"Meet Me at the Movies" after "Laura"

There Never Was a Woman Like Laura
We had a great crowd last night for the screening of Laura starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. By an interesting coincidence, Friday November 19 marked Tierney's birthday. She would have been 90 years old.

Some of the "Meet Me at the Movies" crowd

To Weather Mark Tavern We Go!
After the movie, about 15 of us went to Weather Mark Tavern 1503 S. Michigan Ave. to eat, drink, and discuss the movie. Those who had never seen Laura before were stumped as to who the murderer was. The 1944 classic was voted the fourth best film in the mystery genre in 2008 by the American Film Institute and the music by David Raksin was ranked number seven by the AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores in 2005.

These ladies are regular "Meet Me at the Movies" attendees

"Laura" November's "Meet Me at the Movies" event

The Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance (PDNA) invites you to "Meet Me at the Movies," Friday November 19, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at Sherwood Community Music School, Columbia College recital hall, 1312 S. Michigan Ave.

The setting for Laura is set amongst New York City’s upper crust, with Detective McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigating the murder of beautiful advertising executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney). The suspects are some of her closest friends and associates including fiancé (Vincent Price), aunt (Judith Anderson), and mentor (Clifton Webb).

When production on Laura started, no one believed that the end product would we worth seeing. From the beginning the project was problematic. Arguments between studio boss Darryl Zanuck and the original director, Rouben Mamoulian ended in Mamoulian being fired. Zanuck then assigned Otto Preminger, already the film’s producer, to be its director too. The only problem: Preminger had never directed a motion picture before.

Under Preminger’s supervision, what began as a fairly ordinary murder mystery, turned out to be a critical and box office success. Gene Tierney in the title role became a superstar and was forever identified with the beautiful, enigmatic Laura Hunt. Dana Andrews, as Detective Mark McPherson, established himself as a major star and popular leading man. Clifton Webb, who hadn’t made a movie since the early days of talking pictures, earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Waldo Lydecker. Thomas M. Pryor, in his October 12, 1944 New York Times review called Laura “a top-drawer mystery.”

With some of the sharpest and wittiest dialogue ever recorded on film, Laura set the standard for 1940s film noir. Andrews’s portrayal of McPherson became a prototype for what would become known as the hard-boiled detective, influencing a generation of movie actors. Pryor from the Times put it this way: “Mr. Andrews is fast proving himself to be a solidly persuasive performer, a sort of younger-edition Spencer Tracy.”

The musical score by David Raksin is one of the most hauntingly beautiful movie themes ever recorded.

Admission to the movie is $5.