D.O.A.

1949 "A Picture As Excitingly Different As Its Title!"
7.2| 1h23m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 23 December 1949 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.

Genre

Drama, Crime, Mystery

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D.O.A. (1949) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Rudolph Maté

Production Companies

United Artists

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D.O.A. Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
JohnHowardReid Copyright 21 April 1950 (in notice: 1949) by Cardinal Pictures Inc. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Criterion: 30 April 1950. U.S. release: 21 April 1950. U.K. release (on the lower half of a double bill): 29 May 1950. Australian release: 4 August 1950. 7,518 feet. 83 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A vacationing accountant spends his remaining days searching for his murderer after poison is slipped into his drink at a San Francisco nightclub. NOTES: Re-made in 1969 as Color Me Dead, and then re-made again (this time under its original title) in 1988.COMMENT: Edge-of-the-seat excitement delivered by a novel, intriguing and for the most part ultra-taut (the final scene between O'Brien and Britton would have been twice as effective at half the length) script; imaginative shooting in the actual streets, buildings (including the famous Bradbury Building) and transport of Los Angeles and San Francisco; driving direction by Rudolph Mate - the best of his career - as he stunningly forces the camera to track madly along the roadways; and vividly realistic acting by the leads and the entire cast down to the smallest bit player. Superlatively moody cinematography should be added to the ledger. And I liked Tiomkin's score, though many critics complained it was too Mickey Mouse and/or intrusive. I thought it perfect. An emotional romantic theme coupled with suitable mood "pointers" puts the drama across with a vitality that matches the powerful camerawork.OTHER VIEWS: All producer Harry M. Popkin's films are must viewing for connoisseurs. This one is no exception, despite the typically very slow beginning. Edmond O'Brien is not quite able to manage all the dialogue, while Pamela Britton is a bit of a drawback as his lady love, but Ernest Laszlo's camera, brilliantly filming on location in San Francisco is actual buses and sub-ways and warehouses and jazz dives, along with Rudolph Maté's surprisingly vigorous direction (I would certainly rank this as his most powerful film) of Rouse and Greene's riveting script, all adds up to superlatively thrilling entertainment. - JHR writing as Charles Freeman.
Bill Slocum A fine film noir where a thin plot is overridden by an engagingly gloomy mood and a fantastic set-up, "D. O. A." is defined by its relentless pace. It's worth seeing for the editing alone.Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) is a small-town accountant who finds himself with an upset stomach while vacationing in San Francisco. To his shock, he is told he has ingested a luminous poison which attacks the vital organs and has already been absorbed into his system. Realizing he is a dead man walking, Bigelow sets out to solve his own murder before time runs out:"Sure, I can stand here and talk to you. I can breathe and I can move. But I'm not alive. Because I did take that poison, and nothing can save me.""D. O. A" has a famous opening sequence, watching Bigelow from over his shoulder entering a police station to report his pending homicide. What gets me is how the cool detective behind the desk registers no major surprise at the stranger telling him he's been murdered. He just looks at a sheet of paper he happens to have."Your name Bigelow?" the detective finally asks. "Frank Bigelow?" Talk about existential dread; it's right out of Kafka!The film does have a problem, which is the next 20 minutes. Establishing Bigelow's normal life before his poisoning is an exercise in tedium. Many reviewers here point to the annoying wolf whistles which are scored whenever Bigelow crosses path with a young woman. More annoying for me was Bigelow's girlfriend, Paula (Pamela Britton), who smothers her man in every scene while reciting unbelievably trite dialogue in polished rapid-fire. Bigelow's annoyance in turn is understandable, but hardly sells their relationship.Both Frank and Paula dodged a bullet when he ingested poison; marriage would have been something out of a Sam Kinison routine.There are a lot of holes in the actual crime, like how the murderer was able to catch Bigelow at a jazz bar or how he's able to jump to the right conclusions from a wayward glance. But the film sells its many MacGuffins with style, playing a nifty shell game with the audience where you never know what's happening next.Neville Brand is the cast's supporting standout, a psychopath named Chester who grins ferociously at the pain he's about to inflict between punches: "Soft in the belly…Can't take it. See, whadda tell yuh!" Future femme fatale Beverly Garland puts in her first screen appearance, going by her then-married name of Campbell, but her dark hair and there being two other deadlier femme fatales in this film may cause you to miss her.Director Rudolph Maté made his name as a cinematographer; it's easy to appreciate "D. O. A.'s" distinct visual texture and style even if it was made on a small budget. A smart, clever wind-up sends you home with no false notes of optimism, somehow satisfied that not every good ending has to be a happy one.
arfdawg-1 The Plot: Small-town accountant Frank Bigelow goes to San Francisco for a week's fun prior to settling down with fiancée Paula. After a night on the town, he wakes up with more than just a hangover; doctors tell him he's been given a "luminous toxin" with no antidote and has, at most, a week to live! Not knowing who did it or why, Bigelow embarks on a frantic odyssey to find his own murderer.They don't make film noir like this no more. And we are lesser for it.From the very first frame this movie will capture your attention. My only complaint is that the print I saw on DVD was atrocious. The sound was fluttering and low. Still, the specialness of this movie was apparent through the haze.It's really a gem. Someone should restore it.
LeonLouisRicci Quintessential Film-Noir where Elements of the Genre are so Stunning that the Film can be Forgiven for some rather Awkward Moments. The continuous Over-the-Top and Cringe Inducing Musical Score from Dimitri Tiomkin Betray the Surreal and Expressionistic aspects of the Movie with Silly (wolf whistles) and Sappy (violining the love moments), is the Film's Biggest Misstep.All of the Scenes with Edmond O'Brien's Girlfriend, either on the Phone, the Beginning, or in The End, are Intrusive at Best and Intolerable at Worst.These Things would Sink a Lesser Movie and Irritate so much that it Couldn't Recover. But this one is so Full of Great Stuff that Overall these remain Inconsequential. The Great Opening Premise, the Scene at the Jive Bar, on the Street Locations, the Blistering Pace, Neville Brand's Sadistic Psycho, Tough Talk, and a rather Intricate Interwoven Plot are some of the Things that make this one of the Great B-Movies and an Essential Entry in the Noir Canon.Symbolism (the "Life" magazines), Post Nuclear Paranoia (radiation poisoning), Odd Camera Work, and a Conflicted Every-Man literally Doomed by Circumstance ("All I did was Notarize a Bill of Sale."), are some others. Essential Viewing for all Fans of Film-Noir. But Please Seek Out the now Available Good Prints and Avoid the Myriad of Awful Public Domain Copies still Lurking About.