Who's Who in The Black Dahlia

The Lady in Black

It's not the first movie to be made from this classic mystery. Lucie Arnez played Elizabeth Short in 1975 in "Who is the Black Dahlia?" and a documentary about the tale, "Medford Girl," by Kyle J. Wood, came out in1993. There's also a multimedia adventure game called The Black Dahlia, which places players into a world full of death and deceit, and Carlos Palazio produced an eight-minute poetic video called "B. D." In addition, the crime inspired other movies, notably LA Confidential and True Confessions.

Video cover for LA Confidential

And there's one other notable movie connection. At five feet five and 115 pounds, blue-eyed Beth was a sweet romantic girl who hoped to marry a handsome serviceman. Some people thought she resembled the musical actress, Deanna Durbin, who was a role model for teenage girls and who often appeared in black clothing, so Short adopted that look.

Elizabeth Short

She went with to a military base in Long Beach, CA, to be with a serviceman, but the relationship did not work out. Just about that time, 1946, the movie The Blue Dahlia came out, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, set in a nightclub by that name. Because of her black hair and lacy black outfits, some of the servicemen called Beth the "Black Dahlia." She even sported a black ring on her finger. Her red nail polish and lipstick, and her constant talk about being an actress, gave her a glamorous persona. When she saw that her relationship dissolved, she went to Hollywood.