The Blue Dahlia
The pressure of having to finish the screenplay combined with the curveball of having to write an entirely new ending was too much for Raymond Chandler. He quickly came down with a severe case of writer's block. According to a near-legendary story, 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.,Joyce tells Johnny that the tide is out. Clearly the tide is all the way in, completely covering the beach.,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.,Featured in Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man (1999),The Blue Dahlia
(uncredited)
Music by Bernie Wayne
[Played in the score],"The Blue Dahlia" (1946) is a film noir directed by George Marshall and stars Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva and Will Wright. It was the third pairing of the box-office bombshells Ladd and Lake and it is a marked improvement on their previous two outings, "This Gun for Hire" and "The Glass Key", both from 1942. The key credit to this should probably go to scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, probably the best hardboiled crime novelist there ever was along with Dashiell Hammett.

The story is classic noir: Johnny Morrison (Ladd), war veteran of the South Pacific, returns home to find his wife (Doris Dowling) has been unfaithful. He walks out on her, and shortly after she is found dead. His war buddies Buzz Wanchek (William Bendix) and George Copeland (Hugh Beaumont) believe he is innocent, but everything points towards to Morrison...

The screenplay has some vintage Chandler lines, and characters like Bendix's disturbed veteran and Wright's marvelously smarmy house peeper could have jumped out of his Philip Marlowe novels. However, the ending is weak due to interference from the U.S. military, but the movie as a whole still packs a sizable punch. Director Marshall serves his material admirably and cinematographer Lionel Lindon gives us some very dark and atmospheric shots. Acting wise, Bendix takes the top honours, but Ladd and Lake are both very good, as is Howard Da Silva, owner of the eponymous "Blue Dahlia Club" .

This film noir is one definitely to check out.,