D.O.A. (1949)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

One of my all time favorites.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This one plays out like a science fiction mystery-thriller with it's "luminous poisoning" idea. Seems they could have found real poisoning idea for this film - like he's being poisoned slowly over time and goes to the doctor because he's getting sicker or something. This film's fictional poison and it's cure are a silly idea for a realistic crime-mystery. I can easily buy into this idea for sci-fi but not for a supposedly realistic crime-drama. I also think the idea of a fictional cure is worse than the idea of a fictitious poison - I guess they wanted an "all's well that ends well" finale that didn't pan out for our lead. The film has it's good points: it's interesting watching this poor guy uncover who poisoned him and why. But that's about it. The film is not as good as it's made out to be in my opinion but worth a watch.5/10

D.O.A is a 1950's film noir all about a man who has been poisoned and we see him then trying to find out who did it and why. It's a film that could almost feel like something from Hitchcock but no it comes from Rudolph Maté a most of the time cinematographer who had directed also though in the previous few years to this. Maté manages to create a story that is interesting but not really in my opinion one that is a classic, different yes but it feels the whole gimmick overrides this to make it look and feel like it should be a classic. Nevertheless this movie is not boring at all, with a decent running time as well it whizzes by quite nicely and the whole plot wraps itself up in just over 80 minutes.It stars Edmond O'Brien as Frank Bigelow the man who has been poisoned, he has no idea why because he has no obvious enemies and he doesn't even know where he was poisoned. Pamela Britton, William Ching and Luther Adler join O'Brien in the cast and most do a good job but I couldn't help feel the acting is just a little bit too shaky. I just felt at certain points when the script throws up some quite dramatic part, the actors kind of go a bit over the top with what they've got, no one fails in this film but it is only some scenes are ruined by none believable acting though.Rudolph Maté uses the script from Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene to make a very fast yet efficient film, it never gets too bogged down in its own story and although it can open up too many avenues of investigation, it still comes to a conclusion that makes sense. Maté works well with the cast at his disposal and also uses his skills with the camera to make this feel even faster then it really is, some scenes look great though even if the camera is moving about extremely fast. I also liked the bad people or person(could be either,no spoilers) in this, of course I will not claim who they are so I do not ruin for possible readers of this but although they are not superbly evil, they definitely have a ruthless streak waiting to come out.I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys well film noir, I still don't think many will find this near being a masterpiece although I am sure some will enjoy it massively more than I did. I must say though I did pretty much enjoy this myself though, I never quite felt wrapped up in this mystery, you know edge of your seat kind of stuff but I did at least want to see what happened next and who was responsible and that makes this a pretty decent film from my view. Whether Maté was a better director or cinematographer well that is for those who have seen all his work to decide, he certainly manages to tell a story here and make it come across as more than just your average tale of mystery or a whodunit, he makes it OK and that is all that is needed. And so overall as said I felt it to be pretty good but not completely well, good, a movie that maybe is not the absolute best but certainly one I would tell people to go and watch.

"Frank Bigelow" (Edmond O'Brien) is a single man who works in a small town in California as an auditor and also and serves as a notary public as well. Anyway, this film begins with him walking into a Los Angeles police station and telling the chief of police that he would like to report a murder. He then goes on to say that he is the victim. Obviously, wanting to hear more the chief asks him to sit down and once he does Frank begins to tell the story of how he was given a toxic dose of poison while at a nightclub in San Francisco which has eventually led him to where he is. Now as far as the overall movie is concerned I thought that it had all of the elements of a classic film noir from the 50's--good mystery and plenty of suspense along with some decent acting by both Edmond O'Brien and Pamela Britton (as Frank Bigelow's secretary "Paula Gibson"). In any case, all things considered I rate this film as above average and recommend it to anybody who might be interested in this particular genre.

The film noir genre threw out plenty of gems during its peak in the 1940s and early 1950s and this is one of them, a solid detective story with a great premise. In it, a man must discover the person responsible for his own murder, a plot point realised thanks to the presence of a slow-acting poison that gives him only a day or two to live.D.O.A. presents a bleak and icy narrative that has a strong degree of pessimism to it, thanks to that excellent premise. But there's more to it than that, as the actual detective story is compelling in itself. The protagonist finds himself drawn into a murky world of smuggling and corporate corruption, while at the same time coming into contact with some decidedly shady characters.The best thing about the film, for me, (aside from that premise) is the presence of Neville Brand's Chester, a character who could have been portrayed as an ordinary henchman but who, thanks to his psychotic nature, becomes the real highlight; Brand effortlessly exudes an air of pure evil in what was his first role. The rest is good too, of course, particularly Edmond O'Brien's tough-but-sympathetic lead, leaving this one of the highlights in a crowded genre thanks to that perfect 'ticking clock' premise.