The 1944 film noir in which detective Mark McPherson investigates the murder of advertising executive Laura Hunt is Laura.
Directed by Otto Preminger, the film stars Gene Tierney as Laura, Dana Andrews as McPherson, Clifton Webb as columnist Waldo Lydecker, and Vincent Price as Shelby Carpenter. McPherson’s investigation becomes psychologically complicated when he develops an attachment to Laura through interviews, letters, and her striking portrait.
The mystery is adapted from Vera Caspary’s 1943 novel Laura. A famous production story concerns Preminger taking over direction from Rouben Mamoulian after studio executives disliked the early footage; Preminger reshaped the film’s visual style and replaced the original portrait with one based on Tierney.
A common mix-up is treating Laura as a straightforward detective movie. Its lasting reputation comes from the blend of murder investigation, obsession, romantic tension, and shifting identity. It received five Academy Award nominations and won for Joseph LaShelle’s black-and-white cinematography. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1999.