Laura is a classic movie mystery film in the film noir style. The film is an early example of this technique. The term film noir was not coined by French critics until 1946. The critics had observed an increasingly dark theme pervading American cinema concerning crime and detective films. Laura epitomizes these themes as we see Laura being loved and hated by those closest to her.

The film is entirely based on suspense and some moments of surprise. From the first time we hear about Laura's death the automatic question is why she dies and who did it. However, throughout all the investigations, we seem to get no closer to a conclusive answer. Then, to our surprise, Laura almost magically reappears. At first, viewers wonder if she is a dream, but she has truly returned. The next questions are who really died, who did it...