The Blue Dahlia Overview:

The Blue Dahlia (1946) was a Crime - Drama Film directed by George Marshall and produced by John Houseman and George Marshall.

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

SYNOPSIS

When Johnny Morrison returns home at the end of the war, he expects to receive a warm welcome from his wife. Instead, he discovers that she's been unfaithful to him with the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. After a heated argument, he storms out of their house. Later that night, she's murdered - and Johnny winds up the prime suspect. Joyce Harwood, the estranged wife of the club's proprietor, lends Johnny a hand and the two fall in love while tracking down the killer. This film noir classic was Chandler's first original story written directly for the screen.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1946 --- Ceremony Number 19 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best WritingRaymond ChandlerNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Review of “The Blue Dahlia” at #NoirCityChicago

By Stephen Reginald on Aug 19, 2018 From Classic Movie Man

Review of “The Blue Dahlia” at #NoirCityChicago I went to see The Blue Dahlia, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave, Chicago, last night. The 1946 Paramount release, directed by George Marshall was presented in a clean 35mm print. The original screenplay from detective st... Read full article


The Blue Dahlia (1946)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 15, 2017 From 4 Star Films

Soldiers returning home from war is a recurring theme in films such as The Best Years of Our Lives and Act of Violence and given the circumstances it makes sense. This was the reality. Men returning home from war as heroes. But even heroes have to re-acclimate to the world they left behind. Blue Dah... Read full article


The Blue Dahlia (1946)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 15, 2017 From 4 Star Films

Soldiers returning home from war is a recurring theme in films such as The Best Years of Our Lives and Act of Violence and given the circumstances it makes sense. This was the reality. Men returning home from war as heroes. But even heroes have to re-acclimate to the world they left behind. Blue Dah... Read full article


Raymond Chandler's "The Blue Dahlia"

By Rick29 on Jan 7, 2016 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

The Blue Dahlia nightclub. "As pictures go, it is pretty lively. No classic, but no dud either." That's how Raymond Chandler described the movie made from his only original screenplay in a 1946 letter. Chandler was typically critical of his work. In fact, The Blue Dahlia is a very good film noir. ... Read full article


The Blue Dahlia (1946)

By Beatrice on Jul 1, 2014 From Flickers in Time

The Blue Dahlia Directed by George Marshall Written by Raymond Chandler 1946/USA Paramount Pictures First viewing/TCM Dark Crimes DVD Raymond Chandler famously wrote his original screenplay for The Blue Dahlia at home during shooting while he was on a drunken bender. ?The plot doesn’t make m... Read full article


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Quotes from

Man recommending a motel: [walking into the cheap motel] Clean sheets every day they tell me.
Johnny Morrison: How often do they change the fleas?


Joyce Harwood: Well, don't you even say 'Good night'?
Johnny Morrison: It's good-bye, and it's tough to say good-bye.
Joyce Harwood: Why is it? You've never seen me before tonight.
Johnny Morrison: Every guy's seen you before somewhere. The trick is to find you.


The 'wolf' at bar: Hey, you, that's my seat!
Buzz Wanchek: [with contempt] Go pick yourself an orchid!


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Facts about

Elizabeth Short got the nickname "The Black Dahlia" from a bartender at a Long Beach bar she frequented. The Blue Dahlia was playing at a theatre down the street, and the bartender got the name wrong. Elizabeth picked up on that and kept the nickname, adding a flower to her hair to complete the transformation. She was murdered the next year (1947).
When Alan Ladd was called up for military service, production on the movie (then still in the screenplay stage) had to be rapidly stepped up. According to a near-legendary story, screenwriter Raymond Chandler offered to finish the screenplay by working drunk: in exchange for sacrificing his health to produce the requisite pages on time, Chandler was permitted to work at home (a privilege rarely granted to screenwriters) and was provided two chauffeured cars, one to convey the completed pages to the studio and the other for his wife. Chandler turned the script in on time. Many now believe the "drunkenness" was simply a ruse by Chandler to wrangle extraordinary privileges from the desperate studio.
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
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