THIS 'LAURA' A GHOST OF FILM INCARNATION.

Byline: Julio Martinez Correspondent

Based on Vera Caspary's successful novel of the same name, the Otto Preminger-produced-and-directed 1944 film noir mystery thriller, ``Laura,'' garnered five Academy Award nominations for its sumptuously stylish and witty perusal of the shenanigans surrounding an upscale Manhattan murder case.

The subsequent 1947 Broadway stage adaptation, by Caspary and George Sklar, did not fare as well. Neither does this elegantly produced but woefully undernourished staging by Lynette McNeill, starring Emmy Award winner Linda Hamilton (TV's ``Beauty and the Beast'' and the ``Terminator'' films) in the title role.

Despite its imaginative singular plot twist, this is a larger-than-life tale that relies more on the vitality of the characters than on its wordy and transparent ``whodunit'' machinations. Unfortunately, the McNeill- guided ensemble offers a pedestrian, colorless stroll through this tale of the murderous doings in the posh Gotham pad of beautiful and successful business woman Laura Hunt (Hamilton).

The only elements of this production that do hit the mark are John Iacovelli's gorgeous 1940s-correct Manhattan apartment setting and Hamilton's dazzling wardrobe, designed by Dick Magnanti. The opening scene certainly begins on the right note. As composer David Raksin's now-classic ``Theme From Laura'' wafts over the setting, police detective Mark McPherson (Robin Thomas) gazes longingly at the large, over-the-fireplace portrait of deceased Laura Hunt, who just the night before had her face blown away by a shotgun blast as she answered the door to her apartment. Then the detective's reverie is broken as the front door opens, and it is all downhill from there.

A series of ``life with Laura'' tales ensues by a plethora of potential suspects, including the laughably pretentious arbitrator of good taste, journalist Waldo Lydecker (Stanley Kamel), Laura's elegant but impoverished Southern aristocrat fiance Shelby Carpenter (Tom Astor), emotionally unstable, hot-to-trot teen-age admirer Danny Dorgan (Matthew Godrey) and the boy's mother, the thoroughly disapproving apartment building manager Mrs. Dorgan (Karen Tarleton). None of the mundane banter from any of these portrayals does more than move the plot along.

The only vitality is provided by Myra Turley's energetic outing as Laura's worshipful, working-class Irish housekeeper, Bessie Clary.

Particularly disappointing is Kamel's dry but uninspired performance as acid-tongued Lydecker, a character based on legendary barbed wit Alexander Woolcott, who also was the archetype for the lead character in ``The Man Who Came to Dinner.'' Lydecker has all the funny lines, such as the journalist's reference to a young model as `` ... a magazine cover wired for sound,'' but they never reach their intended fruition.

There is so much said about the title character before the supposed corpse makes her appearance, that Laura certainly has a lot to live up to. Hamilton exudes the proper balance of intellectual sophistication and emotional fragility but lacks the essential ``inner glow'' that has supposedly driven all these men to such distraction. The most memorable aspect of this production is the realization that back in the 1940s, Laura could afford all this Manhattan elegance on a stated salary of $300 a week.

``LAURA''

Where: The Tiffany Theatre, 8532 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 17.

Tickets: $25 to $30. Call [phone].

Our rating: Two and one half stars

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Photo:

Linda Hamilton, center, is the object of attention from several men, including Tom Astor, left, Stanley Kamel and Robin Thomas, right, in the stage production of ``Laura'' at the Tiffany Theatre.