THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946)

When Johnny Morrison returns home from the war with his two buddies, he finds his wife has taken up with another man and a fast crowd. There's a quarrel and Johnny walks out. All this is being observed by "Dad" Newell, the apartment complex's house detective. A short while later, he finds Helen Morrison murdered and Johnny is the prime suspect. Meanwhile, in a coincidence that happens often in noir, Johnny meets the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood, the "other man" and owner of The Blue Dahlia nightclub and goes on the run.

I don't understand the appeal of Alan Ladd. For me, he's the weakest element of this very strong movie. On the other hand, we have incredible film noir stalwarts everywhere you look. Veronica Lake as Joyce Harwood, the criminally underrated William Bendix as Morrison's tightly wound buddy Buzz, Howard Da Silva as Eddie, Hugh Beaumont (yes, he did have a film career before he was Beaver's dad) as Morrison's other buddy, with smaller roles to Anthony Caruso and Frank Faylen.

And the script — WOW — written by Raymond Chandler. What a joy it must've been to be able to say those lines! Chandler received a Best Screenplay Oscar for THE BLUE DAHLIA in 1947.