Laura (1944) directed by Otto Preminger. Commissioned to score Preminger’s film, Raksin composed the haunting theme just days after separating from his first wife, drawing on her “Dear John” letter for inspiration and channeling his heartbreak into one of the most memorable and recognizable melodies in cinema history. | History of Cinema

Otto Preminger on the success of ‘Laura’ (1944) and how the critics viewed it upon release: “Bogdanovich: Have you found, in later years, that the success of Laura, coming so early in your film career, was more of a hindrance with critics than an asset? Preminger: I don’t ever think of anything in terms like those. Besides, Laura became a classic only later on, which is a great satisfaction for me. I got very mixed reviews at first—some really bad ones, in fact. I met one of the reviewers after