''Laura'' is a 1944 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

produced and directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

. It stars

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920November 6, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, Tierney was a prominent Leading actor, leading lady during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. Sh ...

and

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir and later in Western films. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigio ...

, along with Clifton Webb,

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

, and

Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film, and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...

. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel '' Laura'' by

Vera Caspary Vera Louise Caspary (November 13, 1899 – June 13, 1987) was an American writer of novels, plays, screenplays, and short stories. Her best-known novel, '' Laura'', was made into a successful movie of the same title. Though generally classifi ...

. ''Laura'' received five nominations for the Academy Awards, including for Best Director, winning for Best Black and White Cinematography. In 1999, ''Laura'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, and it also appears on

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

's "Great Movies" series.

Plot

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

Detective Mark McPherson is investigating the murder of a young, beautiful, highly successful advertising executive, Laura Hunt, killed by a shotgun blast to the face just inside the doorway of her apartment. He first interviews charismatic newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker, an imperious, effete older man who relates how he met Laura and became her mentor. She had become his platonic friend and steady companion, and, wishing more, he used his considerable fame, influence, and connections to advance her career. Mark also questions Laura's parasitic playboy fiancé, Shelby Carpenter, a "kept man" tethered to Laura’s wealthy socialite aunt, Ann Treadwell. Ann is in love with Shelby, but tolerates his infatuation with Laura, apparently out of her practical acceptance of Shelby's need for the affection of a woman closer to his age. Bessie Clary, Laura's loyal and highly distraught housekeeper, is also questioned by Mark. Through the testimony of Laura's friends and reading her letters and diary, Mark becomes obsessed with her − so much so that Waldo finally accuses him of falling in love with the dead woman. He also learns that Waldo was jealous of Laura's suitors, using his newspaper column and influence to keep them at bay. One night, the detective falls asleep in Laura's apartment in front of her portrait. He is awakened by a woman entering with her own key and is shocked to discover that it is Laura. She finds a dress in her closet that belonged to one of her models, Diane Redfern. Mark concludes that the body assumed to have been Laura was Diane, drawn there for a liaison by Shelby while Laura was away at her country residence. With Laura still alive, unmasking the killer becomes even more urgent. By tapping Laura's phone, Mark follows her to a meeting with Shelby after which Shelby drives to her country residence to retrieve a shotgun. When confronted, Shelby insists that he did not come forward with the information that Laura was alive simply because he was panic-stricken. He explains the shotgun by saying he planned to give it to Laura for protection. Mark tests it against the ballistics from Diane's body and finds that it is not a match. At a party celebrating Laura's return, Mark arrests Laura for the murder of Diane. Upon questioning her, he becomes convinced that she is innocent and that she does not love Shelby. He searches Waldo's apartment, where he becomes suspicious of a clock identical to the one in Laura's apartment. On closer examination, he finds it has a secret compartment. Mark returns to Laura's apartment. Waldo is there and notices a growing bond between Laura and the detective. Waldo insults Mark and is sent away by Laura but pauses on the stairwell outside. Mark examines Laura's clock and finds the shotgun that killed Diane but leaves it there. Laura is confronted with the truth that Waldo is the murderer. Mark and Laura kiss, and then he locks her into her apartment, warning her to admit no one. After he leaves, Waldo, who had slipped in by the kitchen entrance, retrieves the shotgun and attempts to kill Laura, saying that if he cannot have her, no one can. She deflects his shot and flees just as Mark arrives. Mark's sergeant shoots down Waldo. As he dies, Waldo whispers, "Goodbye, Laura. Goodbye, my love."

Cast

Production

Otto Preminger was looking for a theatrical project to direct and first became aware of Vera Caspary's story when her agent offered him the first draft of a play called ''Ring Twice for Laura.'' Preminger liked the high-society setting and the unusual plot twist, but he felt the work needed a major revision and offered to rewrite it with its author. Caspary and he disagreed about the direction they should take it, and she opted to collaborate with writer George Sklar, instead.

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

expressed interest in portraying the title character, but without the attachment of Dietrich or another major star, Caspary was unable to find a producer willing to finance a national tour or a Broadway run and abandoned the project. Caspary eventually adapted the play for both a novel with the same title and a sequel, which she titled simply ''Laura''. They were both purchased by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

for $30,000. Fox announced

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

and Laird Cregar as the leads. Interim studio head

William Goetz William B. Goetz (March 24, 1903 – August 15, 1969) was an American film producer and studio executive. Goetz was one of the founders of Twentieth Century Pictures, and later served as vice president of 20th Century Fox after the studio's me ...

, serving in that capacity while

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (; September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. Best known as a co-founder of 20th Century Fox, he played a ...

was fulfilling his military duty, assigned Preminger the task of developing the books for the screen. Preminger began working with Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt. Recalling the differences of opinion Caspary and he had, Preminger opted not to involve her until the first draft was completed. He sensed the more interesting character was not Laura, but Waldo Lydecker, and expanded his role accordingly. Caspary was unhappy with the plot changes, though. Zanuck, with whom Preminger previously had clashed, returned to the studio and was angered to discover Goetz had rehired his nemesis. In retaliation, he announced that Preminger could produce ''Laura'' but not direct it and assigned him to helm '' In the Meantime, Darling'' instead. Several directors, including

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was an American film director. Milestone directed '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1 ...

, were offered and rejected ''Laura'' until

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian (October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an Armenian-American film and theater director. Mamoulian's oeuvre includes sixteen films (four of which are Musical film, musicals) and seventeen Broadway theatre, Broadw ...

finally agreed to direct. Mamoulian immediately ignored all of Preminger's directives as producer and began to rewrite the script. To Preminger's dismay, he cast Laird Cregar, known for his portrayal of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

in '' The Lodger'', in the key role of Lydecker. The producer felt casting an actor with a reputation for playing sinister roles would lead the audience to become suspicious of Lydecker earlier than necessary. He favored Clifton Webb, a noted Broadway actor, who had not appeared before the cameras since 1930, and who at that time was performing in the

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

play '' Blithe Spirit'' in Los Angeles. Fox casting director Rufus LeMaire and Zanuck both objected to Webb because of his effeminate mannerisms, which were exactly what Preminger felt suited the character. Preminger filmed the actor delivering a monologue from the Coward play, and Zanuck agreed that Webb was perfect for the role. Zanuck was similarly campaigning for actor Reginald Gardiner to play the role of Shelby, though Fox contractee Vincent Price finally got the role. Filming began on April 27, 1944, and from the start, Mamoulian had problems with his cast. He offered relative newcomers Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews little support, allowed theatrically trained Judith Anderson to play to the balcony instead of reining in her performance, and virtually ignored Webb, who had learned that the director was unhappy with his casting. After viewing the early rushes, Zanuck called a meeting with Mamoulian and Preminger, each of whom blamed the other for the problems on the set. Preminger finally convinced Zanuck that the material needed a more subtle approach than Mamoulian was willing to give it, and the defeated studio head, in frustration, reluctantly allowed Preminger to dismiss Mamoulian and direct the film himself. Preminger immediately hired a new cinematographer and scenic designer and replaced the portrait of Laura – a crucial element of the film; Mamoulian's wife Azadia had painted the original portrait, but Preminger replaced that with an enlarged photograph (taken by Fox photographer Frank Polony) of Tierney, lightly dabbed with oils to give it the ethereal effect he wanted. Preminger initially experienced resistance from his cast, who had been led to believe Preminger was unhappy with their work by the departing Mamoulian. "Once we got used to Otto, we had a pretty easy time", Vincent Price recalled in a July 1989 interview. Filming was completed on June 29, slightly over budget, but within the projected timetable. Zanuck was unhappy with Preminger's first cut of the film and insisted it be given a new ending, in which it was revealed Lydecker had imagined the entire story, but following a screening of the Zanuck version, columnist

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

approached the studio head and told him, "I didn't get he ending You've got to change it." Having lost again, Zanuck relented and allowed Preminger to reinstate his original finale, telling him, "This is your success. I concede."

Music

Once the principal photography had been completed, Preminger hired

David Raksin David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. Raksin had more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit. Some sources called him the "Grandfather of ...

to score the film. The director wanted to use " Sophisticated Lady" by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

for the main theme, but Raksin objected to the choice.

Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Acad ...

, music director for Fox, convinced Preminger to give Raksin a weekend to compose an original tune. Furious, Preminger gave Raksin that weekend, but threatened him with dismissal in case he failed. Inspired by a "Dear John" letter he received from his wife over the course of that weekend, Raksin composed the haunting theme, also titled " Laura", for which

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

later wrote lyrics. It eventually became a jazz standard recorded by more than 400 artists, including

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, The Four Freshmen,

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment wer ...

did a parody version of the song. Preminger was so pleased with Raksin's score that he not only did not dismiss Raksin, but also collaborated with him on four additional films.

Soundtrack

In 1993, Fox Records released a 27-minute suite of Raksin's score on an album paired with

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

's score for ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

.'' In 2013, Kritzerland released the complete Raksin score, along with test demos and the suite from the original album as bonus tracks. Track listing: # "Main Title" (02:18) # "The Phonograph" (00:25) # "The Café" (04:06) # "Waldo Walks Away" (01:01) # "Theatre Lobby" (01:27) # "Night" (03:05) # "The Café/Waldo's Apartment" (04:14) # "Laura Leaves" (00:59) # "The Portrait" (03:23) # "Mark" (01:05) # "Apartment House" (01:21) # "Radio" (01:24) # "The Party" (03:41) # "Outside Waldo's Door" (01:27) # "Waldo" (04:30) # "End Title" (01:23) # "Laura Theme – Test Demos" (01:44) # "The Laura Suite – Theme and Variations" (27:20)

Reception

Critical response

Thomas M. Pryor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' observed: ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said: In 2002,

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' wrote: On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A psychologically complex portrait of obsession, ''Laura'' is also a deliciously well-crafted murder mystery."

Accolades

* In 1999, ''Laura'' was selected for preservation in the United States

by the

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

* AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills – 73 * AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – No. 7 *

AFI's 10 Top 10 AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors ...

– No. 4 Mystery Film

Home media

Magnetic Video Magnetic Video Corporation was a home video/home audio duplication service that operated between 1968 and 1982. History Magnetic Video Corporation was established by the co-founder Andre Blay, an American film producer in 1968 with Leon Nic ...

released the film on home video however, by 1992, the film had not been available on home video for almost a decade although was available on

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...

released the film on Region 1 DVD on March 15, 2005. It is in fullscreen format with audio tracks and subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus tracks include commentaries by film historian Jeanine Basinger, composer

, and author Rudy Behlmer; a deleted scene; the original theatrical trailer; and ''Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait'' and ''Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain'', two episodes from '' A&E Biography''. In a deleted scene (1:06) with benefactor Webb, "... the beautiful Tierney was placed in a more feminine role model, and in the end it was decided to delete her for the cinema release of the film". The scene was restored on January 14, 2019, and presented as an "extended version" on DVD releases. The film became available on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on February 5, 2012. Eureka Entertainment released the movie on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2019. Four of the five radio adaptations were included as extras on the disc (with the 1950 episode of The Screen Guild Theater omitted).

Adaptations

Radio

''Laura'' was adapted as a radio play for two different episodes of ''

Lux Radio Theater ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'', the first starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Vincent Price (February 5, 1945), and the second starring Gene Tierney and

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

(February 1, 1954). It was also adapted for the May 30, 1948, broadcast of ''

Ford Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

'' with

Virginia Gilmore Virginia Gilmore (born Sherman Virginia Poole, July 26, 1919 – March 28, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Career Gilmore began her stage career in San Francisco at the age of 15, but moved to Los Angeles in 1939 t ...

and John Larkin. In addition, ''Laura'' was presented twice on '' The Screen Guild Theater'' (August 20, 1945, and February 23, 1950), both episodes starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb.

Television

In 1955, the movie was remade as a presentation of the drama anthology series ''

The 20th Century Fox Hour ''The 20th Century Fox Hour'' is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title ...

'', starring Dana Wynter in the title role.

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the America ...

played McPherson and

played Lydecker. The director was

John Brahm John Brahm (August 17, 1893 – October 12, 1982) was a German film and television director. His films include ''The Undying Monster'' (1942), ''The Lodger (1944 film), The Lodger'' (1944), ''Hangover Square (film), Hangover Square'' (1945), ''Th ...

and the script was written by Mel Dinelli. ''Laura'' was also adapted for a television production produced by

David Susskind David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...

, aired on January 24, 1968, starring Lee Radziwiłł in Gene Tierney's part. Sanders returned in Clifton Webb's role, and Stack in Dana Andrews's. The show was taped in London and the teleplay was written by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

. It met with unanimous negative reactions, which was attributed to Radziwiłł's poor acting.

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's mystery series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'' borrows general plot elements and character names from ''Laura''. Laura Palmer is a murder victim being investigated by a detective who reads her diary and develops feelings for her. An episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' titled " Aquiel" was likewise inspired by ''Laura''. In one early draft of the murder mystery episode, the writers struggled with the fact that their initial solution for the mystery seemed too close to the plot of ''

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows the detective Nick ...

''. Producer

Michael Piller Michael Piller (May 30, 1948 – November 1, 2005) was an American television scriptwriter and producer, who was best known for his contributions to the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Early life and career Piller was born to a Jewish family in P ...

suggested they instead look to ''Laura'' as a blueprint. The script was adjusted accordingly, featuring a character in a detective role falling in love with a supposed murder victim through her personal logs, only to discover that she was, in fact, alive.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * * * * Streaming audio
''Laura''
on

: February 5, 1945
''Laura''
on Screen Guild Theater: August 20, 1945
''Laura''
on Ford Theater: May 30, 1948
''Laura''
on

: February 1, 1954 {{DEFAULTSORT:Laura (1944 Film) 1944 films 1944 crime drama films 1944 mystery films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films 1940s mystery thriller films 1940s psychological thriller films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American murder mystery films American mystery thriller films American police detective films American psychological thriller films English-language crime drama films English-language mystery thriller films Film noir Films about socialites Films based on American novels Films based on mystery novels Films based on works by Vera Caspary Films directed by Otto Preminger Films scored by David Raksin Films set in New York City Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Films with screenplays by Ring Lardner Jr. United States National Film Registry films