This was based on a novel written in 1933 but it didn't get made until over a decade later, changed into a vehicle for Alan Ladd with an eye, no doubt, on the box office receipts of Laura, which it resembles. It's a fascinating comparison because while Laura works this doesn't.
Dana Andrews in Laura was a cop so it was his job to investigate the crime. There were only a handful of suspects who we got to know well - Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, and particularly Clifton Webb - meaning we got to dig in to their characters. Andrews found himself falling in love with Laura, who then appeared half way through... so the story then had massive stakes.
Here Alan Ladd is a reporter so he really doesn't have to investigate. There's a whole bunch of people he talks to (54!), none of whom we get to know well - brother Arthur Kennedy, blonde June Havoc, gangster Sheppherd Strudwick, rich dude Barry Kroeger, her first husband... they kept coming and coming and coming and I got confused.
Donna Reed is too girl next door to be that interesting as the dead girl. (You know who would've been good? Veronica Lake.) And she remains dead, so there's no romance or point, no acceleration or twist. I found it hard to follow then I got bored for all the other people who were knocked off.
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