The Blue Dahlia

Three demobilized US Navy aviators—Johnny Morrison, Buzz Wanchek, and George Copeland—arrive in Hollywood after the war. They had flown together from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific and are looking for work and a new life. Their reunion will lay the groundwork for the conflicts and secrets that unfold.

Johnny surprises his wife Helen at her hotel bungalow during a riotous party and discovers she is having an affair with Eddie Harwood, the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. He confronts Eddie and loses his temper, punching him as the party winds down. The discovery severs the fragile trust in their marriage.

Helen drunkenly confesses that their son Dickie died in a car crash because she was driving drunk, overturning Johnny's belief that he was dead from diphtheria. Johnny is stunned by the confession and decides to leave. In a flare of anger, he pulls a gun on Helen but ultimately sets the weapon aside and walks out.

Buzz searches for Johnny at his hotel bungalow and ends up meeting Helen in the hotel bar, unaware of her true identity. He goes to Helen's bungalow to wait for Mrs. Morrison, not recognizing the danger surrounding her. This encounter begins to pull Buzz into the case's deadly web.

Eddie ends his relationship with Helen over the phone, but Helen blackmails him into continuing their affair. He visits Helen at her bungalow, an event observed by the hotel detective. The corrupt triangle tightens as Eddie becomes entangled in Helen's schemes.

Johnny is picked up by Joyce Harwood, an acquaintance of Eddie, while walking in the rain. The two keep their identities hidden and end up spending the night at a beachside inn. The next morning, Joyce reveals they shared the same inn and they decide to walk the beach to seek moonstones together.

The radio reports Helen's murder and that Johnny is a suspect, prompting him to flee toward Los Angeles. He boards a bus to avoid capture while the police begin interviewing witnesses and suspects. The case tightens as suspects multiply.

Under an assumed name, Johnny checks into a cheap hotel where manager Corelli discovers Johnny's framed photo with Dickie. Corelli tries to blackmail Johnny, who punches him and discovers a note on the back revealing that Helen wrote an insurance note exposing Eddie as Bauer, a murderer wanted in New Jersey. The discovery raises the stakes and deepens Johnny's scramble for truth.

Corelli sells Johnny's information to Leo, a gangster allied with Eddie, who then kidnaps Johnny when he visits George and Buzz. Johnny fights back, knocking out Leo and his sidekick, just before Eddie arrives. The kidnapping marks a shift toward a deadly conspiracy.

Buzz and George go to confront Eddie at the Blue Dahlia nightclub, where Joyce reappears and interacts with Eddie. The club's music triggers a painful memory for Buzz when Joyce handles a blue dahlia, hinting at the events that led to Helen's murder. The memory pushes Buzz toward recognizing the truth behind the killings.

Eddie admits with regret that he was involved in the shooting of a bank messenger fifteen years earlier. In a struggle, Leo shoots Eddie, and Johnny shoots Leo, then heads toward the Blue Dahlia. The body count rises as loyalties collapse and the truth edges closer to surface.

At the Blue Dahlia, Captain Hendrickson confronts Newell with accusations about Helen's death and their blackmail scheme. Newell tries to escape from the office but is shot dead by Hendrickson when he pulls a gun. The confrontation leaves the motive murkier and the killer still at large.

Outside the Blue Dahlia, Buzz and George decide to go for a drink while Johnny and Joyce linger together. The film closes on an uneasy note, with unresolved tensions and lingering questions about who killed Helen. The city moves on, leaving the truth partly hidden.