The Blue Gardenia

"There was nothing lily-white about her -- the clinch-and-kill girl they called: The Blue Gardenia"

1953 1h 29m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 104

CrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.

“There was nothing lily-white about her -- the clinch-and-kill girl they called: The Blue Gardenia”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

fuboTVSubscription

Night Flight PlusSubscription

CultpixSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

Troma NOWSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Cast

Anne Baxter
Norah Larkin
Richard Conte
Casey Mayo
Ann Sothern
Crystal Carpenter
Raymond Burr
Harry Prebble
Jeff Donnell
Sally Ellis
Richard Erdman
Al
George Reeves
Sam Haynes
Ruth Storey
Rose Miller

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Charles Hoffman, Vera Caspary
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Raoul Kraushaar. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edward Mann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anne Baxter and Richard Conte and Ann Sothern carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There was nothing lily-white about her -- the clinch-and-kill girl they called: The Blue Gardenia".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045564 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Raoul Kraushaar scores. Edward Mann cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Raoul Kraushaar. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Edward Mann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Anne Baxter and Richard Conte and Ann Sothern carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "There was nothing lily-white about her -- the clinch-and-kill girl they called: The Blue Gardenia".
8IMDB entry: tt0045564 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Original score: Raoul Kraushaar
Editing: Edward Mann
Makeup / hair: James R. Barker
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Also by

Fritz Lang

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-03-08
★ 6.5/10
A Letter to an Unknown Murderess. 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

Production companies