Let's face it. Raymond Burr was never a romantic lead, and for most of his movie career prior to going onto the little box in your living room, he played villains of all kinds. As Burr himself once said (reflecting both on the characters he played and their girth), him and William Conrad were always the ones called in the 1950's to play "the heavy". With the exception of the Americanized version of "Godzilla", I can't ever recall him playing the good guy. Even when he was on the right side of the law (like in "A Place in the Sun"), he was never really likable on film, even when he was the D.A. prosecuting Montgomery Clift for murder. But there he was just doing his job, and here, he's doing his best to take advantage of drunken birthday girl Anne Baxter, giving one of her most vulnerable and frightened portrayals as the young lady who thought that she had accidentally killed Burr in a fit of fear. "The Blue Gardenia" is a song heard throughout the film, sung onscreen by a young Nat King Cole as only he could. It's the name of the nightclub too where Burr takes Baxter on a date, a perfect gentlemen it seems, but plying her with alcohol then bringing her back to his apartment for an alleged party that only includes the two of them. The mood is frightening, and being seen now is the epitome of a "me too" moment where a seemingly nice guy is not so nice, the amoral artist who wants what he wants when he wants it and without regards to the feelings of the lovely lady he's with. As Baxter's roommates, co-workers and confidantes, both Ann Sothern and Jeff Donnell deliver excellent performances, with Donnell quite amusing as a mystery fanatic who becomes obsessed with the case of Burr's murder, unaware that Baxter may be the culprit! Then, there's Richard Conte as a hard nosed journalist, determined to uncover the real killer's identity, and placing an add in the newspaper with the promise of protecting whoever is guilty, aware that they were obviously on the verge of being raped or worse. The scenes leading up to Baxter's meeting with him are quite intense, and the cat and mouse game between homicide detective George Reeves and Conte are well written as well. The only issue I had was the sudden twist at the end which reminded me of Truman Capote's complaint about one of the detectives in the Neil Simon comedy "Murder By Death" who always added in information, clues and other characters towards the end, making it impossible for the audience to guess "who done it". Other than that, this is a truly intriguing film noir that had me riveted from start to finish.

Loves me some Fritz Lang -- but this one ain't no Metropolis.The script's not terrible, but badly needs some punching up with actor chemistry and general *aggressive* actor collaboration -- zero of that in evidence.Richard Conte never gets started -- his underwritten role won't let him. Raymond Burr genially goes through the motions without much help from the director. At the center of it all, Anne Baxter connects neither internally nor externally -- it's a cold shell of a performance, full of vocal tricks and mugging -- wilts everything it touches. Baxter appears to be working hard, but she's oppressive here: won't play well with others, wants to be in her own separate movie.Ann Sothern brings it as a wise-cracking roommate, but her sass is wasted on, again, an underwritten role.Nat "King" Cole gets to sing the title song straight through in a nightclub. He's great, but the song is woozy mush.George "Superman" Reeves as the chief cop tries hard to blend in with the scenery.I add two stars for the core sequence of Baxter getting sloppy drunk and Burr trying to take advantage -- a low-key depiction of attempted date rape. It is plausibly staged, but unimaginative, lazy cinema.And one more star for the giggle from an in-joke -- Cleaning Lady to Reeves in Burr's crime scene apartment: "This ain't the first pair of lady's shoes I've found in front of this couch . . . "

The Blue Gardenia is directed by Fritz Lang and adapted to screenplay by Charles Hoffman from the short story "Gardenia" written by Vera Caspary. It stars Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr and George Reeves. Music is by Raoul Kraushaar and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.Norah Larkin (Baxter), after receiving some horrible news, ends up drunk and at the mercy of a Lothario in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with the distinct feeling she may have committed murder.More solid than anything spectacular, this minor Lang is never less than interesting. The Blue Gardenia of the title is a nightclub, one where Nat King Cole no less, sings the title song. However, it's the local newspaper that is the key element of the story, the place of work of ace journalist Casey Mayo (Conte), who gets in deep with the story and of course that means Norah as well.There's some sparky dialogue as the story ticks away, with Sothern (sadly underused) wonderfully waspish, the murder mystery element remains strong enough, while there's dark at work as well (Burr is effectively on a mission to date rape). However, the pairing of Lang and Musuraca should be a dream team, but although there's the odd flash of noir visualisations during night sequences, you can't help but lament more wasn't provided for Musuraca to weave his magic.A good show from the cast helps ease the pain of the script's inadequacies, especially as regards the not very clever final revelations. So all in all, it's more a case of a mystery melodrama with noir touches than anything thrilling, and really it's one for Lang fans to tick off their to see lists, not to be visited again. 6.5/10

"The Blue Gardenia" is a low budget thriller in which two young women (who are both named after flowers), two letters and two rather slimy bachelors, all have a significant impact on what transpires. At the centre of the story is a young woman who, as a result of making an unwise decision at a particularly vulnerable time, finds herself propelled into a nightmare. Unfortunately, the only avenue of escape open to her is very risky and requires her to put her trust in someone of whom she's uncertain.Based on a short story by Vera Caspary (who also wrote "Laura", which was made into a successful movie by Otto Preminger), this melodrama about the events surrounding a murder, soon develops from its light-hearted beginning into something far darker and more tense.Norah Larkin (Ann Baxter) is a telephone operator who shares an L.A. apartment with two of her friends from work. On her birthday, after the wisecracking Crystal Carpenter (Ann Southern) and the pulp-fiction loving Sally Ellis (Jeff Donell) have gone out, Norah spends the evening alone with a glass of champagne and a letter from her boyfriend who's a soldier in Korea. Shortly after reading the letter that informs her that she's been dumped, the telephone rings and Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr), under the misapprehension that she's Crystal, asks her out for dinner. In her confused and emotional state, Norah decides to accept the invitation and meets Harry at "The Blue Gardenia" nightclub.Harry's a predatory womaniser who gets Norah drunk on cocktails and takes her home to his apartment where he tries to force himself on her. In her panic, Norah grabs a poker and swings it over her head before hitting Harry as hard as she can. Next morning, when she wakes up, she can't remember what happened on the previous night. A little later, when she learns that Harry's been murdered, she becomes convinced that she's killed him and that some items (a lacy hanky, a blue gardenia and a pair of shoes) that she left behind at his apartment will quickly make her the prime suspect.Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) is a high profile newspaper columnist who takes an interest in the case and publishes an open letter entitled "Letter To An Unknown Murderess". In his letter, he invites the murderess (who he calls "The Blue Gardenia") to give his newspaper her exclusive story in return for top class legal representation which the newspaper will arrange. Norah, who is living in a constant state of fear, recognises that this seems to offer the best way forward but is also anxious about whether the columnist's offer is sincere or whether it's simply a ploy to get a sensational story for his newspaper.A clue to the mystery about what happened on the night of Harry's murder is given early on in the film but this, in no way, detracts from the absorbing nature of the story or the enjoyment which is further enhanced by the inclusion of Nat "King" Cole's performance of the title song and Nicholas Musuraca's marvellous cinematography. The scene in which Norah goes to Casey Mayo's office late at night is a real high point with its use of deep shadows, deep focus and neon lights etc. Interestingly, this was the first of three movies that Fritz Lang made relating to newspapers (the others being "While The City Sleeps" and "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt").