i finally got to see it, and i think its a terrible adaption. its totally unfaithful to the book. dick powell is not how i envisioned marlowe. most of the principal characters are intact, but most events are totally changed around. even if i hadnt read the book, this movie is plain boring. what a disappointment..
shareHuh, interesting. It's actually one of my favourite films ever.
Yes, I adore the book and all the others in the series, but the fact that the film moves away from it isn't neccessarily a bad thing. I mean 'Farewell My Lovely' with Robert Mitchum stuck closer and is (IMO) no-where near as good a film. If you can't see past the book, then I guess you'll never like this movie.
Dick Powell. Yeah, I wasn't too sure. But I have been won over, and have come to believe that he makes the movie. He won Chandler's approval, the author having always envisioned his protagonist as a Cary Grant-type. I think he makes a brilliant Marlowe, unlike Bogart's, who (again, IMO) was great fun but not deep enough. And Mitchum was too old. Powell is suave, witty but believable as a normal guy. The waking-up-in-the-crack-house scene sends chills down my spine. And I love Claire Trevor, always a great character actress.
Ed Dmytryk was a superb director when on form, and he definitely is here. The sets are gloriously cheap and flimsy, which endears the film to me even more.
So, if you can get past the book and the fact that Powell isn't how you pictured Marlowe (to be fair, I don't think he's how anyone who's seen 'The Big Sleep' pictures Marlowe), then maybe give the film another view on a stand-slone basis.
It's an ENGLISH accent, not BRITISH! Join the crusade, Brits!
I was disappointed in the film also. I was expecting classic, and was let down. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but it just didn't live up to my expectation. Call me crazy, but my favorite Marlowe is Elliott Gould in the Long Goodbye.
I wouldn't call you crazy at all :D
Gould is brilliant, and his Marlowe is the one I'd like to have a drink with, but Powell is the voice I hear and the man I see when I read the books.
It's an ENGLISH accent, not BRITISH! Join the crusade, Brits!
OK, let me settle this argument right now... Just kidding, of course.
While I wouldn't be so uncharitable as to call this movie a joke, I do not like it much. For me, Dick Powell's Marlowe is too much of a lightweight. Yes, Marlowe should be a wiseass, but he also has to suggest that there's more to him than his mouth. Powell does not do this for me.
To me Bogart is the definitive Marlowe. And not necessarily because he's the most faithful to Chandler's conception of his character. I just really like 'The Big Sleep' and love to watch Bogart's Marlowe skillfully and discreetly clean up the various messes made by the Sternwood sisters. Of course Bogey benefits enormously from some of the snappiest dialogue every written. And no, I don't know who killed the Sternwoods' chauffeur, nor do I care. Chandler's plots were absurdly complicated and utterly beside the point. If you're looking for a tidy little mystery to solve, try Agatha Christie. Film Noir is not your thing.
As for Elliott Gould in Altman's 'The Long Goodbye', I thought he was fantastic. I think he captured much of the spirit of Marlowe, while at the same time coming up with a completely new and original take. Gould's Marlowe was bemused, confused, skeptical, contemptuous of authority, but he still believed that it was his job to save the damsel in distress. To me, that's the essence of Marlowe and Gould had it.
By the way, I also liked James Garner in 'Marlowe'. The film is not exactly a classic, but it's fun to watch Garner essentially doing Jim Rockford before there was a 'Rockford Files'.
I think Powell is the closest to Chandler's Marlowe, though Gould is the most enjoyable.
To me, the point you made about Powell being all mouth is exactly what I'd say about Bogart's performance. Much as I love the snappy dialogue, I think it makes the character two-dimensional. Highly entertaining, but not as fully-rounded as Powell's interpretation. He plays it as a person who can be hurt (crack house, anyone?) rather than a wisecrack machine. Saying that, I love all three main films - this, The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye, but TBS is the only one I don't have on DVD. It's fun, sexy, everything people say it is, but it's not really a thinker.
It's an ENGLISH accent, not BRITISH! Join the crusade, Brits!
I'd have to disagree with you. This is indispensable viewing for anyone interested in film noir. It's got a great expressionist look to it as well as a subtext that indicts capitalism and fascism for corrupting the individual and corroding society. I consider it Dmytryk's best film.
shareOh, no, I was talking about The Big Sleep when I said that. Murder, My Sweet is quite think-y in its own way.
It's an ENGLISH accent, not BRITISH! Join the crusade, Brits!
I'll borrow this line from "Bitbyadeadbee"....
"While I wouldn't be so uncharitable as to call this movie a joke, I do not like it much."
Agree, but this has happened before after first viewings, so will have to give it a second (or more) chance(s)
Urania to Terpsichore: "You're so quiet. Musing????"
Okay, well, if we're going to throw all the Marlowe's on the table, don't forget about Robert Montgomery as Marlowe in The Lady In The Lake. Not my favorite at all, but certainly a must-see for the Chandler and Marlowe fan.
The Lady In The Lake had two problems: 1. I thought Montgomery's Marlowe came across as too snide and cynical - somehow all those quips rolling off his tongue made them come across as him being just plain nasty more than it portrayed him as the jaded, world-weary wise guy. 2. they used a gimmick for The Lady In The Lake, the camera point of view was supposed to be what Marlowe was seeing. Almost to the point that they'd move the camera side-to-side to indicate that he was shaking his head "no"! Robert Montgomery directed The Lady In The Lake, so it's doubly ironic that he is playing Marlowe and that the camera is all from Marlowe's (and the director's!) point of view. Anyway, it was a novel idea at the time which I think didn't work so well. Robert Montgomery was a terrific actor in many other films.
But if you're going to go to the trouble to watch Eliot Gould play Marlowe, then you really should see Robert Montgomery in the part too!
Well, for the record, a Lady in the Lake with a sword is a basis for government...
sorry, couldn't resist.
This is indispensable viewing for anyone interested in film noir... I consider it Dmytryk's best film.
You've got to love the very opening shots - slowly panning in from overhead, Marlowe getting the "treatment" from the bulls, overhead light in his face, his interrogators in shadowy silhouette through the cigarette smoke, the music holding on a taut and tense note. Those first few moments are really powerful. Also, the first moment we see Moose, in reflection on Marlowe's office window, his image alternating with the flashing "chop suey" neon sign outside, is really spooky!
There are so many defining film noir set ups, stylings, camera angles and lighting treatments in this movie!! It's definitely got a high ranking in the film noir canon. It's one of my very favorite films!
"It's definitely got a high ranking in the film noir canon."
I have seen a number of superior noir thrillers including Double Indemnity, Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Killers, The Asphalt Jungle, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Set-Up and my favourite to date The Big Heat.
I love the look of the film and the opening shots. What I like about Powell's performance is that you can tell what his morals are about. I think he is a sexy guy who still draws the line at how far he'll go - notice how uncomfortable he is when Mrs. Grayle comes into his room, bringing his "retainer".
I also love Powell's way with dialog. Perhaps it came from being a singer? In many ways, his best scenes are with the cops. The character gives as good as he gets, appearing a little harder than many give him credit for.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
This is the best film adaption of a Raymond Chandler novel, and Dick Powell is great as Philip Marlowe.
Chandler himself (who should know, since he created the Marlowe character and wrote in Marlowe's "voice") felt Powell was the perfect Philip Marlowe.
It's too bad Powell didn't play the character again in "The Big Sleep," or at any other time. Two or three (or even four) films of Raymond Chandler novels with Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe would have been ideal.
I just wanted to post regarding your remarks about The Big Sleep. That movie is my favorite film noir film. Bogart is Marlowe, and his voice is the voice I hear whenever I read Chandler, any other crime novel of the period or pulp fiction as well. And I don't care who killed the chauffeur. Every time I watch the movie, I enjoy coming up with different scenarios involving different possible chauffeur-murderers. I delight in the idea that even William Faulkner couldn't solve that plot hole!
Human Rights: Know Them, Demand Them, Defend Them
Yes, Powell has also become the "voice" for me also, especially since his Richard Diamond, Private Detective exudes tones of Marlowe. (That is, when I'm not listening to Gerald Mohr as Marlowe in the radio program.) However, Bogart's portrayal of Marlowe in The Big Sleep will always be the classic interpretation for me. Hope that's not confusing...
share