{"id":6062,"date":"2009-01-22T12:11:07","date_gmt":"2009-01-22T19:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6062"},"modified":"2022-05-18T23:26:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T06:26:10","slug":"doa-1950","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6062","title":{"rendered":"D.O.A. (1950)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think you fully understand, Bigelow &#8212; you&#8217;ve been murdered!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster-677x1024.png 677w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster-178x270.png 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Poster.png 729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn accountant (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) slowly dying from &#8220;luminous poisoning&#8221; tries to determine who his killers are, and why they&#8217;ve murdered him.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amateur Sleuths<\/li>\n<li>Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Film<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Neville Brand Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;first-rate melodrama&#8221; by DP-turned-director Rudolph Mate features an &#8220;unusual, intriguing premise&#8221;, one which allows its protagonist &#8212; Edmond O&#8217;Brien in his most iconic role as Frank Bigelow &#8212; to become &#8220;one of the first movie heroes to have no fear of being killed&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-1024x760.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"475\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-1024x760.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-768x570.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7-364x270.png 364w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien7.png 1389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While &#8220;the story gets a bit confusing&#8221; (and thus tends to drag during its second third), the film as a whole remains compelling, and, amazingly enough, never feels &#8220;too morbid to sit through&#8221; despite knowing that Bigelow is done for from the beginning. Indeed, the flashback-heavy script features a surprising amount of levity, particularly during the early San Francisco hotel sequences, as Bigelow ogles every reasonably attractive female in the joint (and Dimitri Tiomkin&#8217;s energetic score adds silly sound-effect punctuations). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-1024x754.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"471\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-1024x754.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-768x566.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling-367x270.png 367w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Ogling.png 1389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the supporting cast&#8217;s B-level performances nearly all border playfully on camp: watch Pamela Britton (as Bigelow&#8217;s clingy secretary girlfriend) run an emotional gamut from flirtatious to pissy to maudlin to rapturously romantic:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-1024x761.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60911\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-1024x761.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton-363x270.png 363w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Britton.png 1387w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>or toothy Neville Brand in his screen debut as a psycho thug with shifty eyes. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-1024x750.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-1024x750.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-768x563.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand-369x270.png 369w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand.png 1383w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some have complained that cinematographer Ernest Laszlo fails to establish noir-ish contrasts in lighting, but this ultimately adds to the film&#8217;s effectiveness: Bigelow&#8217;s nightmarish situation &#8212; taking place in real-life San Francisco and Los Angeles locales: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-1024x761.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60921\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-1024x761.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram-363x270.png 363w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-Tram.png 1387w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8212; is very much embedded within day-to-day reality; the scary point here is that anyone (you, me) is at risk for murder simply by being alive. And it should be noted that while Bigelow may be essentially an &#8220;innocent nice guy&#8221;, he <em>does<\/em> act like a bit of an immature lout, given that he can&#8217;t wait to get away from his fiancee, and considers sleeping with an attractive woman he&#8217;s just met at a bar:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-1024x753.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"471\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60910\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-1024x753.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-768x565.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive-367x270.png 367w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Attractive.png 1391w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To this end, it could be argued (along the lines of 1950s morality) that he &#8220;deserves&#8221; his fate. Indeed, the story is framed as an unwitting character arc, with Bigelow forced to recognize &#8212; too late &#8212; the folly of his ways. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edmond O&#8217;Brien as Bigelow<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-1024x756.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"473\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-1024x756.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-768x567.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-OBrien.png 1391w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An effectively nightmarish script<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-1024x767.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"479\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-1024x767.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-768x575.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2-360x270.png 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Nightmarish2.png 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Excellent use of San Francisco and Los Angeles locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-1024x766.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"479\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60912\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-1024x766.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-768x575.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF-361x270.png 361w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-SF.png 1383w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Neville Brand (in his screen debut) as a psychotic hood<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-1024x757.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"473\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-60918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-1024x757.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-768x568.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3-365x270.png 365w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/DOA-Brand3.png 1387w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a classic of pulp noir.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0042369\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/doa\/review\/111996\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/5855\/doa#articles-reviews?articleId=82781\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/d-o-a\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think you fully understand, Bigelow &#8212; you&#8217;ve been murdered!&#8221; Synopsis: An accountant (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) slowly dying from &#8220;luminous poisoning&#8221; tries to determine who his killers are, and why they&#8217;ve murdered him. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Amateur Sleuths Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films Flashback Film Living Nightmare Murder Mystery Neville Brand Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: As Peary notes, this &#8220;first-rate melodrama&#8221; by DP-turned-director Rudolph Mate features an &#8220;unusual, intriguing premise&#8221;, one which allows its protagonist &#8212; Edmond O&#8217;Brien in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6062\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6062"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84231,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6062\/revisions\/84231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}