After a night out he feels unwell and goes to a doctor, who explains he's been poisoned and only has a few days to live. Reeling with shock, Bigelow desperately tries to uncover who is responsible and why before his number is up.
D.O.A. has a killer opening - a guy walks into a police station to report a murder where he's the victim. The subsequent flashback structure is then doubly intriguing in that we know he's gonna get it and we share all his puzzlement over the details. The story, by writing partners Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, exploits Frank's predicament to the hilt, throwing him into a dizzying conspiracy of theft, double-cross and infidelity with which he has only the most marginal connection. I love the way almost all the women in this picture seem to be cheating; the hoofer of a wife with Frank, the gossipy secretary with Stanley the brother, the exotic model with the victim, and that old stalwart, the grieving widow with her husband's killer. The only femme who isn't fatale is Frank's secretary Paula, although she's possibly the most needy female since Salome. Maté, a talented cameraman turned director (he shot Foreign Correspondent and Gilda and directed When Worlds Collide) makes the film's low-budget threadbare quality stylish, and the look clearly influenced Kubrick's early work. It does have some liabilities - once the story gets going it pops, but the first couple of reels are a bit turgid and aren't helped by some dated Beat Culture trappings and Dimitri Tiomkin's deafening score. Also, leads O'Brien and Britton are both a little pedestrian; they have some style but they're not remotely real people and the tale depends on us believing in them. The best performance for me is the completely over-the-top one by Brand as Chester the scary henchman - if you're not familiar with him, check out his heavies in movies like Riot In Cell Block 11 and Birdman Of Alcatraz - along with Richard Widmark and Timothy Carey he was arguably the craziest villain of his day. Note the use of the iconic Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles, where Halliday's office is located - it's also the setting for Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer's memorable duel in Blade Runner, and features in several other movies. This is classic film noir territory, and a must for all fans of the genre. Remade in 1988 with Dennis Quaid in the lead.
D.O.A. has a killer opening - a guy walks into a police station to report a murder where he's the victim. The subsequent flashback structure is then doubly intriguing in that we know he's gonna get it and we share all his puzzlement over the details. The story, by writing partners Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, exploits Frank's predicament to the hilt, throwing him into a dizzying conspiracy of theft, double-cross and infidelity with which he has only the most marginal connection. I love the way almost all the women in this picture seem to be cheating; the hoofer of a wife with Frank, the gossipy secretary with Stanley the brother, the exotic model with the victim, and that old stalwart, the grieving widow with her husband's killer. The only femme who isn't fatale is Frank's secretary Paula, although she's possibly the most needy female since Salome. Maté, a talented cameraman turned director (he shot Foreign Correspondent and Gilda and directed When Worlds Collide) makes the film's low-budget threadbare quality stylish, and the look clearly influenced Kubrick's early work. It does have some liabilities - once the story gets going it pops, but the first couple of reels are a bit turgid and aren't helped by some dated Beat Culture trappings and Dimitri Tiomkin's deafening score. Also, leads O'Brien and Britton are both a little pedestrian; they have some style but they're not remotely real people and the tale depends on us believing in them. The best performance for me is the completely over-the-top one by Brand as Chester the scary henchman - if you're not familiar with him, check out his heavies in movies like Riot In Cell Block 11 and Birdman Of Alcatraz - along with Richard Widmark and Timothy Carey he was arguably the craziest villain of his day. Note the use of the iconic Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles, where Halliday's office is located - it's also the setting for Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer's memorable duel in Blade Runner, and features in several other movies. This is classic film noir territory, and a must for all fans of the genre. Remade in 1988 with Dennis Quaid in the lead.