D.O.A. (1950)
D.O.A. (1950), directed by Rudolph Maté.
An accountant out of town for a little fun is dosed with "luminous toxin", a poison without an antidote. He has only a couple of days to find his killer, the last thing he's going to do. And, maybe realize the clinging always-complaining secretary back home was not a bad deal.
This always appears on the "Best Film Noir" lists. Intriguing premise, a good amount of action, tragic emotional drive toward the end, the right lighting, and real locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
After the flashback opening frame, not much happens in the first 20 minutes. His unhappy romance with the secretary at home is weak. When looking for action in the big city the soundtrack has a goofy wolf-whistle when he sees a pretty woman. I don't remember another film doing that, which is a good thing.
Of course his natural human horniness makes him just a little guilty. And: do threats matter to a dying man? Maybe. Instinct is hard to overcome.
The climactic shootout is in the film-famous Bradbury Building in LA, also seen in:
The Outer Limits (1963) Demon with a Glass Hand
The prolific and always reliable Edmond O'Brien gets the lead. Well remembered for:
Neville Brand has juicy part as a psycho's psycho.
Photographed by Ernest Laszlo:
Score by Dimitri Tiomkin:
The film is in the public domain. I see no sign of a Blu-ray or even a restoration effort. Several sketchy-looking DVDs.
According to DVDBeaver and DVDCompare Image and Roan are the best of the DVDs. My thumbnails are from the Image.
