Sandy Hobbs

Having seen Laura several times over the years, before sitting down to assess which character is the Principal Protagonist, I saw the character played by Dana Andrews as the hero of the film and hence likely to be the PP. However, careful analysis of the film led me to believe that my preconception was misguided and that Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) actually has that function.

David Main makes a strong case for the Dana Andrew character as PP and I am now inclined to change my judgement. This does not mean that I agree with all that David Main says, however.

Poster:

Main argues that “the poster” for the film supports an argument that the relationship between Gene Tierney (Laura) and Dana Andrews (McPherson) is the central aspect of the film. There are two fundamental problems with this. First, it is difficult to justify calling it “the poster”. It is employed by IMDb on the film’s home page. It is also on the cover my DVD copy of the film. However, a search of images on Google led me to one poster in which Tierney, Andrews and Webb receive equal billing. Laurence Bassoff’s Crime Scenes (1997) contains several images from the pressbook for Laura, including posters of different sizes, all of which emphasize the roles of Tierney and Andrews. (See also Muller, 2002.) However, the pressbook itself seems to present the film as having three stars, i.e. including Clifton Webb (Bassoff, 1997, p. 82). This corresponds to the screen credits, in which all three names appear in the same frame and in the same font size.
I do not think it is inappropriate to take into consideration film posters. However, I suggest that their relationship to the film itself may be complex. It is not certain that every audience member will necessarily have seen a particular poster. On balance, I suggest that on-screen credits merit greater attention, even though, of course, it is possible that some audience members may chose to ignore them.

Narrative:

David Main’s most persuasive argument, in my opinion, concerns the narrative thrust of the film. He sums it up referring to two angles, detection (the Dana Andrews character is trying to find out who committed the murder) and the romantic (the Dana Andrews character falls in love with the person who he initially thought had been murdered). This is not idiosyncratic. The plot summary in Silver and Ward Encyclopedia has similar slant, as does the synopsis in IMDb.com. Bassoff (1997, p80) writes: “While Laura is certainly the role with which Gene Tierney is most closely associated, it’s really McPherson’s story…”
I think that in my earlier assessment of the film I failed to pay sufficient attention to audience empathy. There is little in the film that encourages the audience to identify with the Clifton Webb character. In contrast, we are frequently nudged into seeing things from the point of view of the Dana Andrews character. The most obvious example is the scene which David Main rightly cites as significant. DA, as McPherson, is alone in Laura’s apartment and looking at her portrait. The supposedly dead Laura appears. This is new information for both McPherson and the audience. This seems to me important in the same way as the presentation of information to protagonist and audience in the Substitute Personal Experience Narrative of some urban legends (as discussed by Main and Hobbs, 2007). Although Waldo and McPherson may have similar amounts of screen time, Waldo knew throughout that he was the murderer, McPherson and the audience are both seeking to discover the murderer.

General:

I am glad that David Main has persuaded me to revise my perception of the PP in Laura. However, I would make one reservation. It is not clear to me that every point he raises is relevant to the central issue of who the PP is. His argument might be more effective if trimmed of some points which are of doubtful relevance. Laird Cregar may well have been first choice to play Waldo, but would that have mattered (other than possibly making the audience more suspicious of him)? Vera Caspary’s novel may have had a Rashomon-style multiple perspective structure, but is that relevant to how audiences view the film?

New References

Bassoff, Lawrence (1997) Crime Scenes: Movie Poster Art of the Film Noir. Beverly Hills, CA: Lawrence Bassoff Collection.

Main, David and Hobbs, Sandy (2007) The Substitute Personal Experience Narrative in Contemporary Legend, Contemporary Legend new series, 10, 38-51.

Muller, Eddie (2002) The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press.