There was the blue dahlia on screen and the black dahlia in the brush of a remote field, fortunately discovered by a young boy and his grandfather while taking a stroll. Had they not come across that gruesome sight, there may not have been as many clues as they were able to muster to identify her let alone create a case to discover what happened period as it turns out, the mystery still remains just that, and over 70 years later, it is not just a mystery, but a reminder to young women of the dangers of trying to pursue a career in pictures.
If Peg Entwhistle and the Hollywoodland sign tragedy wasn't enough 15 years before this (one of the most notorious suicides of a young acting hopeful who didn't make it), the Elizabeth Short story is doubly tragic because of gruesome murder. It's very apparent that Short, always dressed in all black (which brought her legend through the nickname she got far too late), was a bit of an opportunist, but the film has Elizabeth (Lucie Arnaz) showing the viewer why. It was only out of desperation and the desperation to fool herself into thinking that she could make it, let alone others.
Maternal grandmother Mercedes McCambridge, estranged father Frank Maxwell, neighbor Donna Mills, employer John Fiedler and San Diego police matron Gloria DeHaven are just a few of the people she either lies to, manipulated or gets sage advice from, although Mills seems to have figured her out from the start.
Members of the police force (Efrem Zimbalist Jr., MacDonald Carey and Ronny Cox) and the medical profession (Tom Bosley and Henry Jones) work together to make pieces of the puzzle fit together and come up with the identity and a list of contacts, yet the mystery just becomes more perplexing. The more perplexing it gets, the more riveting it gets for the viewer even though they know that the mystery will remain open.
It's a dirty little story as her reputation as a dead woman makes her appear to be a wicked girl, but even those who claim that she was wicked and deserved what she got to admit that they really didn't know her completely. The 1940's Hollywood atmosphere is perfectly captured and as a true story, is more film more than the fictitious stories that were being filmed as part of that genre at the same time. While most TV movies I can watch just once and discard, this one is a keeper that I can easily return to along with the great 40's noir like "Double Indemnity" and "The Big Sleep".
If Peg Entwhistle and the Hollywoodland sign tragedy wasn't enough 15 years before this (one of the most notorious suicides of a young acting hopeful who didn't make it), the Elizabeth Short story is doubly tragic because of gruesome murder. It's very apparent that Short, always dressed in all black (which brought her legend through the nickname she got far too late), was a bit of an opportunist, but the film has Elizabeth (Lucie Arnaz) showing the viewer why. It was only out of desperation and the desperation to fool herself into thinking that she could make it, let alone others.
Maternal grandmother Mercedes McCambridge, estranged father Frank Maxwell, neighbor Donna Mills, employer John Fiedler and San Diego police matron Gloria DeHaven are just a few of the people she either lies to, manipulated or gets sage advice from, although Mills seems to have figured her out from the start.
Members of the police force (Efrem Zimbalist Jr., MacDonald Carey and Ronny Cox) and the medical profession (Tom Bosley and Henry Jones) work together to make pieces of the puzzle fit together and come up with the identity and a list of contacts, yet the mystery just becomes more perplexing. The more perplexing it gets, the more riveting it gets for the viewer even though they know that the mystery will remain open.
It's a dirty little story as her reputation as a dead woman makes her appear to be a wicked girl, but even those who claim that she was wicked and deserved what she got to admit that they really didn't know her completely. The 1940's Hollywood atmosphere is perfectly captured and as a true story, is more film more than the fictitious stories that were being filmed as part of that genre at the same time. While most TV movies I can watch just once and discard, this one is a keeper that I can easily return to along with the great 40's noir like "Double Indemnity" and "The Big Sleep".