One year after The Blue Dahlia hit theaters, there was a real-life criminal investigation that was named in the papers The Black Dahlia. This true crime drama in turn inspired writer Charles Hoffman, working off of a novella by Vera Caspary, to title his script The Blue Gardenia, cashing in on the popularity of The Black Dahlia murderer. The story takes a somewhat cynical view on press coverage over these kinds of criminals, sensationalizing them for sales and publicity while privately trying to scoop the police in order to have exclusivity on the cases. This combination of things culminated in a film that, while not entirely believable, especially the ending, is serviceable. It has moments of greatness but is often mired down by a script rife with genre clichés.
What we essentially have is a woman wanted for murder. In this case the woman is Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter), a Los Angeles switchboard operator who has just received a breakup letter from her fiancé, a soldier serving in the Korean War. Upset by this letter, she answers the phone. The man on the other end, Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr, is calling for one of her roommates to invite her out to dinner but, unable to get a word in to tell him this, she decides to go to the meet-up anyway to cheer up her spirits. Her arrival catches Harry off-guard but he welcomes her anyway and the two spend the evening enjoying each other’s company and drinking heavily. But when he takes her back to his apartment he tries to take advantage of her inebriated state. She fights him off, hitting him over the head with a fire poker, and flees, leaving behind her handkerchief and her shoes. The following day she hears on the news that Harry has been murdered. Her memories from that evening are foggy and shrouded in alcohol so that she doesn’t remember killing him nor how she got back home. Meanwhile, the police are looking for a girl that matches her description and fits the shoes left behind. On top of that, newspaper reporter Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) is looking for an exclusive on the story and has his own ideas on how to find the mysterious woman before the police do.
While it is true that the mystery isn’t much to get excited about, this is still a film worth watching. Anne Baxter has the ability to take a poorly written script and elevate it with her performance. She doesn’t have to say a word, it is all there on her face. This is a woman who doesn’t remember killing Harry, yet is certain that she must have done so, not just because the evidence is there but because there is a big void in her memories of that night, too. Added to this is her relationships with her roommates, Crystal (Ann Sothern) and Sally (Jeff Donnell), two women who are not stupid and quickly realize something is very much wrong with Norah all of a sudden. It doesn’t take long before Crystal puts two and two together and figures it all out.
The weakest part of this film is the finale. This is one of those films that gives you no clues that can help you figure out what really happened. Instead, there is a last-minute revelation that wraps everything up nicely, allowing for a happy ending. This is unsatisfying, especially since the way things were set up, Norah would have been justified in defending herself. Instead, the movie avoids all of this and gives us a different solution, one that feels tacked on at the last minute. On top of that, there is a poorly built subplot about a romance blooming between Norah and Casey that is there just to have a cheeky last-minute laugh.
This film received lukewarm reviews in 1953 when it hit theaters. It’s better than that, but the criticisms are still valid. There isn’t much of a mystery here and the resolution is frustrating. But Anne Baxter is a joy to watch and Richard Conte seems to be having a blast parodying a reporter who can out-think the police and ferret out Norah when all else has failed. His plan is so outrageous that even the police call him up and mock him for his efforts. But then again, it works, though it also backfires and leads to her getting arrested. 1953 - 90 minutes
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