Gene Tierney in Laura 1944 - Film Summary and 1940s Fashion
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Gene Tierney in Laura, the film summary and her stunning 1940s fashion throughout the movie
This post is all about Gene Tierney in Laura (1944)
Directed by Otto Preminger and Rouben Mamoulian, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Vincent Price, Clifton Webb and Judith Anderson
Laura is a classic noir film about a young woman who is believed to be murdered and the detective that falls in love with her as he works on the case.
This movie has it all for film noir fans: witty dialogue, romance, flashbacks, plot twists, and some stunning 1940s fashion.
Laura was nominated for 5 academy awards and won for best cinematography in 1945.
1940s fashion in Laura
The 1940s fashion in Laura is important to the plot.
As Laura works her way up in her advertising career, her clothes evolve with her into the glamorous fashion that would be expected of a socialite.
The costume designer for Laura was Bonnie Cashin.
Many of the classic pieces she wears would still be stylish today.
And now, onto the fun part!
The film summary and Gene Tierney's stunning 1940s fashion throughout the film.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: The skirt suit
We first meet Gene Tierney's character Laura through a series of flashbacks, as her murder is being investigated.
Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) is a famous writer telling the detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) how he had known Laura.
When we first see Gene Tierney's character Laura, she's a young marketing professional, trying to get the famous Waldo Lydecker's (Clifton Webb) endorsement for a pen.
At first he is his typical grouchy self, and refuses, but he is drawn to Laura and later comes to her office and gives the endorsement.
From there, her career is launched.
Waldo takes the credit for giving her her start and providing guidance on her hair and fashion, but it's Laura's own smarts that let her quickly rise to the top.
Laura wears a houndstooth skirt suit and matching hat to get Waldo Lydecker's pen endorsement.
Above, Laura wears knitwear when Waldo Lydecker finally endorses the pen.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: Cardigan and pencil skirt
In a series of shots, we see Laura growing in her career.
Here, she pairs a fitted cardigan with a pencil skirt, make a simple and classy 1940s outfit.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: Evening gowns
As Waldo Lydecker continues to tell the detective the story, we see a number of evening gowns, worn by Laura for her after work social activities.
The first is a strapless gown that Waldo Lydecker helps her pick out, the second is a gorgeous grecian evening gown that she wears during an dinner engagement where she meets Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price.)
For more on 1940s dresses, you might like:
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: 1940s Peplum blouse
Laura and Shelby quickly become an item and are engaged a short time later.
Waldo is jealous and tries to break them up.
Laura finds out that Shelby is cheating on her, although she doesn't break up with him right away.
Instead she decides to go away to her home in the country to think about it, which is where she was when the murder took place.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: The trench-coat
In a twist to the movie (typical of film noirs) on a rainy day when detective Mark Mcpherson has fallen asleep at Laura's apartment, guess who walks in the door?
Laura, the dead woman herself, only she isn't so dead after all.
Now we're past the flashbacks, and get Gene Tierney in “real-time” for the rest of the movie.
Gene Tierney wears her trench coat over a skirt and button up blouse with low pumps.
(Incidentally it seems as though the costume designer loved trench coats as virtually every male character also wears a trench coat at least once in the movie.)
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: 1940s blouse and skirt
When Laura removes her trench coat we see that she's wearing a cute 1940s style checkered blouse and a pencil skirt.
Now the story begins to get interesting!
If Laura wasn't killed after all, that means she could either still be in danger, or become a murder suspect herself.
She tells detective Mcpherson (Dana Andrews) she was in her home in the country for the last few days, her radio was broken, so she has no knowledge of the murder that took place in her apartment.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: 1940s pants and blouse
The next day the detective drops by for breakfast.
It's not only a social call, he wants to test the reaction of Laura's maid, Bessy, on seeing her alive.
It turns out the woman killed in Laura’s apartment and who was mistaken for Laura, was another woman, a model wearing Laura’s bathrobe.
Gene Tierney is wearing 1940s style pants, high-waisted and wide leg.
She pairs the pants with a tie-front top and has her hair in an updo.
This is her "casual" look. Lol.
If you love 1940s pants outfits, you might also like:
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: 1940s casual dress
Gene Tierney wears a casual 1940s dress when they figure out that Waldo Lydecker is the killer.
He had hidden a gun in a clock he gave Laura, and rang the doorbell, shooting at the woman who answered, only he got the woman that Laura’s fiance Shelby was having an affair with instead.
For some reason, the detective leaves her alone after they find out that Waldo Lydecker already killed once and she might be in danger.
This dress silhouette Laura is wearing was very common in the 1940s, with the fitted waist and straight skirt.
1940s house dresses had a similar silhouette, although they usually had a row of buttons down the front.
Gene Tierney fashion in Laura: 1940s robe and negligee
As Laura gets ready for bed, she turns on the radio to listen to Waldo Lydecker's program.
She also sits down at her vanity and starts pinning up her hair (hello, 1940s pincurls! Those gorgeous waves don't just happen on their own.)
Waldo Lydecker returns and pulls the murder weapon out of the clock.
If he can't have her, he doesn't want anyone else to have her.
And now, although she has broken up with Shelby, Waldo can see that she has fallen for detective Mark McPherson.
In the nick of time, the Police come back in and save Laura before she really does become a murder victim.
This post was all about Gene Tierney in Laura and her 1940s fashion in the movie.
Have you seen Laura?
What did you think of the movie?
Originally published Jun 2020, updated Apr 2024
