Laura, directed by Otto Preminger, is based on a novel of the same name by Vera Caspary and is considered one of the greatest film noir movies of all time. The utterly improbable plot is one aspect of this classic that makes it enjoyable. Laura may also be considered a murder mystery or a whodunit, where the murderer is one of a set of finite suspects. Like many film noir movies, the plot of ‘Laura’ is set in New York.

Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is investigating the murder of Laura (Gene Tierney), a popular, beautiful, and successful advertising executive. This is another unusual career choice for a woman in the film noir universe, where gender roles defined in the 40s did not encourage women to take on such positions. Laura was found dead in her apartment, shot in her face by a shotgun.

Mark McPherson first interrogates Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), an older, refined, and articulate gentleman who is also the movie’s narrator. Waldo, a celebrated newspaper columnist, recounts how he first meets Laura and arrogantly brushes her off when she approaches him to endorse a fountain pen. However, her response surprises him, and soon he meets with her and befriends her. He proudly relates how he helped Laura establish herself as a sought-after and successful executive through his powerful network. Over time, he had become her mentor and often accompanied her to parties. Waldo has done his best to keep Laura from any suitors, often by writing malicious articles about them in his column.

On the stormy night of the murder, Waldo had gone to meet Laura at her apartment building. Here Waldo claims he saw silhouettes of her and another man on the curtains of her bedroom window and decided to leave. Interestingly, Waldo asks to accompany Mark, who is in the process of interrogating the other suspects. More interestingly, Mark allows this potential suspect to join him on this official investigation. Well…

Mark next meets Ann Treadwell, Laura’s wealthy socialite aunt, at her apartment. At Ann’s apartment, Mark meets Shelby Carpenter, a rakish gentleman who was engaged to Laura, despite Waldo’s protests. However, Ann seems to have a soft corner for Carpenter, or perhaps more.

Bessie Clary, Laura’s housekeeper, is another person who Mark interrogates. She seems devastated about Laura’s death. Carpenter’s odd behavior throws some suspicion on him. He cannot recall the music played at a show that he claims to have gone to with Laura. He later admits to planning Laura’s house key in Laura’s apartment after the police have conducted a search.

Mark is captivated by Laura’s allure and soon gets obsessed. He spends the night at her apartment and to his shock, Laura, alive and well, returns that morning. Laura claims to have been away for a few days to do some rethinking about her life, especially her engagement to Carpenter.

Laura finds a dress in her closet that belongs to a model in her employ, Diane Redfern. Soon it is revealed that Diane, who has a similar body structure to Laura, is the murdered woman. The plot deviates from other whodunits, and Laura, who was presumed dead, is now one of the suspects in the murder of the dead model.

In the vein of many of Agatha Christie’s mystery novels, Waldo throws a party to celebrate Laura’s comeback where all the suspects, including Laura, are in presence, as is Mark. The rest of the plot reveals the identity of the murderer.

One of the best aspects of Laura is the dialogue. Clifton Web as Lyndecker, the newspaper editor, is simply outstanding in his articulation of the narrative. Besides his outstanding narrative, his compelling voice and sharp wit are immensely enjoyable. Gene Tierney also throws in a powerful performance as the beautiful but vulnerable Laura.

The alluring background score is another impressive aspect of the movie. Other outstanding facets of the film are the photography and the sets, especially Laura’s luxury apartment, decorated with ostentatious exhibits.

Dana Andrews also puts in a great performance as the duty bound police official who falls for Laura, even before he knows she is alive. Laura has many film noir aspects like flashbacks, obsession, moral ambiguity of its characters, an investigation, a private eye and so on. Whether or not, it has a Femme Fatal is a subject of debate.

If you are a fan of Agatha Christe’s novels, please skip the next section. This movie should be seen by any fan of noir.

A kind of Spoiler

Fans of Agatha Christie, who have read ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ will notice that the narration and ending of Laura have both been adapted or inspired by that book. I could not find any other review of this movie that has captured this similarity.