Laura’s Rating for the book: 4/5 Stars
I chose to read this book because my mom suggested it to me, knowing that I enjoy hardboiled/noir/suspense detective fiction. Plus, who wouldn’t want to read a book where the mysterious and lovely title character shares their name?
The Analysis:
Laura Hunt is dead. But Laura is also smart, independent, successful, and captivating. Detective Mark McPherson is enchanted by the idea of Laura, the murder victim of his most recent assignment. There are two other men that appear infatuated with Laura as well. Waldo Lydecker, a distinguished writer a bit older than Laura, who shows her the finer things in life. The other is Shelby Carpenter, Laura’s fiancé, who comes from a notable Southern family but relies on Laura for financial stability and takes advantage of her generosity. Laura herself is a successful New York woman who works in the advertising business, making more money than many of the men.
It is said that when she was alive, Laura was kind, generous, and honest with a polite delicacy. “Her flattery was never shallow, she found the real qualities and made them important. Surface faults and affections fell away…” Laura’s independence and charm makes her both endearing and perplexing to the men around her. She is described as a “complicated, cultivated modern woman”. Unlike many women of the time, she has an advanced career and is unwilling to compromise in order to marry and settle down.
The book is narrated in first person by several different characters, giving insight into the particular feelings and viewpoints of several major players. I usually enjoy that style of writing and it worked fine in this novel, but I didn’t find that it added much. It just as easily could have been written in third person or all narrated by the same character. Additionally, at times there are tangents that are hard to follow and references that do not stand the test of time.
Laura explores ideas of obsession and possession and highlights problematic gender roles of the time. It shows how a shared love can breed camaraderie or competition, depending on the context. Author Vera Caspary does a great job of adding clues and evidence, while still keeping the reader guessing. There are several shocking reveals in the book and even when I thought the action was winding down, there was another suspenseful scene. This is an interesting take on a murder mystery and is worth the read if you can get past a few older phrases and references.
Laura’s Rating for the movie: 3.5/5 Stars
The Analysis:
Laura is a 1944 film noir directed by the genre legend Otto Preminger. The plot is largely the same: who murdered Laura Hunt? Every character seems equally suspicious. Gene Tierney is absolutely stunning as Laura Hunt and portrays a charming girl in the flashbacks of her and Waldo’s interactions. Actor Clifton Webb did not have the look of Waldo Lydecker as described in the book: fat and middle aged. Instead, he was skinny and almost elderly, which made his relationship with Laura less believable. However, Webb played the part well and delivered Waldo’s witty insults perfectly. Dana Andrews and Vincent Price fit their roles of Mark and Shelby well. I was also happy to see Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca) as Ann Treadwell. I slightly preferred the book, but I think whichever media is consumed first may be preferred due to the shock value of several twists throughout.
Have never read the book but love the movie and own the DVD. Robert Osborne, the late host of TCM always said the opening line of the movie by Clifton Webb's character was one of the best in cinema.