Laura is a 1944 American film noir produced and
directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton
Webb along with Vincent Price and Judith Anderson. The screenplay by Jay
Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel of
the same title by Vera Caspary.
Once principal photography was completed, Preminger
hired David Raksin to score the film. The director wanted to use
"Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington for the main theme, but Raksin
objected to the choice. Alfred Newman, music director for Fox, convinced
Preminger to give Raksin a weekend to compose an original tune. Inspired by a
Dear John letter he had once received from a girlfriend, Raksin wrote the
haunting theme for which Johnny Mercer later wrote lyrics. It eventually became
a jazz standard recorded by more than four hundred artists, including Stan
Kenton, Dick Haymes, Woody Herman, Nat King Cole, The Four Freshmen, Charlie
Parker, and Frank Sinatra.
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