D.O.A.
by Rudolph Maté
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Beverly Garland, Edmond O'Brien, Luther Adler, Lynn Baggett, Pamela BrittonDirector: Rudolph Maté
Cinematographer: Ernest Laszlo
Editor: Arthur H. Nadel
Producer: Harry M. Popkin
Producer: Joseph H. Nadel
Producer: Leo C. Popkin
Writer: Clarence Greene
Writer: Russell Rouse
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 83 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Alpha Video
Movie Reviews of D.O.A.
Movie Review: SO THIS IS FILM NOIR...
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely, at my age, does a 5-star drama get past me that has been out for 57 years. Well this one did. Seeing it for the first time last week was a rare, refreshing treat.
After reading many of the fine reviews here, I became intrigued with what was described by many reviewers as "a strange noise", "whistle", or "music", every time Frank Bigelow [Edmond O'Brien] saw an attractive woman. I watched it alone, with my spouse, and with my daughter, and we all found it rather unsettling when indeed the strange music, like whistling glissandos, followed Frank Bigelow's stare toward young females in San Francisco. We believe that the strange sound was to show the contrast between Bigelow's original demeanor of just another "typical" guy out for some capricious fun in San Francisco and the one we saw later in the movie. Once he knew he was a walking dead man, this "glissando effect" was abruptly absent to show his new outlook and his maniacal focus on discovering who in fact had killed him. That's right, "who HAD killed him". That is what the movie is about -- Frank Bigelow's investigation of his own murder.
WOW!
Once the happy-go-lucky scenes passed early in the film, the scenes became very intense and the movie's pace really booked! Sub-plots and new co-stars like Luther Adler and Neville Brand were introduced and given three-dimensional characterizations through action, which is something to see. Edmond O'Brien very believably depicted a man who became strengthened by his freedom of fear of death, which made him into an almost-irresistible force. He was certainly a far cry from the milquetoast accountant out to sow a few wild oats during a trip to San Francisco before getting married as which he began the film. All of this intrigue happened in only 83 minutes. I have watched D.O.A. five times in the last 4 days. The only modern film that compares is "Point Blank" with Lee Marvin from 1967.
This DVD played without fault but had NO features whatsoever, but for $6.98 through Amazon that was more than I expected.
Summary of D.O.A.
A faceless figure marches down an endless hallway as dark, driving music underscores his doom. It's stocky, stalwart Edmond O'Brien, who plows through the police detective's office like he's got nothing to lose. "I want to report a murder," he demands, grim and sleepy-eyed. Who was killed? "I was." It's a brilliant opening to a memorable film noir classic. O'Brien is a CPA who flees his dull job and small California town for a wild weekend in San Francisco, only to be poisoned and doomed to certain death. With only days to live, his incredulity morphs into a searing drive to find his killers and stinging regrets for what might have been. O'Brien is a familiar noir face, but he usually plays figures of authority: a cop in White Heat; an investigator in The Killers. He's a little stiff here, but his blunt, unglamorous persona is perfect for the Everyman who is randomly visited by death. Rudolph Maté, a cinematographer turned director, moves from sun-bright day scenes to busy nighttime locations with few visual flourishes, but when he takes the camera into the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco the film is energized with a gritty, restless vigor. It's one of the most relentlessly dark films noir ever made--taut, edgy, and low budget. Watch for the Bradbury building in the film's climax, made famous by its memorable use decades later in the sci-fi noir classic Blade Runner. --Sean AxmakerSimilar DVD Movies
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