The story of a love that became the most fearful thing that ever happened to a woman!
Overview
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.8/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 4.04/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Otto Preminger
Production
20th Century Fox
Cast
Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson, Dorothy Adams, Wally Albright, Bobby Barber, Harry Carter, Lane Chandler, Dorothy Christy, James Conaty, Ralph Dunn, Jean Fenwick, Clyde Fillmore, James Flavin, Bess Flowers, Lee Tung Foo, William Forrest, Frances Gladwin
Curator Review
Verdict
A compact, stylish noir that blends murder mystery, romantic obsession, and sharp psychological games. Its atmosphere, performances, and twisty structure still feel fresh, and it remains a key film for anyone interested in classic Hollywood suspense or the way noir turns desire into danger.
Best for
classic noir fans
viewers who like elegant, dialogue-driven mysteries
fans of psychologically charged romances
people interested in femme fatale and male-projection themes
viewers who appreciate short, tightly constructed films
Skip if
you want fast-paced action or constant plot movement
you dislike older black-and-white studio filmmaking
you prefer mysteries that are straightforward and procedural
you are not interested in morally messy, obsessive characters
Overview
Laura is one of those noirs that feels both immaculate and unstable at the same time. It begins as a murder investigation, but quickly becomes a study in obsession, projection, and the stories men tell themselves about women they think they know. The result is sleek, witty, and unnerving, with a confidence that makes the whole film feel larger than its runtime.
Worth noting
Otto Preminger stages the film with a cool, almost predatory elegance, letting the apartment interiors, mirrors, and camera movement do as much work as the dialogue. Gene Tierney gives the title character an almost mythic presence, while Clifton Webb steals scene after scene as a venomous social parasite who seems to narrate his own downfall.
Bottom line
What lingers most is how the movie turns desire into a trap. It is glamorous, but never comforting; sophisticated, but deeply paranoid. Even now, it feels like a blueprint for the modern psychological thriller, and a reminder that noir is often less about solving a crime than exposing the fantasies that make crime possible.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Roberto_ (5★) · 2337 likes
who killed laura p̶a̶l̶m̶e̶r̶ hunt?
nora (4★) · 1940 likes
yeah never trust the 50+ year old man who falls in love with a 17 year old and who thinks she's best when she's listening to him read his own articles aloud
Karsten (5★) · 1467 likes
Won't lie, had a great time watching this. Gasped with every turn this film took. Not one bad performance but Vincent Price really is just THAT dude, ya know? The camera movement, the use of space, it all comes together into an ending that left me completely on edge. Not to mention the fact that Laura really is one of the most fascinating characters I've seen, especially for this time period. I'm sure there are actual reviews that actually go into depth about that. Too tired to add more sowwy 🥴
I wish Vincent Price were still alive so he could get into podcasting.
ScreeningNotes (5★) · 1007 likes
Blown away. I can't believe that this movie exists and that I hadn't seen it until now and that it achieves so much perfection in under 90 minutes. This is absolutely essential viewing for any fans of film noir and particularly for anyone interested in the femme fatale as a symbolic cinematic figure. It's also the first time I've really been bowled over like this since I discovered and fell in love with The Conformist back in May. Anyway:
"My… more
Jake Cole (5★) · 981 likes
An incredible film about male projection. LAURA initially plays into the cliché that tends to type all movies that start with the focal character dead, wherein the viewer gets to feel like that person is an active, driving character for the force they continue to exert on the living. But in this case, when Laura is revealed to be alive, her actual presence throws everything that came before into disarray, revealing that image driving the story to be nothing more… more An incredible film about male projection. LAURA initially plays into the cliché that tends to type all movies that start with the focal character dead, wherein the viewer gets to feel like that person is an active, driving character for the force they continue to exert on the living. But in this case, when Laura is revealed to be alive, her actual presence throws everything that came before into disarray, revealing that image driving the story to be nothing more… more
1949 · Thriller, Mystery · 1h 45m · NR · Curator 9.6/10 (377K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, IndieFlix, Cineverse, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A stylish, morally slippery mystery with unforgettable atmosphere and a deep sense of postwar unease.
A lean, suspenseful thriller that shares the tight runtime and pressure-cooker intensity of classic noir.
Topics
film noir, mystery, psychological thriller, black and white, 1940s Hollywood, obsessive romance, urban sophistication, gothic atmosphere, twisted relationships, classic studio era