D.O.A. (1950 film)
| D.O.A. | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Rudolph Maté |
| Produced by | Leo C. Popkin |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo |
| Edited by | Arthur H. Nadel |
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Production
company |
Harry Popkin Productions
Cardinal Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
D.O.A. is a 1950 American film noir directed by Rudolph Maté, considered a classic of the genre. The frantically paced plot revolves around a doomed man's quest to find out who has poisoned him and why. This film marks the debuts of Beverly Garland (as Beverly Campbell) and Laurette Luez.
The film stars Edmond O'Brien and Pamela Britton.
Leo C. Popkin produced D.O.A. for his short-lived Cardinal Pictures. Due to a filing error the copyright to the film was not renewed on time, causing it to fall into the public domain. The Internet Movie Database shows that 22 companies offer the VHS or DVD versions, and the Internet Archive (see below) offers an online version.
The film begins with what a BBC reviewer called "perhaps one of cinema's most innovative opening sequences." The scene is a long, behind-the-back tracking sequence featuring Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) walking through the hallway of a police station to report his own murder. Oddly, the police almost seem to have been expecting him and already know who he is.
A flashback begins with Bigelow in his hometown of Banning, California, where he is an accountant and notary public. He decides to take a one-week vacation in San Francisco, but this does not sit well with Paula Gibson (Pamela Britton), his confidential secretary and girlfriend, as he does not want her to accompany him.
Bigelow accompanies a group from a sales convention on a night on the town. At a "jive" nightclub called "The Fisherman," unnoticed by Bigelow, a stranger swaps his drink for another. The nightclub scene includes one of the earliest depictions of the Beat subculture. The next morning, Bigelow feels ill. He visits a doctor's office, where tests reveal he swallowed a "luminous toxin" for which there is no antidote. A second opinion confirms the grim diagnosis, and the other doctor implies that the poisoning must have been deliberate. Bigelow remembers his drink tasted strange.
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Wikipedia