A stock story and handling keep The Blue Gardenia from being anything more than a regulation mystery melodrama, from a yarn by Vera Caspary. Formula development has an occasional bright spot, mostly because Ann Sothern breathes some life into stock character and quips. Anne Baxter is a telephone operator who believes she committed murder when she was drinking away the tears of a broken romance. Too much rum with Raymond Burr, a licentious artist, has blacked out her memory and when she reads a newspaper account of his violent death, she naturally thinks she did it while fighting for her honor. Richard Conte, all-powerful newspaper columnist, masterminds the disclosure of her identity strictly to get an exclusive, but falls in love with her and has to uncover the real killer. Baxter and Conte do what they can but fight a losing battle with the script while Burr is a rather obvious wolf. Nat 'King' Cole is spotted to sing the title tune, written by Bob Russell and Lester Lee. 2 STARS OUT OF 5 the blue gardenia dvds | videos al pacino | michelle pfeiffer yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider the godfather | the godfather part ii marlon brando | james caan | diane keaton | al pacino laurence olivier | clark gable | vivien leigh | leslie howard | alfred hitchcock | robert montgomery | grace kelly olivia de havilland | humphrey bogart | howard hawks | frank capra | charlie chaplin | lauren bacall | fritz lang jean harlow | greta garbo | ava gardner | audrey hepburn | edward g. robinson | john garfield erich von stroheim | wim wenders | madeleine carroll | marlene dietrich | rita hayworth fritz lang dvds fritz lang videos the blue gardenia dvds | videos al pacino | michelle pfeiffer yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider the godfather | the godfather part ii marlon brando | james caan | diane keaton | al pacino laurence olivier | clark gable | vivien leigh | leslie howard | alfred hitchcock | robert montgomery | grace kelly olivia de havilland | humphrey bogart | howard hawks | frank capra | charlie chaplin | lauren bacall | fritz lang jean harlow | greta garbo | ava gardner | audrey hepburn | edward g. robinson | john garfield erich von stroheim | wim wenders | madeleine carroll | marlene dietrich | rita hayworth Page created by: lenin@netcomuk.co.uk Changes last made: 2004