D.O.A.

Movie Review: D.O.A.

Year of Release: 1950
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Rudolph Maté
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland

Plot outline: Frank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why (IMDb).

Rudolph Maté's D.O.A. opens with what is quite possibly one of the greatest beginnings of all time. A disheveled man strides calmly into a police station and walks firmly down the halls of the large building while the credits role. As they come to an end, he arrives at the homicide division of the station. "I want to report a murder," he says. "Who was murdered ?" a detective behind a desk asks. "I was," he replies. D.O.A. is police jargon for "Dead On Arrival," and that’s pretty much what Edmond O’Brien is as he arrives at the police station and begins his tale to the detective. O’Brien appeared in dozens of movies, often as a reporter or editor with alcohol problems, like he did in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In this movie he got one of his only chances to play the leading man, and frankly I can see why the pudgy actor was not more often chosen. He just does not have the charisma to carry a full length performance where he appears in nearly every frame. Nonetheless, Maté surrounded him with enough interesting characters and situations that O’Brien’s limitations as an actor did not seem to detract as much as they would in a more conventional story. For example, his preoccupation with women and their apparent attraction to him did not ring exactly true. Maté started out as a cinematographer, and became highly regarded. In this movie his great eye for camera angles and lighting is apparent and many of the scenes are classic, making the movie better than it has a right to be. The jazz club scene with the musicians jamming really is admirable and gets you into the crazy world they inhabit. The story is great but some of the dialog is really laughable, especially in the frequent phone calls between O’Brien and girlfriend Pamela Britton and his other encounters with women. Giving great support to the production, Beverly Garland appears, as do Neville Brand and Luther Adler, all of whom provide interesting moments that help D.O.A. live in that shady film noir world where nobody is innocent and everybody finally pays. The score, by Dimitri Tiomkin, is well done and keeps the pace moving. (GC)

My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars