Master storyteller Brian De Palma, known for such
classic crime dramas as The Untouchables, Scarface
and Carlito's Way, as well as his suspense thrillers
Carrie, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out,
directs this adaptation of James Ellroy's (L.A. Confidential,
American Tabloid) best-selling crime novel.
THE BLACK DAHLIA weaves a ficitonalized tale
of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around
the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet
that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains
unsolved today. Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard
(Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), are
called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen
B-lister Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) A.K.A. "The
Black Dahlia" — an attack so grisly that images
of the killing were kept from the public.
While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the
sensational murder threatens his relationship with Kay (Scarlett
Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted
to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (two-time Oscar®
winner Hilary Swank), the daughter of one of the city's
most prominent families — who just happens to have
an unsavory connection to the murder victim.
True crime meets urban legend when De Palma brings
Ellroy's THE BLACK DAHLIA to the big screen.
