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D.O.A. (1949)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 9/14, 1/25

DOA1950
9/14: If there's an automatic must-see film noir, it's D.O.A. with Edmond O'Brien.

Rudolph Maté keeps me at the edge of my seat because of the gripping irony. Quite simply, there's nothing like D.O.A. because it's a ticking-time type of film.

The plot is about a dying man who's in search of the man who poisoned him. It's also sad because of his girlfriend being in the dark about what's happening to him. By the way, Neville Brand's character is annoying because it's obvious that he copied off Richard Widmark's character Tommy Udo from Kiss of Death.

All in all, D.O.A. is a 83-minute film noir cliffhanger that never lets down from the get-go.

1/25: I'm moving D.O.A. up to the top five of film noir greats as it's on the same level as Kiss Me Deadly, Lady in the Lake, and The Big Sleep but better.

Shot on location in San Francisco and Los Angeles, it's a brilliant movie, one of the rarest with a strong start and a strong finish. The gist of the story goes like this: "Frank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why." If that's not compelling enough, then nothing else is.

The best performance of Edmond O'Brien's career, I know he's been terrific in others, but this is as fantastic as it gets, beginning with his long walk in the hallway to enter Homicide Division office. What a shot by Ernest Laszlo. Out of the blue, there is the man who's the cause of his death, and he's finally shot dead at the Bradbury Building that'll be prominently shown in countless pictures such as Chinatown and Wolf.

It's too bad about Paula, Bigelow's secretary. By the way, that's not Gloria Grahame but Pamela Britton. Yeah, they look quite alike, right down to their thinnish upper lip. There are tough guys in the background with Neville Brand making the most impression for the first time ever. Of course, he'll be spotted in plenty of noir pictures. The writing is supreme with several chilling exchanges such as:

-"Can I help you?"
-"I'd like to see the man in charge."
-"In here."
-"I want to report a murder."
-"Sit down."
-"Where was this murder committed?"
-"San Francisco, last night."
-"Who was murdered?"
-"I was."

-"Don't you know how you got it? This is no accident, somebody knew how to handle that stuff. That wax is tasteless and odorless. From the amount of alcohol in your body, you must have got it in liquor."
-"I was drinking last night."
-"Arrange for your admission to the hospital immediately. Of course, I'll have to notify the police. This is a case for Homicide."
-"Homicide?"
-"I don't think you fully understand, Bigelow. You've been murdered."

-"How shall I make out the report on him, Captain?"
-"Better make it 'Dead on Arrival.'"

In case if you are confused by the storyline and I don't blame you there because it's actually complicated, the following is what happened:

Eugene Phillips was cheated by his wife with Halliday, and the men had a fight over it with Eugene being thrown over the balcony to his death. Months earlier, Eugene bought iridium from George Reynolds aka Raymond Rakubian, and Frank Bigelow notarized the bill of sale. Remember that they're two separate events which somehow merged as one. Hence, Eugene was facing criminal charges over the illegal sale of iridium, and his wife and Halliday used that as a pretext for Eugene's suicide.

However, Bigelow had the proof in his ledger which would clear Eugene's wrongdoing. The whole time, he thought it was the secretary, Miss Foster, who conspired with Halliday, so he came close in terms of solving the mystery. Eugene's brother Stanley accused the wife of doing it as confirmed by the love letter produced by Miss Foster. Therefore, both the wife and Halliday poisoned Stanley just the same way as they did to Bigelow in an attempt to cover up their tracks further. How Majak figured in this picture was that he needed to escape unscathed for stealing the iridium.

All in all, D.O.A. is a masterpiece.