What a waste of my time!!!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Masterful Cinema

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

A great story of how one shock leads to another, triggering a chain reaction of unfortunate circumstances. Anne Baxter is absolutely faithful to her soldier in Korea when she on her birthday gets a letter from him stating he loves another nurse in Tokyo. She is shattered and accepts a dubious invitation from Raymond Burr, who is a notorious womanizer. He fills her with drinks, she relaxes a bit too much and loses control of the developing situation completely. Another man, Richard Conte, a scandal column journalist, gets her even more mixed up in a situation she never bargained for.Anne Baxter makes a wonderful show of her vulnerable character falling down into a pit of troubles. Fortunately she has some very good female friends sharing her apartment, and especially Ann Sothern is wonderful as a leading lady of the pack. Nat King Cole sings the melting hearts melody, and music plays an important part in this film. That's the record Raymond Burr puts on when he has got her into his flat and will seduce her with more drinks, but when the body is discovered the music is not Nat King Cole but Wagner's heart-crushing "Tristan and Isolde". Here is a mystery from the beginning, and it almost passes by unnoticed, until Richard Conte finally observes the incongruity. The riddle of the music finally releases and resolves the mystery.Fritz Lang's direction is as usual masterly, and you recognize his special knack for creating "moments of truth" in extreme suspension now and then. He added an extra dimension to his realism as a kind of magic touch raising the show to an almost spiritual level. It was especially evident in films like "The Ministry of Fear" (Graham Greene) and the Edward G. Robinson films with Joan Bennett, looking down into abysses of trouble and the caprices of destiny. His name always guarantees a film to remember.

"The Blue Gardenia" is a low budget thriller in which two young women (who are both named after flowers), two letters and two rather slimy bachelors, all have a significant impact on what transpires. At the centre of the story is a young woman who, as a result of making an unwise decision at a particularly vulnerable time, finds herself propelled into a nightmare. Unfortunately, the only avenue of escape open to her is very risky and requires her to put her trust in someone of whom she's uncertain.Based on a short story by Vera Caspary (who also wrote "Laura", which was made into a successful movie by Otto Preminger), this melodrama about the events surrounding a murder, soon develops from its light-hearted beginning into something far darker and more tense.Norah Larkin (Ann Baxter) is a telephone operator who shares an L.A. apartment with two of her friends from work. On her birthday, after the wisecracking Crystal Carpenter (Ann Southern) and the pulp-fiction loving Sally Ellis (Jeff Donell) have gone out, Norah spends the evening alone with a glass of champagne and a letter from her boyfriend who's a soldier in Korea. Shortly after reading the letter that informs her that she's been dumped, the telephone rings and Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr), under the misapprehension that she's Crystal, asks her out for dinner. In her confused and emotional state, Norah decides to accept the invitation and meets Harry at "The Blue Gardenia" nightclub.Harry's a predatory womaniser who gets Norah drunk on cocktails and takes her home to his apartment where he tries to force himself on her. In her panic, Norah grabs a poker and swings it over her head before hitting Harry as hard as she can. Next morning, when she wakes up, she can't remember what happened on the previous night. A little later, when she learns that Harry's been murdered, she becomes convinced that she's killed him and that some items (a lacy hanky, a blue gardenia and a pair of shoes) that she left behind at his apartment will quickly make her the prime suspect.Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) is a high profile newspaper columnist who takes an interest in the case and publishes an open letter entitled "Letter To An Unknown Murderess". In his letter, he invites the murderess (who he calls "The Blue Gardenia") to give his newspaper her exclusive story in return for top class legal representation which the newspaper will arrange. Norah, who is living in a constant state of fear, recognises that this seems to offer the best way forward but is also anxious about whether the columnist's offer is sincere or whether it's simply a ploy to get a sensational story for his newspaper.A clue to the mystery about what happened on the night of Harry's murder is given early on in the film but this, in no way, detracts from the absorbing nature of the story or the enjoyment which is further enhanced by the inclusion of Nat "King" Cole's performance of the title song and Nicholas Musuraca's marvellous cinematography. The scene in which Norah goes to Casey Mayo's office late at night is a real high point with its use of deep shadows, deep focus and neon lights etc. Interestingly, this was the first of three movies that Fritz Lang made relating to newspapers (the others being "While The City Sleeps" and "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt").

It is fascinating to see Raymond Burr (Ironside, Perry Mason) as a lounge lizard trying to pick up every women he sees. We see him working on the Oscar-nominated Ann Sothern (The Whales of August) in the opening, but she was having none of his charm.Director Fritz Lang and writers Vera Caspary (Laura) and Charles Hoffman (The Green Hornet, "Batman") give us an enjoyable film that has noirish elements, but is lighthearted at the same time.Just seeing and hearing Nat King Cole singing the title song is worth the time spent here.Crystal (Sothern) gets herself into trouble and turns to newspaperman Casey Mayo (Richard Conte). She needs help before Superman, I mean Police Capt. Haynes (George Reeves) finds her.

Was expecting more from the list of credits, including Fritz Lang as Director and from a story by Vera Caspary, who wrote "Laura". Also Anne Baxter, who had an Oscar and a nomination to her credit. Ann Sothern was her sassy self and Raymond Burr was an excellent heavy. In retrospect, he would be an unlikely candidate for his role if the picture were made today, as his homosexuality would have made him an unlikely "lounge lizard", the lounge being 'The Blue Gardenia'.One of the highlights was the great Nat 'King' Cole singing the title song. The solid but uncharismatic Richard Conte was miscast as the reporter looking for a scoop. A disappointing effort all around from a film that starts out strong but falls flat with a contrived ending. A pseudo-film noir, it is more of a melodrama and a routine one at that.