Lynch Before Lynch
LAURA (1944)
Friday, October 4 | 7 pm
Director: OTTO PREMINGER
Runtime: 88 min
Hosted by Kiera Skuntz and Daniella Sanson Copatti
UVM students Kiere Skuntz and Daniella Sanson Copatti love David Lynch, so they’ve gone looking for some of his sources. They found some good ones, which they’ll share in their Lynch Before Lynch series this weekend; for instance, Otto Preminger’s 1944 noir masterpiece Laura.
Laura (Gene Tierney, radiant) had everything. Who’d want to kill her? Detective McPherson (Dana Andrews) looks for answers, encountering one of the greatest trios of character actors ever assembled on film: Judith Anderson as Laura’s best friend; Vincent Price as Laura’s would-be Southern suitor, sporting an accent that Roger Ebert dubbed "somewhere between Kentucky and Transylvania"; and, best of all, Clifton Webb as the fabulous Waldo Lydecker.
The film overflows with oddball moments. That scene with McPherson questioning Lydecker while he’s taking a bath is just . . . wow—that might be called Lynchian, but I’ll leave those connections to Kiera and Daniella, who’ll introduce this weekend’s films.
Oh wait, the score! Fun fact: director Otto Preminger wanted to use Duke Ellington’s "Sophisticated Lady" for the theme, but composer David Raskin objected. A furious Preminger gave Raskin the weekend to write something better, so Raskin wrote “Laura,” which has been recorded by more than 400 artists, and remains one of the most instantly recognizable themes in film history. Preminger ate crow admirably and went on to work with Raskin on four more films (Ellington did okay, too). Though it was listed as the seventh-greatest American film score by the AFI, it somehow wasn’t nominated for the Oscar in 1944, even though 20 other films made the cut.
About the programmers:
Kiera Skuntz and Daniella Sanson Copatti are both Juniors attending the University of Vermont (UVM) for Film and Media Studies. Both students share a passion for film and inspirational storytelling. Kiera plans to work with animation and consumer advertising for a career path, while Daniella aspires to become a cinematographer. The duo has met through film studies classes offered at UVM, including an introspective course titled Twin Peaks & Lynch’s World, which has inspired the following two-film series for VTIFF.
Daniella and Kiera have worked on creative projects in the past centered around the horror genre and surrealism. Their first project together followed a young girl seeking love from a peer student, but was not reciprocated, ending in a suspenseful death. Daniella and Kiera hope to continue their careers together and explore all forms of film.
Kiera Skuntz is originally from Pennsylvania and has previously went to school for communication art and design. Daniella is originally from Massachusetts and is technically inclined in camera operations and sound design.