Algonquin Hotel. Back then, Laura (Gene Tierney) approaches Mr. Lydecker, who is dining alone. Laura works for an advertising agency and has a large portfolio, but Lydecker complains that his lunch is being disturbed. In polite terms, he tells her how rude she is. Laura wants him to endorse the advertising art she tries to show him for $5,000. Lydecker says, “I don’t use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom. He rudely refuses to endorse the ad. She says not to get mad at her company, for they don’t know she is here, thinking it is impossible to get an endorsement. “In my case, self-absorption is completely justified. I have never discovered any other subject so worthy of my attention.” Laura looks down at Lydecker disapprovingly and says, “If that’s the way you really feel, you must be very lonely. You poor man; I feel very sorry for you.” Laura and her art abruptly leave, but Lydecker thinks to himself, “Naturally, I was annoyed by the incident, but she had something about her. I had to speak to her again.”

The next day, Lydecker visits Laura at her agency. Waldo crashes into a shared office to talk to her. “I wish to apologize. And now, for reasons too embarrassing to mention, I'd like to endorse with that pen.” He signs the advertising sketch and tells her he will call on her at six.

Waldo narrates: “Her career began with my endorsement with that pen. I secured additional endorsements for her and introduced her to other clients. I gave Laura her start. It was her own talent and imagination that allowed her to rise to the top of her profession and stay there. She had an eager mind always. She was always quick to seize upon anything to improve her mind, on her own terms. Laura had innate breeding. She deferred to my judgment and taste.”

"Through me, she met everyone — the famous and the infamous, her youth and beauty, her poise and charm of manner — captivating them all. She radiated warmth, vitality, and authentic magnetism. Wherever we went, people rose to their feet. Men admired her, women envied her. She became as well-known as Waldo Lydecker’s walking stick and white carnation. But on Tuesdays and Friday nights, we stayed home, dining quietly and listening to my records. I read my articles to her. The way she listened was more graceful than her speech. These nights were the best.

"It happened again the following Friday, and I felt disturbed. I couldn’t understand why. I felt betrayed, yet I knew Laura wouldn’t betray anyone. I walked for a long time, then found myself in front of her apartment building. The lights were on, and it pleased me to know she was home. That is, until I saw she was not alone. I waited, eager to see who he was. It turned out to be Jacoby (John Dexter), the man who recently painted her portrait. I never liked him. He was so obviously aware of looking more like an athlete than an artist. I spent the rest of the night writing a column about him. I tore apart his affectations, uncovered his false views about better painters, ridiculed his theories… I knew Jacoby was unworthy of her. Naturally, she could never take him seriously again. There were others, of course, but her own discrimination eliminated them before I even needed to step in…" Waldo had been talking all this time to Lt. McPherson, but recalls a party one night at Ann Treadwell’s.

At that crowded party, Shelby Carpenter leaves his girl to introduce himself to Laura Hunt. She tells Shelby she is not alone, glancing at Lydecker, who verbally berates him. But later in the party, Shelby and Laura finally connect. She asks him how it feels to be living off plantation money. Shelby says he lost his home 10 years ago and almost took a job from a close friend. But the friend gradually withdrew his offer and avoided seeing him, thinking Shelby was joking about the job. Laura offers him a job, but Waldo interrupts, saying he can’t stand these morons and must leave with her immediately.

Soon, Shelby Carpenter enters Laura’s advertising office, commenting on the latest ad he created. Laura tells him it’s very good work. Shelby takes Laura to lunch. Shelby asks Laura to dinner for the foreseeable future. They then dance to the music. Waldo, sitting very close behind a column and dining alone, observes them. Waldo produces a folder stemming from his investigation of Carpenter. He was suspected of stealing the host’s jewels while a house guest in Virginia. Laura says that, regarding that case, there were only insinuations, but Waldo hands her the folder, saying there were more than insinuations. “Read them!” Laura declines the folder, saying people do change, and all she cares about is the present, not the past. Waldo mentions he’s now seeing a model from her office. “Her name is Diane Redford,” Laura reveals. “Shelby and I are going to be married next week.” Waldo further discloses that he has a cigarette case she gave Shelby on his birthday, but Shelby gave it to Diane Redford, who pawned it immediately. Waldo tells Laura that Shelby is at a party at Ann Treadwell’s, invited and going alone. Waldo invites Laura to crash the Treadwell party to prove that Carpenter is there. At the Treadwell home, Ann is having a quiet dinner with Shelby. No party, just a dinner for two. Laura throws her ring on the table.

Waldo, speaking to McPherson, says that on Friday, Laura had lunch with Diane Redford. Not knowing the full situation, Laura calls Waldo and tells him she’s going to the country for a few days to sort things out. She can’t have dinner with him tonight. “That was the last time I ever heard her voice!” Waldo tells Mark. Lydecker and McPherson finally leave the restaurant. As they walk outside, Lydecker says he'll never forgive himself for letting Laura get involved with Shelby. “I should have stopped it, somehow,” McPherson comments, but it’s too late now.”

McPherson continues the investigation, discovering the type of liquor Laura bought, and talks to Laura’s maid, Betsy (Dorothy Adams). She admits planting a cheap bottle of liquor in her cabinet before the cops arrived after her death. McPherson gets her to admit somebody was with her in the apartment Friday night, but Betsy claims she does not know who. Lydecker, Carpenter, and Treadwell arrive at Laura’s apartment. Lydecker wants to gather the items he claims he let Laura borrow, but the policeman says it is clear that nothing is leaving this apartment. McPherson offers each a drink (only Carpenter declines) of the cheap Scotch planted in Laura’s liquor supplies, and quickly Laura dismisses them all.

McPherson relives another cop and enters Laura’s apartment to explore, taking every opportunity to stare at Laura’s portrait. Soon, Lydecker knocks on the door, claiming he saw lights on. Lydecker asserts that McPherson spends too much time in her apartment investigating personal letters he wrote to her. He also says Mark is becoming too intimidated by the case. Lydecker demands his personal property from Laura’s apartment, but is told to leave. He then accuses McPherson of falling in love with a corpse. The cop drinks Laura’s booze and falls asleep in her chair. Soon, the door opens, and Laura enters, with McPherson still asleep.

Laura switches on the lights, and McPherson slowly wakes up, groggy. The cop exclaims, “You’re alive!” Living in the country without newspapers or radio, Laura doesn’t realize she’s supposed to be dead. The cop asks, “Somebody was murdered in this room. Do you have any idea who it was? Who had a key to your apartment?” Shocked, Laura says nobody had a key. It is also mentioned that the supposed murder happened on Friday night.

Laura rushes out of her bedroom carrying a magazine and a dress. The dress belongs to Diane Redford, a model for their agency, who resembles Laura in look and size. Then Mark states that Shelby Carpenter had a key to your apartment, that he loved Diane Redford, and gave her your cigarette case. Laura says Diane told her Shelby loved her last week, “I also know that she meant nothing to Shelby.” McPherson says she was found in your dressing gown and slippers. Before she leaves, McPherson tells Laura what he has learned about the case. Laura went to her country house to decide whether to marry Carpenter. He asks what she decided, and Laura says she decided not to marry him. The cop leaves the apartment for now. Policeman, including McPherson, intercept a phone call Laura is making to Shelby after he specifically told her not to contact anyone. Shelby and Laura are sitting and talking until Laura gets out of the car. Both are being washed by McPherson and his assistant, who split up: one to follow Shelby, the other to follow Laura.

Shelby drives to Laura’s mountain cottage in the rain, fetching a shotgun when McPherson barges in. The rifle was fired recently and not cleaned, claiming he was shooting rabbits. McPherson accuses Shelby of knowing Laura was not killed and hiding that fact. The cop suspects Shelby of probably intending to kill Laura to conceal his first crime. McPherson wants the key back for Laura’s apartment, but he denies it for as long as he can. He finally admits he had the duplicate key and invited Diane over to Laura’s apartment to talk things out. After they talk for three hours, the doorbell rings. Shelby sends Diane to answer it. Then Shelby hears a shot, an awful explosion. By the time he reaches the door, it’s closed, and a body lies on the floor, which Shelby doesn’t bother to identify. He claims he only wanted to protect Laura in either case. McPherson accuses Laura of having Shelby remove the rifle. And finally, when the cop tries the radio, it works perfectly. Laura claimed that it was broken.McPherson leaves in the rain with Shelby and the rifle.

McPherson returns to Laura’s apartment with groceries. Betsy unexpectedly enters the apartment and screams upon seeing Laura, unable to believe she’s alive. Mark asks Laura why she disobeyed his orders by contacting Shelby last night. She says he forced her to accept this rule, even though she is only limited by her own free will. The bell buzzes, and a smiling Shelby enters. He kisses Laura, gives her flowers, and calls her his fiancée. Shelby mentions his lawyer and says everything he stated last evening was not true. In a few minutes, Lydecker enters and faints upon seeing Laura. After taking Waldo to a bedroom, Shelby talks about Mark’s uncouth ways. When Waldo finally appears healthy, Shelby and he exchange insults with Lydecker.

Shelby is hosting a large party that night to celebrate Laura’s return. Ann Treadwell appears and asks Shelby to marry her, forget Laura, and together they’ll hire a great lawyer. But he quickly brushes her off. Shelby, speaking with McPherson, tells him to get lost while he takes a cocktail to Laura. There, Shelby tells her he went to the cabin last night to hide the rifle, also adding he’ll stand by her. Meeting Ann Treadwell in the restroom, Ann says that Shelby is capable of murder, but you certainly are not. Ann goes on to say Shelby is better for her because she can afford him. Both of them know that neither one of them is any good and that she doesn’t care. “We both belong together because we are both weak and can’t seem to help it. That’s why I know he’s capable of murder. He’s like me …”

Mark receives a call from work and says he's about to arrest the killer. He slowly surveys the room, eyes all the suspects. He stops at Laura and says, "Let’s go.” Betsy, the servant, breaks into hysterics. Lydecker reassures her, saying we’ll fight this in court. “I have every weapon, connection, and prestige,” and Waldo promises to write about her in his column. Leaving with Laura, Mark shoots a few parting shots at Shelby, saying, “It’s too bad you didn’t open the door Friday night, Carpenter!” Then he punches Carpenter hard in the stomach, making him sit down.

Mark takes Laura to an interrogation room at the precinct, where two bright lights shine directly into her face. She asks for the lights to be turned off, and Mark complies. Laura then states she did not kill Diane Redford or anyone else. Mark questions her about the switch from not marrying Carpenter to agreeing to marry him. Why? She replies, “I changed my mind...,” but Mark presses her, saying she’s in a lot of trouble unless she’s truthful. Laura remains silent. Then she admits it would seem suspicious if they broke up so soon after the murder. She also admits she was never in love with Shelby. Mark volunteers to take her home in a cab. He is now completely convinced of her innocence.

Next stop, Lydecker’s apartment. Mark uses a key to let himself in. Then, a grandfather clock—which we have been watching throughout the movie—strikes the hour. Mark closely examines the clock, including the locked bottom panel, which he kicks. Lydecker is talking to Laura about Mark being a handsome body who offers her little else, when Mark walks in. Mark immediately tells Laura they tested her shotgun, and it wasn’t the one. Laura finally stands up to Lydecker and says she’s breaking things off. Lydecker hopes this relationship with McPherson will satisfy Laura, and then he congratulates him. Lydecker then abruptly leaves, but stops and turns around.

Mark says all he needs is the gun, and he returns to the grandfather clock. And inside the bottom locked chamber lies a rifle. The murder occurred at a distance and in the dark, thinking Diane was Laura, thinking if I can’t have her myself, nobody else will. Then he let her have it, with both barrels in the face. Laura blames herself for Diane’s death, saying she killed her, not for what she did, but for what she didn’t do. Waldo was also trying to get rid of Shelby, as he did with Jacoby. The Laura Theme plays as Mark kisses Laura and leaves.

Laura turns off all the lights, getting ready to sleep. When she enters the bedroom, the front door silently opens, admitting Lydecker, who walks past the clock. In fact, the only sound is its rhythmic ticking. He pops open the bottom chamber, startling Laura, who brushes her hair. Laura puts on one of Waldo’s recorded columns and resumes her hair routine. Waldo retrieves the shotgun, opens it, notices it’s empty, and then loads two new shells. Lydecker quietly enters Laura’s room and declares that he can’t stand a lowly policeman holding her in his arms and kissing her. Lydecker slowly raises the shotgun as Mark and other colleagues arrive at her apartment. Laura raises the barrel before Lydecker can shoot, and he runs into the next room, where he is shot and killed by another policeman. Mark and Laura approach Lydecker, revealing that his last shot destroyed the clock. With the words Lydecker once spoke, “Why, my love?” the end titles appear as the music swells, focusing on Laura’s portrait.

Besides well drawn characters—Waldo, the eccentric newspaper columnist who loves himself; Laura, the former career woman who follows her own moral code; Mark, the police lieutenant who is all business but plays with a small handheld baseball game; Shelby, the Southern Gentleman who is actually sleazy and womanizing and feels confident about outdoing the police; Aunt Ann Treadwell, who is attracted to Shelby because she feels each of them are deeply evil capable of doing vile things—each person is intertwined with the murder and capable of committing it. The screenplay is complex and draws the viewer into a dizzying maze.

Director Otto Preminger is a skilled director, keeping a complex plot moving. Just when you have things just about figured out, Laura innocently returns to her apartment, alive, further spiraling the scenario into new territory. Preminger has this thing about his cinematography, constantly emphasizing Laura’s portrait and the two grandfather clocks, one of which houses the murder weapon we probably never suspected was there. As if Preminger is toying with the audience, thinking, even if I give you huge hints, you still won’t be able to figure out who the killer is and why.

And Preminger is correct.

In some ways, Laura is an enigma, and people are constantly trying to figure her out. Her relationship with Shelby is at the core. Does she really love him? Will she marry him? Will she break things off? And is she capable of murder?

Laura is one of the prominent film noirs in cinema history and is a joy to watch its machinations churn every year or so. And it demonstrates to us what a good murder mystery can be. Even once you discover who the murderer is, it’s always refreshing to focus on a main character across multiple viewings and see how they develop. Hints you may have missed the first or second time reveal themselves on the third or fourth viewing. Laura is a puzzle worth revealing.

THE ENIGMA THAT IS LAURA (GENE TIERNEY)

WALDO LYDECKER (CLIFTON WEBB) INSPECTS ONE OF THE TWO GRANDFATHER CLOCKS

SHELBY CARPENTER (VINCENT PRICE) SHARES A LIGHT WITH LAURA HUNT.