A detective investigating a murder case becomes obsessed with the victim, a beautiful young woman.
After a 10-year career in the theatre, Otto Preminger came to Los Angeles from Austria in the mid-1930's to work for the new studio 20th Century Fox and its fiery head of production, Darryl F. Zanuck. After a few minor films the two had a bitter falling-out, after which Preminger was unable to find work in Hollywood. Returning to the theatre, Preminger found success but was eventually lured back by Fox to direct again while Zanuck was serving in the army during World War II.
Laura was a project Preminger had tried to adapt years earlier with no luck, and when Zanuck returned to Hollywood he allowed Preminger to produce but gave the directing job to veteran Rouben Mamoulian. The two did not see eye-to-eye on the script or handling the actors, and in the resulting power struggle Preminger received permission to fire Mamoulian and take over the director's chair himself. Preminger also replaced his cinematographer and set designer before resuming production.
The cast includes Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews (both future stars), as well as Vincent Price, Judith Anderson (seen previously in Hitchcock's Rebecca) and the stage actor Clifton Webb, the latter hand-picked by Preminger over Zanuck's initial protests. Composer David Raskin wrote a memorable score and title song (which would become an American standard covered by numerous popular singers).
The film was a success financially and critically, and received Academy Award nominations for Preminger, Webb, the screenplay, the art direction, and the cinematography, the last winning in its category. The dreamlike atmosphere conjured up by Preminger put him on the map as a pre-eminent stylist, and he continued to work in the film noir genre until setting himself up as an independent producer of higher-prestige projects in the mid-1950's to great acclaim.
Running time is approximately 90 minutes.
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