DAISY KENYON (1947)

Director Otto Preminger had his cinematographer Leon Shamroy shoot this melodrama as if it were a film noir, something that’s even clearer in this shimmering nitrate print. There’s nary a murder or criminal to be found, but its portrayal of three tortured souls who aren’t even sure of their own motivations fits in with the noir’s tendency to destabilize commonly held beliefs. Here Preminger dissects the complicated love triangle between the film’s three leads. Joan Crawford is a commercial artist involved with married lawyer Dana Andrews. Tired of his inability to commit, she goes on a date with veteran Henry Fonda and ends up marrying him. Both men are so seriously flawed that the question of her choosing between them seems absurd. Instead, Preminger focuses on the little details that define the characters in their social world. Even though the film was shot in Hollywood, it creates a vivid image of privileged lives in New York through clever second-unit work. Ruth Warrick and Peggy Ann Garner co-star.

d. Otto Preminger, 99m, 35mm nitrate

Print courtesy of The Walt Disney Studios and The Library of Congress.

Preceded by the short film GHOST OF THE PAST (2025), dir. Bill Morrison, 7 min, DCP