Cinemas Greatest Scenes: A Portrait of ‘Laura’.

Please note this article contains a major spoiler to the film Laura (1944). 

Where do I begin in my appreciation of Otto Pereminger’s Laura? Let’s start with Gene Tierney. Maybe more so than Lauren Bacall, Tierney was my first old Hollywood on-screen crush. My own obsession with Tierney though didn’t begin with her role in Laura. In fact I first saw her in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and instantly became mesmerised my her beauty and talent. Later I would discover more about her tragic life. Eventually when I did come around to seeing Tierney as Laura Hunt, I soon realised this was a role of a lifetime, even though Tierney at the time didn’t think much of it. In her 1979 autobiography she admitted that her first impression of the script for Laura was “Who wants to play a painting?”

For the most part the film’s story is told in flashback. Its success lies in the fact that it is both a murder mystery and a tragic story of infatuation and love. Standouts include Dana Andrews as Detective Lieutenant Mark McPherson who leads the charge in investigating the death of Laura. Moreover the success of Laura rests in composer David Raksin haunting film score and Joe Lashelle’s visually stylistic Oscar-winning cinematography. 

But before I get to the scene in question for this latest entry, it’s worth noting that following the iconic 20th Century Fox production logo and fanfare, the film opens with an ornate framed portrait of Gene Tierney hung upon a wall between light fixtures. While we don’t know it yet, this portrait which sits above Laura Hunt’s fireplace in her apartment will play a pivotal role in the film. In the meantime, while the cast and crew opening credits flash and interchange with David Raskin’s haunting Laura theme underpining the title sequence, the audience is left to wonder about the beautiful woman in the portrait. So strikingly real life is the portrait that even underneath the film credits Tierney’s eyes are piercing through your soul. 

In an interesting bit of film trivia, there was another portrait of ‘Laura’ first painted by Azalia Newman, which was commissioned by Laura’s original director Ruben Mamoulian. The likeness of the original painting was that of Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones, who was set to star in the film but apparently didn’t show up for work on the first day of shooting. When the head of 20th Century Fox studios, Darryl F. Zanuck, fired Ruben Mamoulian because of creative difference, he installed Otto Preminger as the film’s new director. Upon taking charge of the film Preminger scrapped Mamoulin’s sets including the Jones portrait. Once Gene Tierney came onboard as Laura, Preminger who believed “portraits rarely photographed well” asked studio photographer Frank Powolny to take Tierney’s picture and have the photo portrait enlarged and painted over. The end result creates a wonderful illusion of an original work of art, which features prominently in key scenes of the film including the all important scene where Laura returns seemingly from the dead standing beneath her own portrait.

At this point in the film, the build up is key to everything that unfolds. The extended scene (which is not featured here above in the You Tube clip) sees hard boiled Detective Mark McPherson enter Laura Hunts apartment for a third time in his investigation to unravel the mystery of Laura’s murder. But by now McPherson has unprofessionally become very attached and smitten by Laura’s aura. The portrait of Laura in particular which hangs so prominently in her apartment haunts him. He searches for answers while staring at it and grows even more confused about his obsession with her. When Laura’s philandering fiancé Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price) taunts McPherson, “You better watch out McPherson or you’ll end up in a psychiatric ward. I don’t think they ever had a patient who fell in love with a corpse,” he becomes even more agitated and despondent.

As the scene continues, he helps himself to a stiff drink and continues to swig while pondering the predicament he finds himself in, only to eventually fall asleep in the armchair beneath her portrait. But just as he falls asleep, we hear the apartment door open and in enters Laura. She is equally confused to find a man asleep in her apartment. She disturbs his slumber and he stirs to see a figure standing before him. McPherson thinks he sees a ghost but soon realises Laura Hunt isn’t dead. 

In a short exchange Laura asks, “What are you doing here?”

You’re alive? He replies bewildered.

If you don’t get out at once I’m gonna call the police?

You are Laura Hunt? Aren’t you? McPherson adds searching for clarity.

Im going to call the police? Laura interjects.

The detective shows Laura his police badge, “I am the police, Mark McPherson.”

Laura seems barely satisfied by his revelation, “What’s this all about?”

McPherson goes on to explain what has happened. That a disfigured victim was found dead in her apartment. He wants answers. But now he is even more confused. This bizarre twist sets the stage for what’s to come. He is forced to re-evaluate the whole case, including his infatuation with Laura, who now becomes a suspect herself.