The portrait of Laura Hunt hangs on the wall of her apartment. Detective Mark McPherson finds himself slowly becoming infatuated with the girl behind the portrait as he tries to piece together her murder. With a narrow list of suspects and a voice that returns from beyond the grave, finding the presumed killer may be harder than he expected. Here are a few movie mistakes to look for while watching the 1944 film, “Laura”.

· Near the beginning of the movie, after Waldo Lydecker and Detective Mark McPherson meet, the two men visit Ann Treadwell to question her about Laura. In the wider view, McPherson is sitting arm of the chair, holding his notebook. He asks about Bessie and both arms are by his side with his hands in front of him, holding the notepad. The scene cuts to a close-up and his left elbow is propped on his left leg and he’s holding the notepad differently.

· McPherson and Lydecker go to a local restaurant for dinner. In the first view of the restaurant, the camera pans up, over the musicians and other restaurant patrons. Lydecker can be seen in the background, toward the back window sitting at the table. The chair across from him is empty and he’s at the table alone. It cuts to a close-up as Lydecker starts to pour the wine and says, “this was our table”, and McPherson is sitting in the chair across from him.

· McPherson is about to arrest Laura at the party. Bessie runs over and in the wider view, when she pleads, “please”, Laura’s hands are on her shoulders. They’re still there when Laura says, “thank you, Bessie”, and Bessie turns to face her. It cuts to a close-up and Laura’s right hand is holding Bessie’s left one.

“Laura” (1944) stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson and Dorothy Adams. It runs 98 minutes and has a rating certification of “Passed”.


Get your copy of “Laura” here: