D.O.A. (1950)

7.2Approved83 minDirector: Rudolph Maté

1950 film by Rudolph Maté

D.O.A. is a 1950 American film noir directed by Rudolph Maté, starring Edmond O'Brien and Pamela Britton. It is considered a classic of the genre. A fatally poisoned man tries to find out who has poisoned him and why. It was the film debuts of Beverly Garland (as Beverly Campbell) and Laurette Luez. In 2004, D.O.A. was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Leo C. Popkin produced D.O.A. for his short-lived Cardinal Pictures. Due to a filing error, the copyright to the film was not renewed on time, causing it to fall into the public domain: it was subsequently remade as Color Me Dead (1969), D.O.A. (1988), Dead on Arrival (2017), and D.O.A. (2022).

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is D.O.A. about?
D.O.A. (1950) — Small-town accountant Frank Bigelow goes to San Francisco for a week's fun prior to settling down with fiancée Paula. After a night on the town, he wakes up with more than just a hangover; doctors tell him he's been given a "luminous toxin" with no antidote and has, at most, a we
Is D.O.A. based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is D.O.A. scary?
Content rating: Approved. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.