D.O.A. (1950) [aka Dead on Arrival]

Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder.
Homicide Captain: Sit down. Where was this murder committed?
Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night.
Homicide Captain: Who was murdered?
Frank Bigelow: I was.

Some movies start out slow with a gradual build up in suspense or story but there are some which throw you in the deep end right at the start.  D.O.A. is just one of those movies.  The quote above is in the first talking scene of the movie and from then Frank Bigalow (Edmond O’Brien) tells the story of his own murder.  It’s a start that reminds me very much of “Kiss Me Deadly”, another Film Noir from the 50’s which starts out in a dramatic sort of way.  Anyway, what follows is the story of how he was killed and who did it and why.  For a “B” movie with B actors and B budget, the film stands today as one of the better examples of film noir.

The movie starts out with a bang and ends just as abruptly as it started, but as he tells the story of his own murder to the police we see him as a normal everyday person at the office who is about to go on a holiday that will change his life forever.  He goes to a bar with some people he met at a hotel and ends up getting a drink and meeting up with a girl and poisoned all in one night.  He goes back to the hotel to sleep it off and the following day feels ill so he goes to the doctors where they give him the news everyone fears.  You’re going to die.  In shock and unbelief, he runs out of the office and down the street in a fantastically shot scene.  Why fantastic?  They film the actor running down a street full of people who have no idea a movie is being made and he is pushing his way through the crowd to get to a safe place where he can get a breather and think things through.  These shots are often the best cause you get real honest reactions that help set the scene.  Shame it can’t be done these days but I suppose if they tried some turkey would probably give the actor a darn good beating for bumping in to them.  Sad isn’t it.  Anyway, Frank continues the story of finding out who killed him and why.

As the film has fallen into “public domain” you can find it on youtube and also in the public domain archives and even buy cheap copies of the DVD on ebay.  In 2004 the movie was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in USA as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  Hopefully one day one of these boutique companies will restore the film and release a high quality DVD or Bluray cause it’s one of those classics that helped form and is a prime example of what we now call “film noir”.  

The acting is well done by the leads especially Edmond O’Brien who is quite convincing and the others do a fine job as well.  Some parts feel a bit messy and to be honest as there is a lot to take in you really need to watch it more than once to get a handle on who is who and how they tie in, which is either a sign of unclear screenwriting/directing or indications of a movie that will last time by surviving multiple viewings.  Seeing it is rated quite high in the ranks I suspect it’s one of those films that will remain with us for quite some time.

The DVD is an Australian release brought out by Flashback Entertainment and just has the movie only with chapter/scene selection as an extra ☺  The image quality varies quite a bit but it’s better than the offerings in youtube and up there with some of the better DVD’s available worldwide. There are scratches, and marks over the film at the start but it does get better at times with some sections really quite good.  I have certainly seen worse (hello “Cowra Breakout” miniseries).  The audio is ok, at times a little unclear but good considering it hasn’t been restored.  There is one better release by memory from USA but it’s also a lot more expensive, so at $5 shipped brand new from ebay, this was a downright bargain.  

The movie is certainly worth viewing even if just for interest sake, though if you’re a film noir fan like me it's in the Essential Film Noir list so it was a given to buy a copy.  Personally I really enjoyed the movie and I’m sure it will get repeated viewings though I’m still hoping that it will get a proper high quality release with a few extras (Masters of Cinema, Criterion and Arrow – are you listening???)

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