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The Blue Gardenia ()

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A telephone operator ends up drunk and at the mercy of a cad in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with a hangover and the terrible fear she may be a murderess.
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Photos and Videos

29 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Norah Larkin
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Casey Mayo
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Crystal Carpenter
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Harry Prebble
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Sally Ellis
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Al
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Police Capt. Sam Haynes
Ruth Storey ...
Rose Miller
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Homer
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Nat 'King' Cole
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Switchboard Monitor (uncredited)
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Policeman (uncredited)
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Music Shop Clerk (uncredited)
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Miss Stanley (uncredited)
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Policewoman (uncredited)
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News Stand Dealer (uncredited)
Papa John Creach ...
Man playing violin (uncredited)
Mike Donovan ...
Fingerprint Officer (uncredited)
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Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Finn ...
Photographer (uncredited)
Elizabeth Flournoy ...
Assistant Switchboard Monitor (uncredited)
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Woman At Bar (uncredited)
Alex Gottlieb ...
Man (uncredited)
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Patrolman Hopper (uncredited)
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Nightclub Patron at Blue Gardenia (uncredited)
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Disturbed Woman with Big Feet (uncredited)
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Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
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Detective (uncredited)
Frank Kreig ...
Drunken Reporter (uncredited)
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Bill (uncredited)
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Waiter (uncredited)
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May - the Flower Woman (uncredited)
Peggy McKim ...
Sneezing Girl (uncredited)
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Passerby (uncredited)
Lee Phelps ...
Information Desk Guard (uncredited)
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Lt. George Foster (uncredited) (voice)
Joey Ray ...
Prebble's Assistant (uncredited)
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'Chronicle' Managing Editor (uncredited)
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Police Recorder (uncredited)
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Cleaning Woman (uncredited)
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Doctor (uncredited)
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Photographer (uncredited)
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Policewoman (uncredited)
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Woman at Bar (uncredited)
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Drunken Sailor (uncredited)
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Blue Gardenia Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by

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Fritz Lang

Written by

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Charles Hoffman ... (screenplay)
 
Vera Caspary ... (story)

Produced by

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Alex Gottlieb ... producer

Music by

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Raoul Kraushaar
Dave Kahn ... (uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Nicholas Musuraca ... director of photography

Editing by

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Edward Mann

Art Direction by

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Charles D. Hall ... (as Daniel Hall)

Makeup Department

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James R. Barker ... makeup artist (as James Barker)
Gene Hibbs ... makeup artist

Production Management

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Maurie M. Suess ... production supervisor (as Maurie Suess)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Emmett Emerson ... assistant director

Sound Department

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Ben Winkler ... sound

Special Effects by

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Willis Cook ... special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Izzy Berne ... wardrobe: men
Maria P. Donovan ... wardrobe: ladies (as Maria Donovan)
Joan Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Don McDougall ... script supervisor
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

In Los Angeles, on the day of her birthday, the telephone operator Norah Larkin decides to celebrate dining alone at home, with the picture of her beloved fiancé, a soldier overseas, and reading his last letter to her. In the letter, he tells her that he met an Army nurse stationed in Japan and plans to marry her. Norah, completely upset, accepts a blind date with the Don Juan and photographer of calendar girls, Harry Prebble. They go to the Blue Gardenia Club, and Norah drinks six strong cocktails, Polynesian Pearl Divers, and gets very, very drunk. Harry takes her to his apartment and tries to force Norah to have sex, and she grabs a fireplace poker to fend off Harry. On the next morning, she wakes up in her apartment with her two roommates, but she cannot remember what happened. When she reads the newspaper, she finds that Harry is dead and the police have her handkerchief, her high heels, and her blue gardenia, and they are trying to locate the woman who killed the famous wolf Harry. When she reads in the newspaper that the journalist Casey Mayo is offering his support, as well as his newspaper's, in exchange for an exclusive interview, Norah decides to call him. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Keywords
Taglines There was nothing lily-white about her ! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • La Femme au gardénia (France)
  • Gardenia - Eine Frau will vergessen (Germany)
  • Gardenia azul (Spain)
  • 蓝色栀子 (China, Mandarin title)
  • Gardenia blu (Italy)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 85 min
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Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia Director Fritz Lang and cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca developed a revolutionary dolly for the camera that allowed for sustained tracking shots and intimate close-ups while shooting this film. Lang preferred the practice of tracking into a close-up shot of an actor as opposed to cutting to a close-up in editing. He believed the tracking close-up captured more of the actors' intimacy and emotions. See more »
Goofs Perhaps unaware that his hands on the keyboard are visible in the mirror behind him, Nat 'King' Cole plays a strikingly different piano arrangement of "Blue Gardenia" than the one heard. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine (1981). See more »
Soundtracks Blue Gardenia See more »
Quotes Sally Ellis: I didn't like Prebble when he was alive. But now that he's been murdered, that always makes a man so romantic.
See more »
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