''D.O.A.'' is a 1950 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

directed by Rudolph Maté, starring

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

and

Pamela Britton Pamela Britton (born Armilda Jane Owens, March 19, 1923 – June 17, 1974) was an American actress, best known for appearing as Lorelei Brown in the television series '' My Favorite Martian'' (1963–1966) and for her female lead in the film n ...

. It is considered a classic of the

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

. A fatally poisoned man tries to find out who has poisoned him and why. It was the film debuts of

Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...

(as Beverly Campbell) and

Laurette Luez Laurette Luez (born Loretta Mary Luiz; August 19, 1928 – September 12, 1999) was an American supporting actress and successful commercial model who appeared in films and on television during a 20-year career. She was a widely known Hollywood ce ...

. Leo C. Popkin produced ''D.O.A.'' for his short-lived Cardinal Pictures. Due to a filing error, the copyright to the film was not renewed on time, causing it to fall into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

: it was subsequently remade as ''

Color Me Dead ''Color Me Dead'' is a 1969 Australian thriller directed by Eddie Davis, starring American actors Tom Tryon, Carolyn Jones and Rick Jason. It is a remake of the 1950 film '' D.O.A.''. Due to the failure on renewing copyright of ''D.O.A.'', the ...

'' (1969), ''D.O.A.'' (1988), and ''Dead On Arrival'' (2017).

Plot

An opening sequence features Frank Bigelow walking through the long hallway of a police station to report his own murder. From here to the end, the story is told in flashback. Bigelow is a hard-driving accountant and notary public in

Banning, California Banning is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 29,505 as of the 2020 census, down from 29,603 at the 2010 census. It is situated in the San Gorgonio Pass, also known as ''Banning Pass''. It is named for Ph ...

, who decides to escape for a fun vacation in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. At the hotel, he is invited to join a group of conventioneers for a night out. He ends up at a nightclub, where unnoticed, a stranger swaps his drink for another one. The next morning, he feels extremely ill. Doctors determine that he swallowed a poison, "luminous toxin", for which no antidote is known. With only days to live, Bigelow embarks on a desperate search to discover the motive for his poisoning. A call to his secretary Paula provides a possible lead; a Eugene Philips has been urgently trying to contact him. Bigelow travels to Philips' import-export company, meeting Halliday, the company comptroller, who says that Philips has committed suicide. Bigelow locates Eugene Philips' widow and brother Stanley Philips. Months earlier, Eugene had purchased

iridium Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density o ...

, a "luminous toxin", which had been stolen by a criminal named Majak. The seller was a George Reynolds (or Raymond Rakubian), Majak's nephew. As a result of this illegal sale/purchase transaction, Eugene Philips faced criminal charges. The bill of sale would have cleared Eugene, but has gone missing, and that document had been notarized by Bigelow himself. He learns that Reynolds/Rakubian is now dead. He realizes that someone seems intent on eliminating all evidence of this sale. That someone turns out, in a plot twist, to be Halliday. Stanley Phillips, who has now been poisoned, reveals that Eugene discovered that his wife and Halliday were having an affair. Mrs. Philips affirms that during a confrontation that turned violent, Halliday threw Eugene over a balcony. To make it look like suicide, the pair insisted that Eugene had killed himself over his legal troubles. When they discovered that exonerating evidence of his innocence existed in the notarized iridium bill of sale, Halliday began disposing of anyone knowing about the document, and that led to Bigelow. In the final scene, Bigelow tracks Halliday to the Philips company and finds him wearing the same distinctive coat and scarf as the man who switched the drinks. Halliday draws a gun and fires first, but Bigelow fatally shoots him. Bigelow finishes telling his story and dies. The police detective taking down the report instructs that his file be marked "dead on arrival".

Cast

Additional cast members: * Jess Kirkpatrick as Sam *

Cay Forrester Cay Forrester (born Mila Patricia Crosby; December 26, 1921 – June 18, 2005) was an American film and television actress. She appeared predominantly in minor films with some exceptions, such as ''Advise and Consent'' and the Susan Haywa ...

as Sue *

Frank Jaquet Frank Garnier Jaquet (March 16, 1885 – May 11, 1958) was an American actor known for playing supporting roles with his career extended from 1934 to the mid-1950s. Biography In 1925, Jaquet was part of the Summer stock cast at the Elitch ...

as Dr. Matson *

Lawrence Dobkin Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrate ...

as Dr. Schaefer *

Frank Gerstle Francis M. Gerstle (September 27, 1915 – February 23, 1970) was an American character actor who appeared in supporting roles in numerous films, radio programs and TV shows following World War II. Biography Gerstle's notable appearances inc ...

as Dr. MacDonald * Carol Hughes as Kitty *

Frank Cady Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s – '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and ...

as Eddie the bartender in Banning (uncredited) * Michael Ross as Dave the bartender in San Francisco * Donna Sanborn as the nurse

Reception

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 88% based on reviews from 25 critics. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', in its May 1950 review, described it as a "fairly obvious and plodding recital, involving crime, passion, stolen iridium, gangland beatings and one man's innocent bewilderment upon being caught up in a web of circumstance that marks him for death". O'Brien's performance had a "good deal of drive", while Britton adds a "pleasant touch of blonde attractiveness". In 1981

Foster Hirsch Foster Hirsch is the author of sixteen books on subjects related to theatre and movies. A native of California, Hirsch received his B.A. from Stanford University, and holds M.F.A, M.A. and PhD degrees from Columbia University. Hirsch joined the E ...

carried on a trend of more positive reviews, calling Bigelow's search for his own killer ''noir'' irony at its blackest. He wrote, "One of the film's many ironies is that his last desperate search involves him in his life more forcefully than he has ever been before... Tracking down his killer just before he dies — discovering the reason for his death — turns out to be the triumph of his life." Critic A. K. Rode notes Rudolph Maté's technical background, writing:

D.O.A. reflects the photographic roots of director Rudolph Maté. He compiled an impressive resume as a cinematographer in Hollywood from 1935 (''Dante's Inferno'', ''Stella Dallas'', ''The Adventures of Marco Polo'', ''Foreign Correspondent'', ''Pride of the Yankees'', and ''Gilda'', among others) until turning to directing in 1947. The lighting, locations, and atmosphere of brooding darkness were captured expertly by Mate and director of photography Ernest Lazlo.

David Wood of the BBC described the opening as "perhaps one of cinema's most innovative opening sequences."

Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952 in New York) is a film critic and columnist who has written for the ''Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', ''The San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (whe ...

, in a ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

'' web review (2000) of a DVD release of the film, characterized it as a "high-concept movie before its time." ''

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally calle ...

'' (2008) gave ''D.O.A.'' 3½ stars (out of 4).

Accolades

In 2004, ''D.O.A.'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film was nominated for two

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

lists: * 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills * 2008:

AFI's 10 Top 10 ''AFI's 10 Top 10'' honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various act ...

mystery

Production

The shot of Edmond O'Brien running down Market Street (between 4th and 6th Streets) in

was a "stolen shot," taken without city permits, with some pedestrians visibly confused as O'Brien bumps into them. ''D.O.A.'' producer Harry Popkin owned the

Million Dollar Theater The Million Dollar Theatre at 307 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in 1917 with the premiere of William S. Hart's '' The Silent Man''. It's the northernmost of the collect ...

at the southwest corner of Broadway and Third Street in downtown Los Angeles, directly across the street from the

Bradbury Building The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and t ...

at 304 South Broadway, where O'Brien's character confronted his murderer. Director Rudolph Maté liberally used Broadway and the Bradbury Building during location shooting and included the Million Dollar Theater's blazing marquee in the background. The theater would later serve the same function when

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

filmed ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's ...

'' at the Bradbury Building. After "The End" and before the listing of the cast, a credit states the medical aspects of this film are based on scientific fact, and that "luminous toxin is a descriptive term for an actual poison." The bop jazz band playing at the Fisherman's Club while O'Brien's glass is being spiked was filmed on a Los Angeles soundstage after principal photography was completed. According to

Jim Dawson Jim Dawson (born September 10, 1944) is a Hollywood, California-based author who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock and roll) and the history of flatulence. A self-proclaimed "fartologist", he has written three books ...

in his 1995 book ''Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely and the Rise of the Honking Tenor Sax'', the sweating tenor saxophone player was James Streeter, also known as James Von Streeter. Other band members were

Shifty Henry John Willie "Shifty" Henry (4 October 1921 – 30 November 1958) was an American musician, most noted as a double bass and bass guitar player, and blues songwriter. He also played flute, violin, viola, saxophone, and oboe and was in demand as a se ...

(bass),

Al "Cake" Wichard Al "Cake" Wichard (born Albert C. Wichard, August 15, 1918 or 1919 — November 14, 1959) was an American blues and jazz drummer, especially active as a recording artist in the late 1940s. Biography He was born in Morrilton, Arkansas, in eith ...

(drums), Ray LaRue (piano), and

Teddy Buckner Teddy Buckner (July 16, 1909 in Sherman, Texas – September 22, 1994 in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz trumpeter associated with Dixieland music. Early in his career Buckner played with Sonny Clay. He worked with Buck Clayton ...

(trumpet). However, rather than use the live performance, the music director went back and rerecorded the soundtrack with a big band, not a quintet as seen in the film, led by saxophonist

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, he moved to L ...

. Film score was composed by

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York Ci ...

Remakes and influence

The March 16, 1951, radio episode of ''

The Adventures of Sam Spade ''The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective'' was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for '' The Maltese Falcon''. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episod ...

'' features a victim reporting his own murder at police headquarters. ''D.O.A.'' was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on the June 21, 1951, broadcast of ''

Screen Director's Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadcas ...

'', starring Edmond O'Brien in his original role. The film has been remade four times: * In Australia in 1969 as ''

'', directed by Eddie Davis. Because copyright had lapsed, ''Color Me Dead'' was basically an exact copy of ''D.O.A.'' * In 1988, a new version was released as ''

D.O.A. DOA may refer to: * Dead on arrival * Dead or Alive (disambiguation) Film * ''D.O.A.'' (1949 film), a ''film noir'' * ''D.O.A.'' (1988 film), a remake of the 1949 film * '' D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage'' (1980 film), a documentary on the gene ...

'', directed by

Annabel Jankel Annabel Jankel (born 1 June 1955), also known as AJ Jankel, is a British film and TV director who first came to prominence as a music video director and the co-creator of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom and as co-director of the film ...

and

Rocky Morton Rocky Morton (born 1955) is an English director. He is the co-creator of the TV series ''Max Headroom'' and co-director of the 1993 Hollywood Pictures film ''Super Mario Bros''. Various music videos by Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Gravity Kills, ...

, with

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

as the protagonist. * In 2006, a modernised action thriller version was released as '' Crank'' * In 2017, a new version was released as ''Dead On Arrival''. In 2011, the Overtime Theater staged a world-premiere musical based on the classic film noir. ''D.O.A. a Noir Musical'' was written and adapted by Jon Gillespie and Matthew Byron Cassi, directed by Cassi, with original jazz and blues music composed by Jaime Ramirez and lyrics by Ramirez and Gillespie. The new musical played to sold-out audiences during its five-week run, and received two ATAC Globe Awards in 2012 for "Best Adapted Script" and "Best Original Score."

References

; Bibliography *''D.O.A.'' by Daniel Eagan in ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry'', A&C Black, 2010 , pages 434-435

External links

* * *
San Francisco in Cinema: ''D.O.A.''
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:D.O.A. (1950 film) 1949 films 1940s crime drama films 1940s psychological thriller films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films directed by Rudolph Maté Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Palm Springs, California Films set in San Francisco Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area United Artists films United States National Film Registry films Films adapted into radio programs Poisoning in film Articles containing video clips 1940s crime thriller films American crime drama films 1949 drama films 1950s English-language films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films 1950s American films