The Blue Dahlia (1946)

In the shadowy echoes of war, ex-bomber pilot Johnny Morrison and his comrades, George and Buzz, return to the familiar streets of Hollywood, their home town. Buzz, with a war-etched metal plate in his head, has little patience for the frivolous "monkey music" of peacetime, painting his struggle to adjust. Their homecoming, however, is marred by a harsh revelation when Johnny discovers his wife Helen entwined in the oily, insincere charm of nightclub owner Eddie Harwood. Heartbroken and disillusioned, Johnny's life shatters as Helen confesses that her reckless drunkenness caused the death of their son. Swallowed by his rage, he contemplates ending her life but ultimately decides she's not worth the bullet. Leaving his pistol behind, he disappears into the labyrinth of the night, a decision that haunts him when Helen is found murdered, and his discarded gun becomes the instrument of her death. As the prime suspect in a murder he didn't commit, Johnny is caught in a whirlwind of deception, dodging the relentless pursuit of the law. His only ally in this desperate quest for truth is the enigmatic Joyce, a blonde siren with her own tangled ties to Eddie Harwood, as his estranged wife. In the glitzy yet treacherous world of the Blue Dahlia nightclub, Johnny must navigate a maze of secrets, betrayal, and danger to uncover the true killer and reclaim his life.

The Blue Dahlia is a crime movie featuring Alan Ladd.

The Blue Dahlia is currently streaming on TCM.

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