The Black Dahlia: Infamous Hollywood Murder Makes it to the Big Screen

Directed by Brian De Palma (whose credits are too numerous to list) and based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia is inspired by the high-profile murder that rocked Hollywood decades ago.

Elizabeth Short, young, aspiring actress, born July 29 1924, had dreams of making it big in Hollywood. She moved to California, allegedly, to start her movie career. One look at Short, and it’s easy to see why she might have entertained these notions – in a word, Elizabeth Short was stunning. She could not walk down a sidewalk without being asked on a date, which she often accepted. Though Short may have been a veteran dater, she was still a “good girl” – no true sexual allegations have marred Short’s reputation even in all these long years.

A cold morning on January 15, 1947, Short would achieve lasting fame for the most grisly of reasons. Her body, sawed in half, was discovered by a California house wife in a dusty, abandoned lot. “The Black Dahlia” became a media sensation almost overnight. Short’s gorgeous face was plastered over magazines and newspapers around the country, and somewhere her killer read the details of his own devilish deeds.

Friends say that Short’s nickname was inspired by the fact that she always wore black. Her story would become one of the most famous unsolved murder mysteries of all time, immortalized in books and movies for decades. The case remains unsolved to this day, and LAPD investigators hold out little hope of ever finding the Black Dahlia killer.

The killer went so far as to rub investigators’ noses in it. A mysterious package arrived at the police station nine days after the highly-publicized murder, reeking of gasoline and containing Short’s most personal items. Thirteen letters were sent to police and the media, allegedly penned by the killer, almost taunting investigators.

The sensational murder will be portrayed in the upcoming movie, The Black Dahlia, scheduled for release September 15, 2006. Josh Hartnett plays investigating officer Bucky Blieichart, Mia Kirshner will portray the Black Dahlia herself, and Hilary Swank as beautiful Madeline Linscott. The star-studded cast will re-create this famous story against a 1940s Los Angeles backdrop.

Though her murder may never be solved, The Black Dahlia lives on. But Elizabeth Short was more than a media headline, a famous unsolved murder, a beautiful young woman. She was a sister, a daughter, a friend. Though she achieved her fame in a macabre way, The Black Dahlia will remain famous for all time.