The Blue Dahlia

The Blue Dahlia is a 1946 film noir, directed by George Marshall and written by Raymond Chandler. The film marks the third pairing of stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.

The script was an original by Raymond Chandler, the first original script for the screen he ever wrote. The film was announced in early 1945, and was always envisioned as a vehicle for Alan Ladd Lake, Bendix and Marshall were also all attached from the beginning. Ladd had served for ten months in the army then was honorably discharged through to illness however he was recently reclassified classed 1A for the World War II military draft, and may have had to go back into the Army. Paramount kept applying for deferments so he could make films but he was due for induction in May 1945 as a result The Blue Dahlia was written and produced relatively quickly. In the end, all men agedor over would be released from this obligation.Halfway through the script, Chandler developed writers block. A former alcoholic, hed become a teetotaler for health reasons. He decided that the only way he could get inspiration to finish the script was to get drunk. Chandler had originally agreed to write the screenplay for nothing as a favour to John Houseman, the producer, but instead asked for a case of scotch as full payment. As a result and for several weeks, Chandler drank heavily, and at the end of that time, presented the finished script. ........

Source: Wikipedia