"When a murder mystery possessing as much sustained suspense, good acting and caustically brittle dialogue as Laura...comes along it might seem a little like carping to suggest that it could have been even better...you get the idea that this Laura must have been something truly wonderful. Now, at the risk of being unchivalrous, we venture to say that when the lady herself appears upon the screen via flashback of events leading up to the tragedy, she is a disappointment. For Gene Tierney simply doesn't measure up to the word-portrait of her character...Aside from that principal reservation, however, Laura is an intriguing melodrama...Clifton Webb...is sophistry personified. His incisive performance is, however, closely matched by that of Dana Andrews as the detective. Mr. Andrews is fast proving himself to be a solidly persuasive performer, a sort of younger-edition Spencer Tracy...Only Miss Tierney seems out of key. Perhaps if Laura Hunt had not had such a build-up, it would have been different. Anyway, the picture on the whole is close to being a top-drawer mystery." -- The New York Times

"LauraTime magazine

"Fascinating, witty, classic, with Webb a standout as cynical columnist Waldo Lydecker and Price in his finest nonhorror performance as suave Southern gigolo." -- Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide

"It is Clifton Webb's performance as Waldo Lydecker that stands at the heart of the film, with Vincent Price, as Laura's fiancé Shelby Carpenter, nibbling at the edges like an eager spaniel. Both actors, and Judith Anderson as a neurotic friend, create characters who have no reality except their own, which is good enough for them. The hero and heroine, on the other hand, are cardboard. Gene Tierney, as Laura, is gorgeous, has perfect features, looks great in the stills, but never seems emotionally involved; her work in Leave Her to Heaven (1945) is stronger, deeper, more convincing. Dana Andrews, as Detective Mark McPherson, stands straight, chain smokes, speaks in monotone...As actors, Tierney and Andrews basically play eyewitnesses to scene-stealing by Webb and Price." - Roger Ebert (2002)

"Strange by even film noir standards...Still, alternately sprightly and turgid, if abetted by its haunting, ubiquitous score, it's far from a great movie - most beloved by second generation surrealists who appreciate it for its time-liquidating dream narrative of L'amour fou. See that movie if you can; for me Laura is a flavorsome but flawed anticipation of two far more delirious psychosexual cine-obsessions: Vertigo [1958] and Blue Velvet [1970]." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice (2011)

"The film's deceptively leisurely pace at the start, and its light, careless air, only heighten the suspense without the audience being conscious of the buildup. What they are aware of as they follow the story...is the skill in the telling. Situations neatly dovetail and are always credible. Developments, surprising as they come, are logical. The dialog is honest, real and adult...Clifton Webb makes a debonair critic-columnist. Dana Andrews' intelligent, reticent performance as the lieutenant gives the lie to detectives as caricatures. Gene Tierney makes an appealing figure as the art executive and Vincent Price is convincing as a weak-willed ne'er-do-well." -- Variety

AWARDS AND HONORS

Laura was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography - Black and White, Best Supporting Actor (Clifton Webb), and Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black and White. It took home one of the gold statuettes for Best Cinematography.

In 1999 Laura was added to the National Film Registry, which is the United States National Film Preservation Board's list of notable films selected for preservation in the Library of Congress.

In 2001, the American Film Institute ranked Laura number 73 on its list of the 100 Most Thrilling American Films of all time "100 Years...100 Thrills."

In 2005, the American Film Institute ranked the haunting musical score by David Raksin from Laura number 7 on its list of the 25 Greatest Film Scores of All Time.

The American Film Institute ranked Laura number 4 in its list of the Top 10 Greatest Film Mysteries of All Time.

In 2013 Entertainment Weekly magazine singled out Gene Tierney's lack of an Oscar® nomination for playing the titular role in Laura as number 20 on its list of the 20 Biggest Oscar Snubs of All Time. "She underplays," said EW. "She seems to speak so softly at times that you have to lean in to catch her lines. It's subtle, career-defining work with as many shadings as the angles of her face."

Compiled by Andrea Passafiume