kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** On the morning of January 15, 1947 the dissected and mutilated body of 22 year old Elizabeth Short, Lucie Arnez,was found in pieces in Los Angeles's Limert Park. That soon causes a frenzy of newspaper and magazine headlines all over the country about the beautiful woman who suffered such a grizzly death. Dubbed the "Black Dahlia" by the press Short's background reviled that she was a young girl from New England looking to make it big in the movies who came up short or dead in doing it. Elizabeth didn't make it big when she was alive but became an Hollywood as well as major murder mystery after her death. It's the two LA policemen Sgt. Harry Hansen, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, & Sgt. Finis Brown, Ronny Cox, who were assigned to the case who came up with a number of suspects who all proved to be innocent. Both Hansen & Brown found it very difficult in finding Elizabeth's killer in that as many as 50 people, all BS artists, came forward claiming credit for it. The one person who in fact did murder Elizabeth by providing the LA police a number of items only she could have had on her at the time of her murder. As well as being able to answer correctly the three questions, that's still after all these years kept from the public, concerning her murder but was never seen or heard from again. That's after he got in touch with an LA newspaper editor by phone a week after, January 23, 1947, her body was found. The futile search for Elizabeth's murderer has gone on for almost 70 years with no results in sight. It's very possible that whoever murdered Elizabeth is dead himself but the fact that he got away with it makes her death more disturbing. He may well have murdered other victims as well and even if he were caught and punished for those other crimes her murder is still an open not closed case.It was sad that beside being brutally murdered and mutilated Elizabeth found the fame as well as movie stardom that she so desperately was seeking not in life but sadly in death. Dozens of books and magazine articles were written about her as well as a half or so dozen, including this made for TV movie, films which she never lived to see. And in being dubbed the "Black Dahlia" a name which she in fact gave herself made her over the years one of the biggest real life, not phony, legends in all of Hollywood & movie history.

HumanoidOfFlesh Elizabeth Short was a beautiful woman,who desperately wanted to become an actress.She went to Los Angeles and met her terrible destiny there.Her dismembered body was found discarded in two sections like a shattered doll on a vacant lot in LA on 15th January 1947.She had been tortured while being drained for her blood,before the killer hacked her torso in two.A beautiful woman in black killed by unknown slayer."Who Is the Black Dahlia?" is a terrific mystery thriller with excellent acting and some eerie overtones.Lucie Arnaz is perfect as a desperate Liz Short.Her dreams of becoming a film star never materialised.Her fate was more than horrible.The tragic story of Black Dahlia haunts me since my childhood.8 out of 10.

Lechuguilla "This is about a murder that really happened. Nobody made it up. As far as I know, there's never been another one before or since, quite like it --- ever!" Those ominous words, spoken in VO by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., open this 1975 docudrama that chronicles a real life murder mystery that has never been solved.Elizabeth Short moved to California in the 1940's, in search of show-biz stardom. The fact that this beautiful young woman wore mostly black clothes to match her black hair led others to nickname her "The Black Dahlia". On January 15, 1947, her mutilated and exsanguinated body was found in a vacant field in Los Angeles. The homicide immediately created national interest. And in the fifty-plus years since her death, this unsolved murder has evolved into a major legend.The screenplay for "Who Is The Black Dahlia?" is factual, well written, sensitive, and thankfully low-key. The story, told in flashbacks, is riveting. In one chilling scene, a man stands in a telephone booth and, with his back to the camera, conveys to the newsman on the other end of the line crucial details about the murder that only the killer could know. The man's face is never shown.Playing the role of Elizabeth Short, Lucie Arnaz gives a credible and sympathetic performance. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. convincingly plays Sgt. Harry Hansen, the frustrated, lead detective. The support cast is equally effective. The film's music is appropriately downbeat and depressing.Some viewers may find the plot to be slow. Certainly, the film's lack of in-your-face violence and gore will disappoint the tabloid crowd. But for thinking people, for viewers who can appreciate a thoughtful and insightful analysis of a horrible crime, I recommend this film most highly.In the film's final VO, Sgt. Hansen reflects: "We never found anybody who saw Elizabeth Short the last six days of her life ... In Los Angeles police files, The Black Dahlia murder case is still open."

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.