D.O.A. (1988) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this month’s episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron get luminous substances pumping through their veins as they discuss D.O.A.

Written by: Charles Edward Pogue

Based on the 1950 film written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Stern, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Neame, Robin Johnson, and Robert Knepper

Directed by: Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton

Trailer:

Watch the movie (free on YouTube):

Our Favourite Trivia:

Hitchcock Reference: In Cornell’s class, he calls on a student named Metcalf. Metcalf was the name of Guy Haines’ hometown in Strangers on a Train.

Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan worked together the year before on Innerspace (1987), and fell in love during filming of D.O.A. They married in 1991 and divorced in 2001.

Debut cinema film for directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel who had become famous for making “Max Headroom” for television. They also co-directed Super Mario Bros. (1993).

The dead student is named “Nick Lang”, a name combining those of two directors famous for working in film noir, Nicholas Ray and Fritz Lang. One of the policemen is surnamed “Ulmer”, a reference to another famous film noir director, Edgar G. Ulmer. The heroine is surnamed “Fuller”, very likely a reference to Samuel Fuller. The name of the hero, “Dexter Cornell”, may be drawn from two famous writers of noir fiction, Pete Dexter and Cornell Woolrich.

The Random Draw for Next Picture:

Next up, we’ll be discussing Double Indemnity (1944)

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