who grew tip during the depression and dreamed of a life as a Hollywood star. has acquired an almost mythical status. Perhaps Short's story has resonated so strongly because it represents an archetypal American tragedy; the pursuit of the American dream gone horribly sour. Filmmaker Brian De Palma certainly subscribes to this theory: “It‘s the way the pictures were taken at the death site. in which she was so honiny carved up and displayed.‘ he says. 'When you see them. you never get that image out of your mind. How this sort of would-be actress. struggling on the fringe of show business. ended up like this.‘
Another reason for the enduring interest in the Black Dahlia is that Short‘s murder and its aftermath had all the ingredients of a Hollywood
thriller. namely. a brutal murder. a legion of
suspects. clues. endless red herrings and a filing cabinets worth of conspiracy theories. ()ne of the most popular of these myths contends that Short was a high-class call girl with insider knowledge of the industry‘s hottest scandals. though there is no evidence to suggest that she ever worked as a prostitute. Speculation has been rife as to why Agness 'Aggie‘ Underwood. the most prominent crime reporter of the Hearst newspapers was
unceremoniously taken off the Dahlia murder case. And mzmy column inches have been devoted to what happened during Short's so-called 'missing week'. the pen'od between her disappearance on 9 January turd the discovery of her body on IS January.
Of course. the only element missing from this thriller — perhaps the most crucial — is a denouement. though a number of theories have been offered as to the identity of Short’s killer. These range from the plausible to the fanciful (both Woody (iuthrie and Orson Welles have been linked to the murder). Certainly the local press at the time knew they were creating a myth when they gave Elizabeth Short her sensational nickname. If ‘The Black Dahlia' is vaguely reminiscent of classic film noir. that‘s because there is in fact a film called The Blue Dahlia. released in I946. the year before the murder.
The Black Dahlia murder is destined to remain in the popular consciousness precisely because the killer was never caught. The many questions, rumours and theories surrounding this killing add to the twisted romance of the story and to a brain- taving puzzle that people still long to solve.
General release Fri 15 Sep 7—21 Sep 2006 THE “81' 17