The Black Dahlia (2006) on Netflix
Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Lee Blanchard, former boxers, work as Los Angeles policemen. When Elizabeth Short's mutilated body turns up, Bucky's inquiries lead him to Madeleine Linscott.
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- IMDb5.6/1080,371 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes32%
Trailer
Plot summary
Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Lee Blanchard, both one-time boxers, work as policemen in Los Angeles. A boxing match between them promotes the department and wins both men promotion to homicide detectives. Bucky becomes close to Lee's girlfriend, Kay Lake. The mutilated corpse of Elizabeth Short, a young woman who wanted to act and had appeared in a pornographic film, is found; the press names her the Black Dahlia. Lee becomes obsessed with the case. Bucky's inquiries lead him to Madeleine Linscott, the daughter of a rich builder, who looks like Elizabeth.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Black Dahlia (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Mia Kirshner was originally hired only to read lines with actors auditioning for other roles, and the original screenplay did not feature her character onscreen. De Palma was so impressed that he wrote Short's character into the film via screen test sequences and several flashbacks.
- De Palma originally wanted Maggie Gyllenhaal to play Short, but she declined because she disliked how the murder was used as a plot device and felt that the story disrespected Short's memory.
- Principal photography began on April 1, 2005 in Pernik and later Sofia, Bulgaria, at an estimated cost of $50 million, making it at the time the most expensive film ever shot in the country.
- The film grossed $49.3 million against its $50 million budget, a failure that resulted in De Palma being effectively ousted from the Hollywood major studio system, with his subsequent feature films financed by independent studios.
- As early as 1998 David Fincher was attached to direct, approved by Ellroy, who had enjoyed his work on Seven. Fincher envisioned the story not as a feature but as a five-hour miniseries with an $80 million budget and major film actors.
- The film was originally in pre-production with Fincher directing, Josh Hartnett attached to play Bucky and Mark Wahlberg attached to play Lee, until Wahlberg was forced to drop out over scheduling conflicts with the planned filming of The Italian Job.
- Eva Green was offered the role of Madeleine in this film but declined it, because she feared being typecast as a femme fatale.
- Stan Winston Studios designed some of the film's practical effects, including the prop dummy of Short's corpse that appears early on; that dummy was publicly auctioned in June 2022.
