D.O.A.

D.O.A. starts off with one hell of a bang a hulky and overwhelmed Edmund O'Brien musters his way into a ploice station. As h emakes his way through the marble paved floors and pass the columns and the passage ways he finally arrives at the end of his journey. The journey to get him there is one that is so tight and compelling that when O'Brien announces that he has already been murdered the film turns into to a stark tail of death and lust told in flashback! O'Brien is Frank Bigelow an accountant who takes a trip to forget about his lover and just have a casual afair or two while in San Francisco. While in San Francisco heh finds a few hot ladies at his hotel and then he is whisked away to a Jazz club where he is poisoned and there isn't as antidote! the film moves ahead at whiplash speed from here. Shadows are cast over O'Briens hulking frame and sweat pours over his brow as he begins his trek to find his killer. th eplot and dialogue is as tight as any top grade Noir. But the most shoking element of the whole film is O'Brien he never once lets the viewer down he follows through with pure human emotion and if it seems like he is over actingn to some he is just playing a real life scenario oout on screen if you wer just poisoned would you be calm! Excellent Noir's have all the elements of the past from the sharp cut suits to the sheen of the telephones and with D.O.A. O'Brien seems to make all these elements seem ever more stark and fleeting with the fact that O'Brien is dying his precious reunion with the love he left for a good time seems more like fate instead of like the last time he will be in complete bliss! O'Brein is so powerful and commanding that i nver wanted him to die even though i knew it was inevitable now that makes the film as a whole a masterpiece!

Such an involved plot! I found it a bit challenging to follow at times. On the positive side, it keeps one guessing as to why O'brien's character is DOA. Mostly, the dialogue is really sharp and there are some quirky characters. There are a couple of odd moments that don't fit with the rest of the film (wolf-whistles dubbed over when attractive women walk by in the hotel; a drawn-out scene with his girlfriend toward the end).There are, though, great moments -- like the "Life" magazines at the news stand, and the drugstore chase scene. It's not boring, for sure! Also, there are some great angle and shadow shots. The director, Rudolph Mate, had previously been a cinematopher, and the cinematopher was Ernest Lazlo, so it's no surprise that the photographic elements of the film are really great (and for me, the highlight of the film).

A man walks into the police station and announces he wants to report a murder. When asked who was murdered and where, he says, "I was, last night in San Francisco."Esmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland and Neville Brand.Classic noir about a fatally poisoned man looking for his murderer in his last few hours. Stretches credulity that the sickened man is able to outrun so many healthy people, and that so many great-looking women think Edmond O'Brien is all that attractive - even in 1949. Neville brand is especially disturbing with his crazy eyes, Gary Busey teeth and Richard Widmark in [i]Kiss of Death[/i] -inspired laugh. (He is so young in this one that his skin is so smooth it shines!)I used to see this film pop up on TV a lot when I was a kid. The public domain movie can look pretty rough on some DVD's, but the Roan Group DVD I have looks the best I have seen.Still fun after all these years.

A film classic from the B Studios of the late 1940s if there ever was one. Along with "Detour" and a few others, this movie proves that you don't always need a big budget and major studio to make a great pic. The location filming in these B pictures not only helped keep the costs down, and keep the cheap look from showing off a shoe string budget, the writing is what made these films classics, interesting story-line and great plot twists kept the tale fast paced and never dull, though at times the main plot has to take a few reality breaks, those viewers who are a tad to cerebral for these kind of movies will have to take a vacation from over analyzing and just enjoy, otherwise pass it by.For once, the film is in excellent shape, a crisp new print, and a perfect transfer to DVD.If you don't have this, or have never seen it, don't pass it by. A real winner in every way. Great view.

There are many dvd versions of D.O.A. out there. I purchased the versions from ROAN and Image Entertainment (because those were the two versions that looked best from the five versions that DVD Beaver reviewed on his website). After comparing the two, I definitely prefer the ROAN version.If you want to purchase a dvd of D.O.A. and are unsure between the ROAN and Image Entertainment versions, I suggest you get the ROAN, for I liked it better than the Image Entertainment version. My 4-star rating is for the ROAN dvd of D.O.A. (and NOT for the Image Entertainment one). If this was a regular movie, this ROAN dvd definitely would not have gotten 4 stars, cuz the quality is subpar compared to a normal movie. But the key point is that D.O.A. is not a normal movie: it is a public-domain movie, and there are so many awful dvd versions out there. SO, CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS A PUBLIC-DOMAIN MOVIE AND THERE ARE SO MANY AWFUL DVD'S OUT THERE, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE ROAN DVD IS A PRETTY SOLID ONE.p.s. on the ROAN dvd, there is a bonus feature with Beverly Garland telling a story about what happened after D.O.A. was nominated for an Academy Award. There is just one problem: D.O.A. was never nominated for an Academy Award!As for the movie itself, I really like it very much, Edmund O'Brien is terrific!

This is very unique film: story wise and theme wise because the hero dies the end though he was murdered a few days before. I have several copies of this from VHS to DVD. This copy is by Alpha Video - not noted for good quality reproductions of old films. However this one is better than other copies of films they put out.

Now this is the one to watch. . .I have recently watched the remake and it wasn't too bad in parts, but it really cannot compare with this B&W original.It starts slowly, but begins to pile on the tension and mystery pretty quick and maintains it thoughout.There was no need for swearing or stupid inuendo to keep the youngsters amused, (like the remake). It relys on good story telling and fine acting.Shop around though, as this later release is a bit pricy.

good-ok-famous-film-noir

Well worth the price.

A+