I saw this as a child when it first came on. It scared the living hell out of me. It's amazing how it was able to do that without showing any violence.
Elizabeth Short never deserved what happened to her, I don't care whether she was a "tease" or not. All that I know is that she didn't deserved to be tortured that way and left there in a lonely field. This murderer was playing god and I hope that he became old and sick and afraid as he made her. This person was beyond scum and it is awful that they never caught this POS. This is a very troubling and frightening case. With the forensics that they have today, they may have caught this bastard.
A lot of people speculate it was Dr Hodel. His family like photographer Man Ray has art work he made that looks like her. When Dr Hodel lived in the Philippines a woman was murdered the exact way as Miss Elizabeth. They called it the jigsaw murder, still technically unsolved.
Devistating how everyone let her down except her grandma. So many evil people in the world, it's incomprehensible that there are these monsters walking among us, and terrible that one was not caught.
I don't know what her grandma's role was in her life, but she and her four sisters were raised by their mother alone after their father abandoned the family.
And also when everyone was mean to her and she still called them incredibly kind. Then after she died, people said even worse things about her. BTW, have any of you heard all the evidence they had on Leslie Dillon.
Thank you for posting. I've been wanting to see this tv movie ever since watching the original broadcast back in '75: I was 13 and watching it at home alone while my folks were out for the evening! It really gave me chills!! Re-watching after so many years brings back that memory of the first time but at least I'm not seeing it alone. The cast does a great job with the material they have and Lucie Arnaz really evokes the image of Elizabeth Short!!
When Lucie Arnaz took the part ,she had no knowledge of the case, being born in 1951. Her mother, Lucille Ball certainly did and when Lucie told her who she would be portraying, Lucy's response was "absolutely not'. Lucie, however defied her mother and took the part. The filmmakers faced major problems as it was only 28 years since the murder and many, many people involved were still living(such as Elizabeth's mother and sisters). Many of the participants did not agree to be portrayed in the film, forcing the producers to make changes to names, situations and places.
I about fell off the chair when I saw this title. I have been searching for this for years and years. I actually cannot believe it is actually on here. I was just trying to decide what I wanted to watch, and stumbled on this. I have written emails and filled out requests...trying to find this movie. Saw it as a kid. Thank you so much for this one. I'm still stunned that it is actually here!
We don't know each other, but I am so happy for you. I know exactly how it feels to find something you thought the world had forgotten! It's (UA-cam) one of the few things that modern technology has brought us that is truly worth it.
I'm gonna be honest, I don't really find her all that pretty. With that said, we just see picture's of her. Lots of people (including myself) look better in real life. Some of us just aren't photogenic. Maybe Elizabeth Short was one of those? Maybe she was alot prettier in person, rather than in photos....
Whatever Elizabeth Short did in her life time (lots of speculations about her as a person) she didn't deserve to be murdered. The way she was killed is so horrific to this day, words can't describe the sub human who did that to her, no words.
her killers son knows too,,he was a doctor who used her and something she did or said drove him to do this ,its in the news hodel i believe is his name,,,dr hodel ,,theres also a good youtube video on his family and daughters etc,,,i will try to find it,,remind me if u think of it and of course if u are interested that is,,,
see wikipedia under his name and personal life if ur interested it tells about tamar his own daughter who accused him of sexual attack and impregnating her i believe,,
I simply can’t believe how many people seem to be, if not blaming the victim for her murder, then at least justifying her killing. I wonder what a man would have to do to for people to say the same about his murder! Even if a woman danced naked down the street, that doesn’t give anyone the right to torture, dismember, and steal her life! Unbelievable!
Very well done. Efrem Zimbalist was excellent long with Lucy Arnaz. Yes, Some of the facts are wrong, but that was probably done for legal reasons. LAPD Det. Harry Hansen was retired at the time of the filming but acted as a consultant to the production. One of the most interesting unsolved cases I've ever read about...
Thank you for posting this movie. I taped it off TV on a VHS, so I watched a few times. The last few minutes of this movie are the best- Harry Hansen's haunting wrap up. I've been able to run that in my mind- and it's so great to be able to watch this whole movie.
Hello, Have you listened to the new audible book Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder? It is so good, I listened to it a few times!
@@omgrachihiii I'm counting on Larry Harnisch saying that the murderer is Walter Bayley. Look it up. I read that his book was coming out this year but I can't find it (yet). I also read that Black Dahlia, Red Rose has been disproven.
In this movie, a grandfather and grandson find the body of Elizabeth Short; in real life it was a mother and daughter. Also, a male photographer takes the first photo of Short's body; the photographer was a woman in real life.
I don't think this movie gives her a bad rep at all. James Ellroy's book gave her a bad rep as well as other portrayals of her I've seen. This portrayal is close to what she really was - a sad girl who was just drifting and making it on her wits. I find this portrayal very sympathetic. But there are inaccuracies.
James Ellroy's book was a novel, a fictionalization of the case. He said that except for some basic facts (her name, the fact that she was an aspiring actress, and her murder) but everything else was purely his imagination. It was also his way of paying tribute to his mother, who was murdered in 1958; her killer was never caught. It wasn't supposed to reflect the real Elizabeth Short.
I remember seeing this when it first appeared on TV. I learned a lot more about her and physical issues since then. So tragic that she was mutilated like that. The case has pretty much been solved and I hope her spirit is resting in peace.
Same here. The last book I read about her revealed the fact that her stomach contents contained feaces; horrible! Her killer/s must be burning in Hell or there is no justice in this world. RIParadise Elizabeth Short.
@@saltychips5795 negative thing to say about a person who was brutally murdered No one knows her life only the things that were said about her. As far as anyone new she probably was a Believer, I'm only thinking about the person who did the awful crime is in hell. Elizabeth short and her mom and sisters were a. Christian house hold.
@@saltychips5795 Do you realize that speaking ill of the dead will send you to Hell? This woman was murdered and ra*ed and because she wasn't baptized you think she's down below? Dude I don't believe God thinks like that. He gave us freedom of choice. Don't you be disrespectful
Elizabeth Short was from Medford Massachusetts, not Maine, and she didn’t live with her grandmother, she lived with her mother. She also moved to Florida, before her move to California. This movie is filled with inaccuracies, yet it’s still the best one made about the case...which is sad that in 70 years no one has been able to get a descent film made.
There's several inaccuracies, but it's still a pretty good effort. Remember that in 1975 the case was obscure and pretty much forgotten by everyone, and it's only 17 years later that more details on Elizabeth and her death were made public thanks to John Gilmore's book Severed. So overall, not a bad movie. Pretty surprising someone even made one back in the 70's, so for that alone it's a good watch.
Elizabeth’s mother Phoebe was still alive at the time of this film, and I image the character of the grandmother was created to respect her privacy. I’m just sorry she was also around to see much trashier depictions of her daughter in things such as Ellroy’s novel
Elizabeth Short was not found in bushland, she was found just off the sidewalk in plain view. A man, ( I can't remember his name), has come forward claiming that his dad was the murderer.
Back then 1975, when this movie made, the producer, director had to ask everyone involved in Black Dahlia Case permission to use their names. If they said NO, then they had used other names instead. She was from Massachusetts, but her family did not want this to be used but Maine.
There was a film noir crime drama titled "The Blue Dahlia," with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake that was made in 1946, and often played in local movie houses at the time of Elizabeth Short's death. Based on this movie one LA reporter dub Beth as the "Black Dahlia," due to her all black clothing.
Such a sad end. She tried to live by her wits but it never worked out for her. Too bad she didn’t leave California to go back to her family in Massachusetts. 😢
Lucille Ball was fearful for her daughter's life Lucy Arnaz, she was afraid that the real Black Dahlia killer would kill her because she resembled Elizabeth Short.
"Lady, what the hell have you done to make someone so mad?" Is he seriously victim blaming her? Also what a horrible thing to say about men, implying that every man could easily be driven to brutally kill and mutilate by being wronged by one woman. Who ever killed Elizabeth Short was psychotic, who ever killed her was not the everyman and her killing had nothing to do with whatever wrong thing she had done. The better question is, "What kind of sick fuck preys on unsuspecting young women and cuts apart their body as they were a frog in a science lab and drains them of all blood like a slaughterhouse pig?"
You have to remember when this murder took place. 1947. The real Harry Hansen called her a bum and a tease. Probably out of frustration for not being able to solve this case. From what I understand the people in her hometown still treat her as if she did something wrong.
kgmaj The problem was how he automatically treated it like a domestic crime of passion as if any regular Joe could do that to a girl. The one who killed her was an educated doctor or mortician very familiar with human anatomy and non squemish who has surgical experience neatly cutting human flesh, and someone who is a psychopath who sees murder as elaborate art.
Julianne Hannes. I do not think it's the meaning, to accuse her. I understand more, what's in you wich made him mad. Without your will. Excuse my english. Anyway the murderer will kill again, in the cop's idea, so, what's his obsession and why you. It's what I understand.
I always took it as him being ironic, when he says "what could you have done to make someone so mad?" I think this movie is supposed to be like _Laura_ where the detective is in love with a beautiful, dead woman. (That in itself is creepy, which this movie and the creators of _Laura_ had to know.)
When the characters in this movie call the victim a tease it says something about the attitudes of 1947, maybe not so much about the attitudes of the writers.
I have the 2006 movie and it is nothing like this. It hardly touched on Elizabeth Shorts' life. I'm not sure why they said a boy and his grandfather found her body when it was a woman and her young daughter but still this movie was much better. Thanks for sharing ☺ 🖒
She was jumpy, if someone knocked on the door, or the phone rang, but yet she was out on the town every night. Wouldn't go out unless there was a guy accompanying her?
My interest in The Black Dahlia murder case started when I saw this movie one afternoon....in my opinion SEVERED is the best book written on the case. Haunted me too, like so many others.
Thank you for uploading this - one more piece in the Dahlia collection that I was not able to see for a long time! They changed character names and identities (grandmother instead of mother), and changed the mother who found Short's body into a grandfather and small boy, but most of this is quite accurate, and is a sensitive portrayal of Short.
I was completely unaware of this case and story until I saw the TV movie in 1975. I was only in my mid-20s myself. I've been fascinated with the story ever since.
marti-grecia Odalyz, Elizabeth's murder is a terrible tragedy. Your outrageous comments blaming the girl for her own death make me sad. You cannot or refuse to understand that Elizabeth Short was a young, naive, and inexperienced girl out in the cruel world of Los Angeles, California. Yes it was a cruel world even in 1947. Big cities are like that! She was a good person, well liked and had made many friends in LA. Maybe she was too trusting and wouldn't have expected anyone she befriended and anyone who offered her help to be a murderous psychopath. Where is your evidence that she was "playing with fire"? And who are you to judge her? I shake my head at your "reincarnation" insult. PS- Your feigned compassion for what she endured at the hands of that monster is laughable.
I think it's influenced by _The Honeymoon Killers_, from 1970, another low budget movie (which developed a cult reputation) about a lurid 1940's murder.
love these low key 70's movies...they don't leave the viewer feeling out of breath and manipulated as found with today's current crop of films. Death Scream (1975) also would be nice to see
You know, they probably didn't know much about this case. Or at least they're not saying, but the things they did know they shouldn't have changed. 1. Rose tattoo was on her thigh, not her back. 2. She was from Massachusetts, not Maine. 3. A woman pushing her baby in a carriage found her, not a man and his little grandson. I'm sure there's more.
They keep saying her genitalia was underdeveloped and I don't believe it unless it says so on the autopsy report. Was one done in the first place? Her father killed her in this manner: his abandonment and rejection of the family was so embedded into her, she was repeating this behavior 2 the men she came across. She placed herself into harm's way by doing provocative things like: conning men 2 pay her bills (and then rejecting them) and by walking alone in places she should not have been. Did she deserve 2 die?---NO!!!! A rolling stone crossed somebody's (sicko) path.
Marie Tsikopoulou, you are applying your understanding of culture today to a world that existed almost 70 years ago. It was very typical and standard for men to buy a woman dinner and perhaps take her out for the evening. It was even expected. She had to eat and she had no lack of men willing to treat her to dinner and/or an evening out. To expect a relationship or sex in return was considered perverse and completely unacceptable. To sell newspapers there were male reporters at that time (and 98% of them were male) in a very chauvinist industry and culture who created a character to sell to the public who was nothing like the real young woman, and they damned her, all but explicitly saying she got what she deserved.
This is pretty good. Many of these characters are complete fiction but they are trying to portray a lost and lonely young woman who was vulnerable. Recently saw an interview with Lucie Arnaz where she said this was shot in two weeks!
Entertaining movie for TV, not documentary; I believe retired LAPD Detective Steve Hodel that his father did this murder. Strange happenings in LA back then....
heather knuckles, reporters were on the scene taking pictures before the police could respond. The scene was severely contaminated by reporters and journalists before the scene could be secured. Today this case likely could be solved. Also, if the evidence still existed there is a good chance it could either be solved or eliminate suspects. Typical of the LAPD, the original evidence is missing, lost or destroyed decades ago. Should it be found, there was an envelope that probably contains the killer’s DNA and would be invaluable.
I was 7 and I never forgot this movie. My mother watched it and then we all watched it together and I knew what was going on and I never forget this case. As I became older, I bought the book "Severed". I was always frightened at the fate of this young woman, Hollywood or not, the point is that this really happened and Elizabeth Short was murdered at the hands of a monster. But I bet that they had him right in their police files, it wasn't that George Hodak (the one that the freak ex cop who keeps blaming his dad that he killed Elizabeth. It wasn't him). It was a stranger whom we will never know, she probably hitched a ride from a derelict psychopath who appeared nice looking and easy to talk to. The killer may have come from the address book that Elizabeth stole from that guy who housed actresses between movies. But then, no one witnesses that she made calls or maybe she did and was told to wait at that hotel. Maybe the person lived outside of the jurisdiction as well to have the space to do what he did. It had to be done in a house (not an apartment) and it may have been on a large acre of land where the killer couldn't be see. I think that the killer was someone who easily blended into society, somebody Elizabeth felt very comfortable taking a ride from or an invitation from. He must"ve appeared very harmless but with some money. With forensic psychology, I am sure that there is more that on file about the probability of this killer.
Reviewer, Colin Wilson wrote that John Gilmore's book, "SEVERED: The True Story of the Black Dahlia" is "The best book on the Black Dahlia--in fact, the only reliable book." Another wrote, "A tour de force..." Its the most interesting/gripping book I ever read.
Remember watching this on late, late cable TV while in college in the early 2000s. It’s no Citizen Kane, but it’s still an enjoyable watch about a fascinating person. Thanks for uploading!
I never quite understand why writers put so much fiction when the real story is much more interesting. However, Lucie Arnaz did a great job on this - every part I've ever seen her in she did a good job.
3 minutes in and realized straight away this was going to be a waste of time. A man and a boy finding the body?? Surely they could have done a little research on the actual people who found the body.
+purplezoid1 I just stopped it after the old man looks, is startled and appears ready to throw up. As it was a woman and her little boy, and as the woman thought she was seeing a mannequin and wasn't nauseated, I realized I was ready to throw up, too. What is it with Hollywood that they can't ever show things as they were? Why would they make it an old man instead of a young mother? No reason on earth except they have no respect for truth. Figured I'd bail before I got to the part where they claim the victim was an elderly male Filipino. You suck, Hollywood.
This film humanizes and romanticizes beautiful Elizabeth Short. None of the many stories I've read on the net do that. The flower the beautiful Lucy Arnaz as Elizabeth is wearing in her hair at the end is a gardenia, not a dahlia.
Elizabeth Short herself did not wear dahlias, but other flowers, including gardenias. The post-mortem nickname she was given was a misnomer created by the press.
inkyguy She was called the "Black Dahlia", because she often wore black. The moniker was a reference to a popular movie at the time called The Blue Dahlia.
I recommend the book Severed by John Gilmore about this case. The case is a lot grittier and nastier than this TV movie can show. This was OK, thanks for the upload.
+peteyguitarguy I've got that book, now I'll get around to reading it. This movie was pretty good but I don't know anything about the case. I wanted to watch the 2006 movie but someone said this one was much better.
As I said before, the story is fabricated. Nobody knows what she said to dad or grandma, or any incidents with boyfriends. She was not a talker. She was very aloof, and told me that " She wanted to visit her dad, but he didn't like her..and refused to help her financially. She had a large cavity between front teeth and was hardly beautiful. Just average. I too bus home, but Liz must have walked. Big mistake. My mom had no idea I worked there for a few months. She thought I was a waitress.
Lucy Ball did not want Lucie Arnaz to play Elizabeth Short for fear she would be killed by the same killer who killed Elizabeth Short, he was still alive over fifty years old at least.
You have to remember that L.A. in the 40's, was not a bad place. To work nights like she and I did...nothing ever happened. No, the killer was never found. I'm glad I quit the job, because I was too young to worry about being followed. I continue further down on the page.
What are the arguments against it being George hodell? I don't know a whole lot about the case but after listening to the root of evil podcast and Steven hodell interviews it really looks like he did it. Right down to the cement sack receipts dated the week she died.
The LAPD had Hodel as their main suspect but he went to Manila Philippines and they left it that as hodel had a lot of dirt on them. A woman was killed and cut in half like Elizabeth was. It was hodel and he killed others.
This is so tragic, watching these flashback scenes of Elizabeth knowing what’s eventually going to happen to her 😭 Reminds me of “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.”
I saw this years ago but didn't remember that Lucy Arnaz was in it. She did a good job and of course the Black Dahlia case has never been solved. Sad story of a sad girl.
21BakDoor21, this “aspiring actress” you refer to was a seasoned trooper by the time she did this part. She is actually “Hollywood royalty.” She is Lucy Arnez, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez.
I saw this as a child when it first came on. It scared the living hell out of me. It's amazing how it was able to do that without showing any violence.
Elizabeth Short never deserved what happened to her, I don't care whether she was a "tease" or not. All that I know is that she didn't deserved to be tortured that way and left there in a lonely field. This murderer was playing god and I hope that he became old and sick and afraid as he made her. This person was beyond scum and it is awful that they never caught this POS. This is a very troubling and frightening case. With the forensics that they have today, they may have caught this bastard.
he was definetly OVERHUMAN
Black Cat ?
Black cat........Overhuman! is that a word?
A lot of people speculate it was Dr Hodel. His family like photographer Man Ray has art work he made that looks like her. When Dr Hodel lived in the Philippines a woman was murdered the exact way as Miss Elizabeth. They called it the jigsaw murder, still technically unsolved.
M Perry She wasn't even being a "tease" with the sailor. She was clearly showing a lack of interest.
Devistating how everyone let her down except her grandma. So many evil people in the world, it's incomprehensible that there are these monsters walking among us, and terrible that one was not caught.
I don't know what her grandma's role was in her life, but she and her four sisters were raised by their mother alone after their father abandoned the family.
It made me mad at how long the suspect list was,too!
And also when everyone was mean to her and she still called them incredibly kind. Then after she died, people said even worse things about her.
BTW, have any of you heard all the evidence they had on Leslie Dillon.
Thank you for posting. I've been wanting to see this tv movie ever since watching the original broadcast back in '75: I was 13 and watching it at home alone while my folks were out for the evening! It really gave me chills!! Re-watching after so many years brings back that memory of the first time but at least I'm not seeing it alone. The cast does a great job with the material they have and Lucie Arnaz really evokes the image of Elizabeth Short!!
Lol reminds me of when I was a kid I used to watch scary movies lol
@@redskyatnight123 Yes!!
When Lucie Arnaz took the part ,she had no knowledge of the case, being born in 1951. Her mother, Lucille Ball certainly did and when Lucie told her who she would be portraying, Lucy's response was "absolutely not'. Lucie, however defied her mother and took the part. The filmmakers faced major problems as it was only 28 years since the murder and many, many people involved were still living(such as Elizabeth's mother and sisters). Many of the participants did not agree to be portrayed in the film, forcing the producers to make changes to names, situations and places.
I about fell off the chair when I saw this title. I have been searching for this for years and years. I actually cannot believe it is actually on here. I was just trying to decide what I wanted to watch, and stumbled on this. I have written emails and filled out requests...trying to find this movie.
Saw it as a kid. Thank you so much for this one. I'm still stunned that it is actually here!
We don't know each other, but I am so happy for you. I know exactly how it feels to find something you thought the world had forgotten! It's (UA-cam) one of the few things that modern technology has brought us that is truly worth it.
Wish the original movie was available.
Not sure how Elizabeth Short can be called a plain Jane. In every photo I've seen of her, she's very lovely in a very retro 40s way.
Yeah she was a stunning beauty.
I don't understand that myself. She was beautiful.
It’s funny when they describe someone as stunningly beautiful….they, are often plain janes….funny….sometimes anyway…..🤔
she is just average
I'm gonna be honest, I don't really find her all that pretty. With that said, we just see picture's of her. Lots of people (including myself) look better in real life. Some of us just aren't photogenic. Maybe Elizabeth Short was one of those? Maybe she was alot prettier in person, rather than in photos....
I found this movie sad.
No-one really knew her. And to this day, we still don’t.
Whatever Elizabeth Short did in her life time (lots of speculations about her as a person) she didn't deserve to be murdered. The way she was killed is so horrific to this day, words can't describe the sub human who did that to her, no words.
her killers son knows too,,he was a doctor who used her and something she did or said drove him to do this ,its in the news hodel i believe is his name,,,dr hodel ,,theres also a good youtube video on his family and daughters etc,,,i will try to find it,,remind me if u think of it and of course if u are interested that is,,,
see wikipedia under his name and personal life if ur interested it tells about tamar his own daughter who accused him of sexual attack and impregnating her i believe,,
As Bad as the RIPPER MURDERS of 1888.?
@@michaelpatrick7888the Hodel theory is a joke. He claims his dad was Cleveland Torso killer, and the Zodiac killer in SF…. A joke
Lucy Arnaz did an amazing job as the Black Dahlia.
SHE LOOKS LIKE THE BLACK DAHLIA.
DONE WELL.
@@madelinetramantano8302
No way
Her mother didn't want her to do this movie because the killer(s) could still be alive at the time.
3 minutes in and they've already made a huge error. The body was found by a woman with her three-year old daughter.
And it was found next to the road, not behind some bushes.
You mean 'she' was found next to the road,not 'it' right?
I agree
@@cynthiaschlosser9713 and at first they thought she was a mannequin
Yes she did until she got closer.I cannot imagine the nightmares that woman had after that day
If it's accurate that her father treated her so horribly and threw her out on the street? Hope he felt nightmarish guilt for the rest of his days.
From what I read, her real father was worse.
I never thought I'd see this one ever again. My heartfelt thanks TVTERRORLAND! Chilling drama and the music is quite haunting.
Thanks for sharing this movie. Lucie Arnez was terrific as Elizabeth Short. I have been looking for this for years.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
NBC 1975 was not allowed to show the realistic crime scenes or use their real names.
I simply can’t believe how many people seem to be, if not blaming the victim for her murder, then at least justifying her killing. I wonder what a man would have to do to for people to say the same about his murder! Even if a woman danced naked down the street, that doesn’t give anyone the right to torture, dismember, and steal her life! Unbelievable!
YES!
Very well done. Efrem Zimbalist was excellent long with Lucy Arnaz. Yes, Some of the facts are wrong, but that was probably done for legal reasons. LAPD Det. Harry Hansen was retired at the time of the filming but acted as a consultant to the production. One of the most interesting unsolved cases I've ever read about...
I hope the solve it one day. She deserves justice.
It's so sad thàt this murder. Wasntsolved. So her family. Could. Have had closure. I hope they find out who klled. Her
Thank you for posting this movie. I taped it off TV on a VHS, so I watched a few times. The last few minutes of this movie are the best- Harry Hansen's haunting wrap up. I've been able to run that in my mind- and it's so great to be able to watch this whole movie.
I have read , listen to, and watch everything on this horrific unsolved Los Angeles case. Everything but this one. Thanks for finding and posting.
Hello,
Have you listened to the new audible book
Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder?
It is so good, I listened to it a few times!
@@omgrachihiii I'm counting on Larry Harnisch saying that the murderer is Walter Bayley. Look it up. I read that his book was coming out this year but I can't find it (yet). I also read that Black Dahlia, Red Rose has been disproven.
In this movie, a grandfather and grandson find the body of Elizabeth Short; in real life it was a mother and daughter. Also, a male photographer takes the first photo of Short's body; the photographer was a woman in real life.
Pedantic, are we?
In 1975 many of the people involved were still alive. Probably legal reasons were the cause of the changes. That little girl could still be alive.
And they show a rural area with few houses when it was and still is a quiet residential street with houses as dense as anywhere
@@longfadelook it up again
Waste of time. More about the detectives than elizabeth. No new info no solutions no narrowing list of suspects. Doc. Diff doc
omg i have been looking for this movie for years, thanks so much for posting
Thank you for taking the time to post this movie.
I don't think this movie gives her a bad rep at all. James Ellroy's book gave her a bad rep as well as other portrayals of her I've seen. This portrayal is close to what she really was - a sad girl who was just drifting and making it on her wits. I find this portrayal very sympathetic. But there are inaccuracies.
James Ellroy's book was a novel, a fictionalization of the case. He said that except for some basic facts (her name, the fact that she was an aspiring actress, and her murder) but everything else was purely his imagination. It was also his way of paying tribute to his mother, who was murdered in 1958; her killer was never caught. It wasn't supposed to reflect the real Elizabeth Short.
Lucy was perfect for this role, she looked so much like her.
Lucie Arnaz was very good in this. She was a dead ringer looks wise. I remember seeing this when it was first aired. It's haunted me ever since.
Not really. Elizabeth short was gorgeous
Lucie looks just fine.
Same here. Still haunts me...Especially the end, she fading away in the dark street...
Lucie Arnaz prettier- ES had a high forehead.
I remember seeing this when it first appeared on TV. I learned a lot more about her and physical issues since then. So tragic that she was mutilated like that. The case has pretty much been solved and I hope her spirit is resting in peace.
I have always been fascinated by this unsolved mystery. I think of the Dahlia often and who could have done something so horrific to her.
Same here. The last book I read about her revealed the fact that her stomach contents contained feaces; horrible! Her killer/s must be burning in Hell or there is no justice in this world. RIParadise Elizabeth Short.
@Samantha Cook
Do you realize that if Elizabeth Short was not a born again follower of Christ, she is also ‘burning in hell’?
@@saltychips5795 negative thing to say about a person who was brutally murdered No one knows her life only the things that were said about her. As far as anyone new she probably was a Believer, I'm only thinking about the person who did the awful crime is in hell. Elizabeth short and her mom and sisters were a. Christian house hold.
@@samanthacook2495 As in someone shat inside her body?
@@saltychips5795 Do you realize that speaking ill of the dead will send you to Hell? This woman was murdered and ra*ed and because she wasn't baptized you think she's down below? Dude I don't believe God thinks like that. He gave us freedom of choice. Don't you be disrespectful
Elizabeth Short was from Medford Massachusetts, not Maine, and she didn’t live with her grandmother, she lived with her mother. She also moved to Florida, before her move to California. This movie is filled with inaccuracies, yet it’s still the best one made about the case...which is sad that in 70 years no one has been able to get a descent film made.
There's several inaccuracies, but it's still a pretty good effort. Remember that in 1975 the case was obscure and pretty much forgotten by everyone, and it's only 17 years later that more details on Elizabeth and her death were made public thanks to John Gilmore's book Severed. So overall, not a bad movie. Pretty surprising someone even made one back in the 70's, so for that alone it's a good watch.
cliff9685.....I believe this is fiction , not a documentary about Elizabeth Short.
@@MrLyndarenaud It's a dramatic telling of a true story, hence the title 'Who Is the Black Dahlia' it is not fiction!
I am sure they knew all the facts of the case and purposely changed some details for whatever reason.
Elizabeth’s mother Phoebe was still alive at the time of this film, and I image the character of the grandmother was created to respect her privacy. I’m just sorry she was also around to see much trashier depictions of her daughter in things such as Ellroy’s novel
They couldn't find a better looking actress than Lucie Arnez to play Elizabeth Short AKA "The Black Dahlia"
At least find someone with blue eyes..
Yes she really looked like her. Amazing.
The music direction is EXCELLENT. Why? Because, although the movie is from 1975, the music matches the period (1950s) of the actual events.
Elizabeth Short was not found in bushland, she was found just off the sidewalk in plain view. A man, ( I can't remember his name), has come forward claiming that his dad was the murderer.
Back then 1975, when this movie made, the producer, director had to ask everyone involved in Black Dahlia Case permission to use their names. If they said NO, then they had used other names instead. She was from Massachusetts, but her family did not want this to be used but Maine.
omg i have been looking for this movie forever!!! thanks so much. this was the best story about this tragic murder.
There was a film noir crime drama titled "The Blue Dahlia," with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake that was made in 1946, and often played in local movie houses at the time of Elizabeth Short's death. Based on this movie one LA reporter dub Beth as the "Black Dahlia," due to her all black clothing.
No her friends dubbed her the black dahlia due to her hair
Such a sad end. She tried to live by her wits but it never worked out for her. Too bad she didn’t leave California to go back to her family in Massachusetts. 😢
RIP Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
As smooth as they come since 77 Sunset Strip in the early '60's.
love u Liz. RIP Beautiful. To eternity. You were a true gem.
Her "father" really was a bastard if this is an accurate depiction of him.
He pretended to commit suicide in the thirties and moved to California to get away from his family & financial obligations. A real piece of work.
Big time bastard. Smug too
Lucille Ball was fearful for her daughter's life Lucy Arnaz, she was afraid that the real Black Dahlia killer would kill her because she resembled Elizabeth Short.
Where did you hear that from.
"Lady, what the hell have you done to make someone so mad?"
Is he seriously victim blaming her? Also what a horrible thing to say about men, implying that every man could easily be driven to brutally kill and mutilate by being wronged by one woman. Who ever killed Elizabeth Short was psychotic, who ever killed her was not the everyman and her killing had nothing to do with whatever wrong thing she had done. The better question is, "What kind of sick fuck preys on unsuspecting young women and cuts apart their body as they were a frog in a science lab and drains them of all blood like a slaughterhouse pig?"
You have to remember when this murder took place. 1947. The real Harry Hansen called her a bum and a tease. Probably out of frustration for not being able to solve this case. From what I understand the people in her hometown still treat her as if she did something wrong.
kgmaj The problem was how he automatically treated it like a domestic crime of passion as if any regular Joe could do that to a girl. The one who killed her was an educated doctor or mortician very familiar with human anatomy and non squemish who has surgical experience neatly cutting human flesh, and someone who is a psychopath who sees murder as elaborate art.
Julianne Hannes. I do not think it's the meaning, to accuse her. I understand more, what's in you wich made him mad. Without your will. Excuse my english. Anyway the murderer will kill again, in the cop's idea, so, what's his obsession and why you. It's what I understand.
I always took it as him being ironic, when he says "what could you have done to make someone so mad?" I think this movie is supposed to be like _Laura_ where the detective is in love with a beautiful, dead woman. (That in itself is creepy, which this movie and the creators of _Laura_ had to know.)
When the characters in this movie call the victim a tease it says something about the attitudes of 1947, maybe not so much about the attitudes of the writers.
I haven't seen this in years, thanks for posting this great movie!
I have the 2006 movie and it is nothing like this. It hardly touched on Elizabeth Shorts' life. I'm not sure why they said a boy and his grandfather found her body when it was a woman and her young daughter but still this movie was much better. Thanks for sharing ☺ 🖒
Glyn Parker The 2006 film was based off of James Elroy’s book which is a fictional account of the story. I know.. waste of time and $$
@Adrian At And T nope
@Adrian At And T it's was mother and the daughter stupid
@Adrian At And T next time Google jackass fuck u mean who cares
@@crews-lj3ph Why the name calling, etc.? Obviously, somebody cares to become so heated up over an error!!
I'll be honest... this was much better than I thought it would be. Strong cast.
She was jumpy, if someone knocked on the door, or the phone rang, but yet she was out on the town every night. Wouldn't go out unless there was a guy accompanying her?
My interest in The Black Dahlia murder case started when I saw this movie one afternoon....in my opinion SEVERED is the best book written on the case. Haunted me too, like so many others.
I agree I wrote a review about it on amazon.
Thank you for uploading this - one more piece in the Dahlia collection that I was not able to see for a long time! They changed character names and identities (grandmother instead of mother), and changed the mother who found Short's body into a grandfather and small boy, but most of this is quite accurate, and is a sensitive portrayal of Short.
I saw this as a kid when it came out. It scared the crap out me.
I was completely unaware of this case and story until I saw the TV movie in 1975. I was only in my mid-20s myself. I've been fascinated with the story ever since.
I wonder what type of person she really was? Who was the The Black Dahlia, really? Who did she get tangled up with?
Thanks a lot for posting this movie. I have been looking for it for a long time, but with no luck.
This was amazing to see. Thank you so much for uploading it.
marti-grecia Odalyz,
Elizabeth's murder is a terrible tragedy. Your outrageous comments blaming the girl for her own death make me sad. You cannot or refuse to understand that Elizabeth Short was a young, naive, and inexperienced girl out in the cruel world of Los Angeles, California. Yes it was a cruel world even in 1947. Big cities are like that! She was a good person, well liked and had made many friends in LA. Maybe she was too trusting and wouldn't have expected anyone she befriended and anyone who offered her help to be a murderous psychopath.
Where is your evidence that she was "playing with fire"? And who are you to judge her?
I shake my head at your "reincarnation" insult.
PS- Your feigned compassion for what she endured at the hands of that monster is laughable.
No one deserves to be killed like that...no matter the type of person they were!
@@MrLyndarenaud
Exactly! I just would like to know who, or what she got tangled up in. Was it random? Was it someone she knew?
Agreed aShylily
as for Lucie being no actress I think she did a great job in this movie considering when it was made and she was only 24.
I think she did a great job. Elizabeth Short was odd. Transient. Frightened. Lucie nailed it.
And it was filmed in just 10 days.
Love the intercutting in this movie ...... very clever.
I think it's influenced by _The Honeymoon Killers_, from 1970, another low budget movie (which developed a cult reputation) about a lurid 1940's murder.
Saw that movie ... a strange story but I loved it.
love these low key 70's movies...they don't leave the viewer feeling out of breath and manipulated as found with today's current crop of films.
Death Scream (1975) also would be nice to see
so well said
yeah, a movie not a lecture
I saw this movie back in the day. It was really spooky and Lucy Arnaz Jr looked much like Elizabeth Short
You know, they probably didn't know much about this case. Or at least they're not saying, but the things they did know they shouldn't have changed.
1. Rose tattoo was on her thigh, not her back.
2. She was from Massachusetts, not Maine.
3. A woman pushing her baby in a carriage found her, not a man and his little grandson. I'm sure there's more.
They keep saying her genitalia was underdeveloped and I don't believe it unless it says so on the autopsy report. Was one done in the first place? Her father killed her in this manner: his abandonment and rejection of the family was so embedded into her, she was repeating this behavior 2 the men she came across. She placed herself into harm's way by doing provocative things like: conning men 2 pay her bills (and then rejecting them) and by walking alone in places she should not have been. Did she deserve 2 die?---NO!!!! A rolling stone crossed somebody's (sicko) path.
Marie Tsikopoulou, you are applying your understanding of culture today to a world that existed almost 70 years ago. It was very typical and standard for men to buy a woman dinner and perhaps take her out for the evening. It was even expected. She had to eat and she had no lack of men willing to treat her to dinner and/or an evening out. To expect a relationship or sex in return was considered perverse and completely unacceptable. To sell newspapers there were male reporters at that time (and 98% of them were male) in a very chauvinist industry and culture who created a character to sell to the public who was nothing like the real young woman, and they damned her, all but explicitly saying she got what she deserved.
This is pretty good. Many of these characters are complete fiction but they are trying to portray a lost and lonely young woman who was vulnerable. Recently saw an interview with Lucie Arnaz where she said this was shot in two weeks!
Entertaining movie for TV, not documentary; I believe retired LAPD Detective Steve Hodel that his father did this murder. Strange happenings in LA back then....
I agree with Julianne. This movie should be remade. It was still pretty awesome for 1975, even with all of the technical errors.
Have you ever seen a remake? Never saw one that was half as good as the original.
lucy arnaz had a beautiful face...just like her timeless mother
Yes very very pretty
This so so sad they never solve this case it is sad there too many cases have not yet been solve
heather knuckles, reporters were on the scene taking pictures before the police could respond. The scene was severely contaminated by reporters and journalists before the scene could be secured. Today this case likely could be solved. Also, if the evidence still existed there is a good chance it could either be solved or eliminate suspects. Typical of the LAPD, the original evidence is missing, lost or destroyed decades ago. Should it be found, there was an envelope that probably contains the killer’s DNA and would be invaluable.
I kept think Lucie was gonna burst into song....wrong casting...
Haven't seen this movie since it originally aired. Thanks!
Prefer this over the new dhalia movie anytime.
She wasn't from Portland Maine, she was born in Boston, grew up in Medford Ma.
I remember watching this in '75. But I don't recall the scenes at all.
I was 7 and I never forgot this movie. My mother watched it and then we all watched it together and I knew what was going on and I never forget this case. As I became older, I bought the book "Severed". I was always frightened at the fate of this young woman, Hollywood or not, the point is that this really happened and Elizabeth Short was murdered at the hands of a monster. But I bet that they had him right in their police files, it wasn't that George Hodak (the one that the freak ex cop who keeps blaming his dad that he killed Elizabeth. It wasn't him). It was a stranger whom we will never know, she probably hitched a ride from a derelict psychopath who appeared nice looking and easy to talk to. The killer may have come from the address book that Elizabeth stole from that guy who housed actresses between movies. But then, no one witnesses that she made calls or maybe she did and was told to wait at that hotel. Maybe the person lived outside of the jurisdiction as well to have the space to do what he did. It had to be done in a house (not an apartment) and it may have been on a large acre of land where the killer couldn't be see. I think that the killer was someone who easily blended into society, somebody Elizabeth felt very comfortable taking a ride from or an invitation from. He must"ve appeared very harmless but with some money. With forensic psychology, I am sure that there is more that on file about the probability of this killer.
Heather, Elizabeth Short had friends, they told what they remembered to NBC when this movie was made.
Reviewer, Colin Wilson wrote that John Gilmore's book, "SEVERED: The True Story of the Black Dahlia" is "The best book on the Black Dahlia--in fact, the only reliable book." Another wrote, "A tour de force..." Its the most interesting/gripping book I ever read.
Remember watching this on late, late cable TV while in college in the early 2000s.
It’s no Citizen Kane, but it’s still an enjoyable watch about a fascinating person. Thanks for uploading!
I hope that the one who did this to her been hunted of her spirit,
Bence Szolnoki m.ua-cam.com/video/7u3o8txs9n8/v-deo.html
Watch this
apparently her mother was visited by the spirit right after it happened. See Mary Pacios's book Childhood Shadows.
I never quite understand why writers put so much fiction when the real story is much more interesting. However, Lucie Arnaz did a great job on this - every part I've ever seen her in she did a good job.
3 minutes in and realized straight away this was going to be a waste of time. A man and a boy finding the body?? Surely they could have done a little research on the actual people who found the body.
+purplezoid1 I just stopped it after the old man looks, is startled and appears ready to throw up. As it was a woman and her little boy, and as the woman thought she was seeing a mannequin and wasn't nauseated, I realized I was ready to throw up, too. What is it with Hollywood that they can't ever show things as they were? Why would they make it an old man instead of a young mother? No reason on earth except they have no respect for truth. Figured I'd bail before I got to the part where they claim the victim was an elderly male Filipino. You suck, Hollywood.
This film humanizes and romanticizes beautiful Elizabeth Short. None of the many stories I've read on the net do that.
The flower the beautiful Lucy Arnaz as Elizabeth is wearing in her hair at the end is a gardenia, not a dahlia.
I didn't know Lucy Arnaz was old
Christine Dunn oops this was 1975--thought it was 55-sorry
Elizabeth Short herself did not wear dahlias, but other flowers, including gardenias. The post-mortem nickname she was given was a misnomer created by the press.
inkyguy She was called the "Black Dahlia", because she often wore black. The moniker was a reference to a popular movie at the time called The Blue Dahlia.
The gardenia thing is accurate, as others said Elizabeth wasn't nicknamed the Black Dahlia because she wore actual dahlias in her hair, come on. 🙄
I wonder if Betty Short was a manic depressive: blowing hot then cold, sometimes withdrawn, sometimes gushing.
I recommend the book Severed by John Gilmore about this case. The case is a lot grittier and nastier than this TV movie can show. This was OK, thanks for the upload.
+peteyguitarguy I've got that book, now I'll get around to reading it. This movie was pretty good but I don't know anything about the case. I wanted to watch the 2006 movie but someone said this one was much better.
This is really good & a very sad story
Thanks for posting!!
Her father was quite pathetic
As I said before, the story is fabricated. Nobody knows what she said to dad or grandma, or any incidents with boyfriends. She was not a talker. She was very aloof, and told me that " She wanted to visit her dad, but he didn't like her..and refused to help her financially. She had a large cavity between front teeth and was hardly beautiful. Just average. I too bus home, but Liz must have walked. Big mistake. My mom had no idea I worked there for a few months. She thought I was a waitress.
The autopsy proved her teeth were rotting out of her head.....
Great post, a rare find, thanks so much!!!
Looks like L.A. had a SERIAL KILLER wandering by...
The woman who played the Grandmother, was the voice of the 'demon' in The Exorcist.
I noticed that. She actually did a lot of TV in the 70s.
I remember seeing the original photographs of her body I still find them horrific.
This is chock-full of famous faces
Thank you very much for sharing !
Lucy Ball did not want Lucie Arnaz to play Elizabeth Short for fear she would be killed by the same killer who killed Elizabeth Short, he was still alive over fifty years old at least.
Where you heard that and where can I find it. 🤔
I'll always love Donna Mills... And efrans hair. He had it to the end...and June Lockhart.?
Thanks for your comment. I recognised Donna Mills but couldn't for the life of me remember her name.
Waited a good while to see this. Thanks!
You have to remember that L.A. in the 40's, was not a bad place. To work nights like she and I did...nothing ever happened. No, the killer was never found. I'm glad I quit the job, because I was too young to worry about being followed. I continue further down on the page.
You were old enough to work at night in the 40's . Wow how old are you know ?
intense
With a father like him is better not to have one. Grandmother knows best about people character.
Thanks for posting.
What are the arguments against it being George hodell? I don't know a whole lot about the case but after listening to the root of evil podcast and Steven hodell interviews it really looks like he did it. Right down to the cement sack receipts dated the week she died.
The LAPD had Hodel as their main suspect but he went to Manila Philippines and they left it that as hodel had a lot of dirt on them. A woman was killed and cut in half like Elizabeth was. It was hodel and he killed others.
Tomorrow will be the 72th anniversary of this tragedy
Ms. Short was a very young, naive, woman from Medford, Massachusetts, she, sadly.. trusted people too much
Great Movie. Great Actors I love finding these old movies :). Lucy Arnaz is a beautiful woman !
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
There are inaccuracies in this movie, but it's by far better than the crap movie that came out in 2006.
This is so tragic, watching these flashback scenes of Elizabeth knowing what’s eventually going to happen to her 😭
Reminds me of “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.”
I saw this years ago but didn't remember that Lucy Arnaz was in it. She did a good job and of course the Black Dahlia case has never been solved. Sad story of a sad girl.
Lucie Arnaz is excellent in this film!
She actually looks like the Black Dahlia
+Vince F LOL I don't see it, but she played a good part, none the less.
She looks exactly like her. Large round face. The only thing missing is sky blue eyes.
I agree
The woman playing Elizabeth Short in this film is Lucille Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz!
21BakDoor21, this “aspiring actress” you refer to was a seasoned trooper by the time she did this part. She is actually “Hollywood royalty.” She is Lucy Arnez, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez.