MovieChat Forums > Lady in the Lake (1947) Discussion > Why Oh Why do screenwriters think they'r...

Why Oh Why do screenwriters think they're better?

posted 10 years ago by schwapj
3 replies | jump to latest

A book gets made into a movie because people liked the book! And the absolute hallmarks of a Raymond Chandler book are the STORY and the DIALOG. This movie captured neither the fluid intricacy of the book's plot, nor the intelligence and wit of Chandler's detective. I give it a 3 out of 10.

In addition, Marlowe is notoriously difficult to cast because actors in the 40's didn't have the physicality necessary to take on characters from the underworld and still be attractive to women, and actors nowadays would never willingly walk away from the dame--but walking away from the dame is an absolute necessity if one is to be Marlowe. The only actor I can think of that had all of the necessary tools was Mitchum. Maybe Errol Flynn if he had bulked up a bit and had a good director.

Well anyway, I thought this movie stunk.

[–] jtf1986 9 years ago

By your logic Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler himself shouldn't have changed James Cain's text when they wrote the screenplay for Double Indemnity.

[–] activista 9 years ago

@schwapj

In addition, Marlowe is notoriously difficult to cast because actors in the 40's didn't have the physicality necessary to take on characters from the underworld and still be attractive to women, and actors nowadays would never willingly walk away from the dame-

Uh---what? That's so not even true----you must have not watched a lot of film noirs,then, to believe that.

[–] schwapj 9 years ago

Good argument--except (1) Which part is not true? (2) Examples of mainstream actors that could have filled these roles? (3) Examples of film noir actors that could have filled these roles? And (4), wrong, I've watched a ton of film noirs, and the big guys were always cast as goons, because they looked like goons.

Ralph Meeker came close, ten years later. Robert Montgomery had neither the build nor the voice to be Marlowe.