Writer Raymond Chandler’s iconic character, private detective Philip Marlowe has had a great career both in novels and on the big screen. The fictional Philip Marlowe has been the lead role in 12 films since actor Dick Powell first portrayed him in 1946’s Murder My Sweet.
One of the better Philip Marlowe films is the simply titled, Marlowe (1969). In this adaption of Chandler’s novel, The Little Sister, actor James Garner gets the nod as the enigmatic detective. It is a quality film and is our recommendation for this installment of Weekend Buff.
In this movie, director Paul Bogart (All in the Family and Oh God! You Devil) and Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night) update Marlowe from 1940’s Los Angeles to the then-modern day late 1960’s LA.
Here Marlowe is hired by Orfamay Quest, a young lady from Kansas to locate her missing brother. The investigation soon turns to murder and a blackmail plot against famous actress Mavis Wald. Wald has shacked up with Los Angeles, nee Brooklyn, mobster Sonny Steelgrave. Wald and her studio bosses are desperate to hide the affair for fear of bad publicity, but photos of the tryst are out there somewhere.
As the bodies pile up, Marlowe has a caper on his hands. The police are also investigating, but true-to-form, Marlowe’s investigative powers are leaving the cops in the dust.
The film has a great cast, with James Garner as a solid, yet slightly atypical Philip Marlowe. The beautiful Gayle Hunnicutt stars as actress Mavis Wald. Hunnicutt exudes Hollywood glam right down to the big 60’s hair and sweet 69’ Jaguar roadster convertible that her character drives. Sharon Farrell is the manipulative client, Orfamay Quest. Both give good performances. Carroll O’Connor is excellent as the insecure LAPD Lieutenant Christy French, supported by Kenneth Tobey as Sgt Fred Beifus. Tobey is a career actor, but he plays such a great cop that I had to look him up to see if he was retired from The Job.
Bad guys include H.M. Wynant as mob boss Sonny Steelgrave, who does a nice job, but is horribly miscast into a poor character, as it seems like the studio didn’t want the stereotypical La Cosa Nostra types as the bad guys. The film was released just around the same time Joseph Coloumbo started the Italian American Civil Rights League, so perhaps they didn’t want to offend Italian Americans – or the mafia.
Steelgrave’s henchman is Winslow Wong, who is played by Bruce Lee. Wong is a great character in this film but drops off too early. Bruce Lee naturally puts on a wild martial arts display that is itself worth the cost of admission.
The film is not Oscar worthy and did not win any awards but is a solid and entertaining depiction of the legendary private eye. It is advertised as neo-noir, but the director and cinematographer could have done a better job of capturing that noir vibe.
What they do get right is the updated Marlowe feel for swinging 60’s Los Angeles. This iteration of Philip Marlowe is a little more realistic and nose to the grindstone than the literary version, and that makes the plot a little more true-to-life. Marlowe is catching clues that the cops miss and putting the puzzle together with facts rather than Sherlock Holmes-like deduction.
Phillip Marlowe gets beaten up, threatened, manipulated, and occasionally outsmarted. He survives mostly because he keeps asking questions when everybody else wants him to stop. He is a dog with a bone and refuses to let go.
Marlowe is the standard hour and thirty minutes, and the film fits the time perfectly. Nothing wasted and nothing extra. You can catch it on YouTube right now for free, but a Marlowe mystery is not something to watch on your phone. You have to pay attention to the angles, the motives, the clues, and the subtleties. This weekend, enjoy James Garner’s modern take on one of America’s greatest characters.
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