CrimeThrillerDrama

The Black Dahlia

- Inspired by the most notorious unsolved murder in California history.

In 1940s Los Angeles, two former boxers-turned-cops must grapple with corruption, narcissism, stag films and family madness as they pursue the killer of an aspiring young actress.

Release Date : 2006-09-15

Language :EnglishGerman

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Linson EntertainmentUniversal PicturesSignature PicturesEquity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG IIIDavis FilmsMillennium MediaNu Image

Production Country : United States of AmericaFranceGermany

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Bucky Bleichert

Original Name : Josh Hartnett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kay Lake

Original Name : Scarlett Johansson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lee Blanchard

Original Name : Aaron Eckhart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Madeleine Linscott

Original Name : Hilary Swank

Gender : Female

Character Name : Elizabeth Short

Original Name : Mia Kirshner

Gender : Female

Character Name : Det. Russ Millard

Original Name : Mike Starr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ramona Linscott

Original Name : Fiona Shaw

Gender : Female

Character Name : Deputy DA Ellis Loew

Original Name : Patrick Fischler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dolph Bleichert

Original Name : James Otis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Emmett Linscott

Original Name : John Kavanagh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chief Ted Green

Original Name : Troy Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Morrie Friedman

Original Name : Anthony Russell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tomas Dos Santos

Original Name : Pepe Serna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Capt. John Tierney

Original Name : Angus MacInnes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martha Linscott

Original Name : Rachel Miner

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sgt. Bill Koenig

Original Name : Victor McGuire

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pete Lukins

Original Name : Gregg Henry

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lorna Mertz

Original Name : Jemima Rooper

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sheryl Saddon

Original Name : Rose McGowan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mp

Original Name : Dan Ponce

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cop

Original Name : Graham Norris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Shore Patrol

Original Name : Mike O'Connell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Desk Officer

Original Name : Michael P. Flannigan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baxter Fitch

Original Name : John Solari

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baxter Fitch's Girlfriend

Original Name : Stephanie L. Moore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gunman #1

Original Name : Noel Arthur

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gunman #2

Original Name : Todd Thomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective

Original Name : Steve Eastin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coroner

Original Name : Ian McNeice

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frolic Bartender

Original Name : Claudia Katz Minnick

Gender : Female

Character Name : Laverne Bartender

Original Name : Mia Frye

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bobby DeWitt

Original Name : Richard Brake

Gender : Male

Character Name : George Tilden

Original Name : William Finley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Madeleine's GI

Original Name : Joost Scholte

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dealer

Original Name : Terrell J. Ramsey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Friedman's Tough Guy #1

Original Name : Teo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Friedman's Tough Guy #2

Original Name : Kiril Efremov

Gender : Male

Character Name : Perp

Original Name : Petar Milchev

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lesbian Bar Dancer (uncredited)

Original Name : Désirée Cyganek

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elizabeth's Screen Test Director (voice) (uncredited)

Original Name : Brian De Palma

Gender : Male

Character Name : Elizabeth Short's Father (uncredited)

Original Name : Kevin Dunn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lesbian Bar Singer (uncredited)

Original Name : K.D. Lang

Gender : Female

Character Name : Man (uncredited)

Original Name : David Raibon

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

I have been pointing my gun at a lot of people this week. A box office failure and a neo-noir film that confounded critics and fans alike, The Black Dahlia now appears to be a pic that has had its strengths ignored. As the clamour to kick Brian De Palma continues unabated to this day, and the point blank refusal to accept that Josh Hartnett is a better actor than the likes of Pearl Harbor suggests, it's a film worthy of a revisit by genre/style fans alike. Plot revolves around the infamous murder of one Elizabeth Short in Hollywood, 1947. An aspiring actress who was found butchered and her murder to this day remains unsolved. De Palma and his writer Josh Friedman adapt from noir legend James Ellroy's novel of the same name, the crux of the story is about two hot-to-trot detectives who get involved in the Short case, and pretty soon there is a can of worms that has been shaken and opened, and there's dizzying worms everywhere - we think? De Palma loves noir, he has dabbled with it for a long time, not all of it works, but often he delivers for like minded cinephiles. With expectation levels high and following in the slipstream of the critical darling that was L.A. Confidential, Black Dahlia never really had a hope of achieving its lofty ambitions, yet it's a tremendously realised picture from a noir stand point. Whilst it showcases the technical wizardry of the director. The charges of it being convoluted are fair, it's a spinning narrative, stories within stories, characterisations obtuse, but so was The Big Sleep! I know, I know, this is not fit to lace the boots of Hawks' genius movie, but tricksy narratives have always been a fundamental part of many a film noir, so why the distaste for this one? Especially since the period design, costuming, styling, photography and characterisations are so rich in detail? For instance Hartnett's detective is gumshoe nirvana, while Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank fatale the femme with mischievous glee. But of course De Palma then spells it out for the finale, explaining things, a sort of macabre wrap up for those that needed it. Either way he was never going to win, it's too complex, it didn't need spelling out, while Mr. De Palma we have to tell you that your characters have been too cold, we don't feel them?! Huh? This is noirville, a place frequented by bad people, idiots and hapless dreamers, of dupes and double crossers. Hell there's even a suggestion of necrophiliac tendencies in this, and that's before we even delve into the machinations of the two femme fatales, a family that's lacking Adams Family Values and coppers of dubious motives. Yeah, it's cold, and yes De Palma is guilty of trying to please all parties by covering all bases, but it's far from being a stinker. Haters of De Palma, Hartnett and complex noir narratives can knock two points off of my own personal rating, otherwise it's 7/10.

GenerationofSwine

@GenerationofSwine

2023-01-13

OK, I'm in the minority here, but I liked it. I also like period pieces and I like this period, so...this might be a bit bias. But it has Scarlett Johansson in it and she is always watchable even when she is at her worst. And it has Josh Hartnett and I really do like him as well, and I like him in the sort of William Holden sort of he tends to do well when he does a voice over kind of way. Except he isn't dead in a swimming pool at the start of the film. However, Mia Kirshner is certainly dead at the start of the film and she's one of those actors that usually does a great job despite being constantly over-looked. What you have is a film VAGUELY about The Black Dahlia, VAGUELY about a couple of buddy cops with a secrete, VAGUELY about a love triangle, and VAGUELY about the period....and that is why it didn't sit well with so many people. It was Vaguely about a lot of things and never exactly about any of them. However, there is enough mystery to it to hold my attention, enough style to make it cool and fun, and good enough acting to make it believable. In other words, it still entertains despite the mess. Because of that, 10 out of 10, there is a lot wrong with the film, but ultimately it achieves its goal.