Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Michael_Elliott Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Sgt. Harry Hansen (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) and Sgt. Finis Brown (Ronny Cox) are called to an empty lot and when they arrive they locate a body that has been brutally mutilated and cut in half. The two start investigating who the body belongs to and it eventually leads them to a mysterious woman named Elizabeth Smart (Lucie Arnaz).WHO IS THE BLACK DAHLIA? is an extremely entertaining and very interesting made-for-TV movie that manages to play like a wonderful film noir of the 50s while at the same time capturing the spirit of a 70s TV movie. The mystery surrounding Elizabeth Smart's death has led to countless theories over the decades so being able to watch one of the theories from 1975 is interesting when viewed today. The film manages to be highly entertaining from start to finish and offers up two different sides of the story.The first side is that of the police. Through narration we hear from Hansen as he tries to solve the various mysterious surrounding the Smart character. The second portion of the film shows us various things about Smart from her deciding to leave her home in Maine, to getting kick out of her father's house as well as the various issues she had trying to break into show business. I'm not sure how accurate these personal stories can be but they're all told in an entertaining way. Of course, the mystery of who the killer is has yet to be solved but the film puts out there some interesting ideas.The performances are all extremely good with Zimbalist having no problem carrying the film. He certainly fits the film noir detective and manages to hold your attention throughout. Arnaz is also good in the role of Smart and I thought Tom Bosely, Cox, June Lockhart, Donna Mills and Brooke Adams were good. WHO KILLED THE BLACK DAHLIA? works just fine as a mystery and it certainly helps build the story behind the actual case.

ctomvelu1 Sober dramatization of the infamous murder case of a delusional young woman in post-WWII Lo Angeles. The so-called Black Dahlia was a girl from Maine who went to L.A. to be reunited with her father only to end up end up a homeless hustler who dreamed of stardom. Her cut-up body was found in a field, and to this day, no one has been convicted of her death. Lucie Arnaz plays the lost soul and Efrem Zimbalist is the detective trying to solve her murder. For what little money the filmmakers had to make this TV movie, they did a fine job. The irony of all this is, if the girl had not been brutally slaughtered, we would have never heard of her. Just another small-town kid with big dreams and not equipped to achieve them. She just floats along from day to day, dressed all in black and convincing others to take care of her. I've known a few like her in my time. We all have.

bigpurplebear-1 **Warning: Possible spoilers for anyone unfamiliar with the story!**The grisly murder of Elizabeth Short -- the "Black Dahlia" -- has fascinated crime-buffs (along with ghouls of various stripe) virtually nonstop since that January 1947 morning when her savaged body was discovered in a south-central L.A. vacant lot. Almost immediately, and almost without exception, this focus has been sensationalized and has tended to dehumanize Short to such an extent that it's all too easy to overlook the fact that she was a human being as opposed to merely a gaudily-nicknamed, conveniently placed puzzle.The great exception to this treatment is 1975's "Who Is The Black Dahlia?"The film tells two stories in parallel, and it does so very effectively. Alongside the police investigation into her murder, Beth Short's life is also examined in flashback as months and days unfold to lead her to her death. There's a sense of inevitability in the air that surrounds both stories; just as certain initial steps (or missteps) in the investigation seem to foredoom its chances of success, there is likewise an aura of "paths not taken" which seems to render the Black Dahlia's fate inescapable. As portrayed (hauntingly and convincingly) by Luci Arnaz, Short emerges as a vulnerable young woman who, for all her outward cynicism, is far too trusting. In the film's final glimpse of Beth, as you watch her walking away into infamy, you may well experience an urge to run after her, stop her, maybe buy her a cup of coffee, anything to forestall the inevitable . ..And that final glimpse leads to the "side mystery" I alluded to in the title line. Police reports filed during the initial investigation indicate that Short was last seen walking south from the Hotel Biltmore, and yet in the film -- for which retired LAPD Sgt. Harry Hansen provided copious notes from his days (and official files) on that investigation -- she's depicted as walking west along 7th Street from the Hotel Mayfair. Curious . ..Along with Arnaz (whose mother, Lucille Ball, was reportedly dead-set against her playing the role), the movie offers standout performances by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (as Hansen), Tom Bosley (as longtime, and well-known, police reporter Bevo Means) and a very well-designed sense of time and place to heighten the authenticity in a strong film.

ActorMan22 I too was frightened the first time I saw this TV movie. It tells the story of the short life, and gruesome, unsolved 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, whose nickname was the Black Dahlia, a type of flower. There is a certain creepiness that pervades this low-key period story, told in flashbacks of Short's brief Los Angeles existence before her slaughter. Efram Zimbalist, Jr., portrays the detective who becomes obsessed with the young, attractive woman's story. The period details feel right, for I am too young to have any first-hand experience of the time, and Lucie Arnaz's performance as the doomed title character adds emotional weight to what could have been an exploitive picture. This is another example of how superior, in general, '70's made-for-television movies were to future endeavors.