Laura will be broadcast tonight on ARTE. The goal of the film is simple: find out who killed advertising executive Laura Hunt. Inspector Mark McPherson leads the investigation and questions Lydecker, who believes that Laura owes him everything. But did you know that the original director was just fired from the project?
At the time, Twentieth Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck hated director Otto Preminger. Mobilized by the army, Zanuck was forced to hand over the reins of his studio to his vice president, William Goetz, who received a new project from Preminger: a film based on the novel. Laura by Vera Caspar.
Like Laura, these really good movies are under 90 minutes!
An angry producer
Dana Andrews
Angered when he returned, Zanuck kept the project, but entrusted director Ruben Mamoulian with Otto Preminger as producer. Mamulian begins rewriting the script signed by Preminger and his writers, while the producer and director each negotiate casting choices.
Dana Andrews plays the male lead and Jean Tierney plays the female lead. For this occasion, he reunites with Mamulian, with whom two years ago he filmed the comedy rings on his fingers.
dissonant tone
The first applause came on April 22, 1944, but after 18 days of filming, Preminger and Zanuck mutually agreed that Ruben Mamoulian’s direction was not suitable for the film. Otto Preminger took over the reins of the film on May 15 and removed the painting of Laura by Mamoulian’s wife, Azadia Newman, from the film.
The film then went off without a hitch and grossed $2 million on a budget of just over $1 million. Today it is considered one of the great classics of cinema and the “film noir” genre, rated 4.2 out of 5 by AlloCiné viewers.
Despite the strangeness of the Laura situation, Otto Preminger would reunite with Dana Andrews for Crimes of Passion (1945) and The Lady or the Mistress (1947) and Gene Tierney for The Secret Doctor Corvo (1950) and Storming Washington with Henry Fonda and Charles. Laughton (1962). He even brought together Laura’s two characters in the detective film Mark Dixon, Detective, released in 1950.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
