The Blue Gardenia

"Can I get high on one of these?" Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr in The Blue Gardenia (dir. Fritz Lang, 1953).

If this weren't a Fritz Lang film, I'd probably consider it a minor treasure. But knowing that this is the same director who gave us Fury, Scarlet Street, and The Big Heat (to say nothing of M, Dr. Mabuse, Metropolis, etc.), makes it a little disappointing. Still, I will watch even the worst midcentury noir with a big fat contented smile on my face, and this is by no means near the worst. Contains a nice little "music video" of Nat King Cole singing the title song, and a priceless moment when reporter Richard Conte's editor hands him a press pass for an assignment, saying "Front-row seat at the next H-bomb blast--on the house."