Search
What's Hot
Day-by-Day Fall Schedule
Idol Winner Speaks!
Jim Parsons Comes Out
Game of Thrones Star's Sex Stare

The Blue Gardenia

1953, Movie, NR, 90 mins

The Blue Gardenia: Review

starstarstarstar
Baxter accepts a blind date with Burr after receiving a "Dear Jane" letter from her fiance in Korea. After drinking too much, Baxter returns with Burr to his apartment. When he attempts to seduce her, Baxter reaches for a poker in panic, clubs Burr unconscious, and flees. The next morning, she learns that Burr has been beaten to death and believes herself to be the killer. When newsman Conte begins writing open letters to the murderess in his paper, Baxter calls him, posing as a friend of the killer. They meet several times at Hollywood's Blue Gardenia restaurant and fall in love. Conte convinces Baxter to confess, believing her guilty. Then he meets Storey, whom police find barely alive after a botched suicide attempt. She admits that she arrived at Burr's apartment after Baxter left, telling him that she was pregnant with his child. When he refused to marry her, she clubbed him to death with the poker. Conte and Baxter end up together because the real killer is charged with Burr's death. This is one of Fritz Lang's weaker efforts in film noir, although his great visual style is evident in every scene; the thin script, cliched lines, and predictable plot twists limit the master filmmaker. Lang focuses on Baxter, encircling her with his camera, closing in, like the long arm of the law reaching out for her. It's a commendable job, aided by Baxter's standout performance, but this film nowhere approaches Lang's memorable THE BIG HEAT, CLASH BY NIGHT, and HUMAN DESIRE. Musuraca's lensing is high-key and sometimes flat. Lingering long after the fading plotline is the unforgettable song "Blue Gardenia" sung by the great Nat "King" Cole with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. leave a comment
Are You Watching?
The Blue Gardenia
Loading ...
Advertisement

Our Partners

Advertisement

Related Websites

You might be also interested in the following websites:

Most Popular TV Shows

  1. American Idol
  2. NCIS
  3. Big Bang Theory
  4. Voice
  5. Person of Interest
more popular tv shows

Most Popular Celebrities

  1. Jessica Simpson
  2. Khloe Kardashian
  3. Kate Middleton
  4. Maria Menounos
  5. Kim Kardashian
more popular celebrities

Most Popular Movies

  1. Avengers
  2. Battleship
  3. The Dictator
  4. Dark Shadows
  5. What To Expect When You're Expecting
more popular movies

Top Videos

  1. Revenge
  2. The Big Bang Theory
  3. Modern Family
  4. Days of our Lives
  5. Young and the Restless
more top videos