Summary
The hard-boiled detectivePhilip Marlowewas among the most famous private investigators in cinema and has been portrayed in several acclaimed movies over the years. As a hard-drinking, no-nonsense, wise-cracking detective, Marlowe was created by the writer Raymond Chandler and versions of him appeared in short stories, novels, and a dozen feature films. Marlowe first gained prominence in the film noirs of the 1940s but has since maintained an important place in popular culture and has been continually reimagined and revived for new audiences by acclaimed writers, directors, and performers.
Marlowe has been played by some ofthe greatest actors who ever livedas iconic performers, such as Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, made the character their own with memorable takes on his unique characterization. In many ways, Marlowe was the quintessential film noir private detective, and his legacy has been felt across all hard-boiled crime fiction in every medium. Whilesome Marlowe movies were certainly better than others, he’s a character who has endured through the years and held an important place in mainstream popular culture.
Time to Kill
Cast
Time to Kill, a mystery drama directed by Herbert I. Leeds, stars Lloyd Nolan as private detective Michael Shayne. The film follows Shayne’s investigation into a case involving a missing rare book, which soon leads to a web of secrets and deceit. As Shayne delves deeper, he uncovers more than he bargained for, showcasing the classic elements of film noir.
Time to Killwas an acceptable but forgettable film noirdirected by Herbert I. Leeds based on Raymond Chandler’s novelThe High Window. This was before the character of Philip Marlowe gained major name recognition and, in the film version, was renamed Michael Shayne and played by Lloyd Nolan. At just over one hour in length,Time to Killfailed to capture the film noir magic that made the character come to life on the big screen in subsequent years.
All the pieces of its classic hardboiled detective source material were on display inTime to Killas Marlowe traversed seedy streets and dank nightclubs in his pursuit of a gang of counterfeit coin producers. With such a limited runtime,Time to Killwas fast-paced throughout but was often overwhelmed by the complexity of its mystery. WhileTime to Killwas nothing special, it was an acceptable detective story, and there were worse ways viewers could while away an hour.
The Falcon Takes Over
The Falcon Takes Over is a 1942 mystery film directed by Irving Reis, featuring George Sanders as amateur sleuth Gay Lawrence, known as The Falcon. The plot, inspired by Raymond Chandler’s novel Farewell, My Lovely, follows The Falcon as he helps a nightclub singer and a detective unravel a complex murder case. This film blends the classic elements of noir with the charm and wit of its lead character.
Another film based on Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novelFarewell, My Lovely,titledThe Falcon Takes Over,was also released in 1942. However, the setting was changed from Los Angeles to New York, and Marlowe was renamed Gay Lawrence, aka The Falcon, and played by George Sanders. This was the very first Marlowe movie, and the character was still finding his feet on the big screen. The renaming of Marlowe inThe Falcon Takes Overfelt symbolic, as the studio failed to recognize that the most interesting thing in a Marlowe movie was always going to be the detective himself.
The Falcon Takes Overlacked the spark of future film noir adaptations of Chandler’s workand, similarly toTime to Kill, was just over an hour in length. The biggest issue withThe Falcon Takes Overwas that, although its story was based on a Marlowe novel, the character of the Falcon had already appeared in two previous movies. Saunders previously portrayed the Falcon inThe Gay FalconandA Date with the Falcon, which stopped the established personality of Detective Marlowe from shining through.
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep (1978) is a neo-noir mystery film directed by Michael Winner, starring Robert Mitchum as private detective Philip Marlowe. The film is based on Raymond Chandler’s novel and follows Marlowe as he is hired by a wealthy family to unravel a complex web of blackmail, murder, and intrigue. Set in London, the movie features an ensemble cast including Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, and Richard Boone.
The Big Sleepwas Robert Mitchum’s second film portraying detective Philip Marlowe afterFarewell, My Lovelythree years before. This marked the only time an actor had played the character twice in feature films, and at 60 years old, Mitchum was by far the oldest iteration of Marlowe ever seen at that point. Witha story moved from the original 1940s Los Angeles setting to 1970s London,The Big Sleepwas able to outright address more explicit themes of homosexuality, pornography, and nudity than ever before seen in a Marlowe movie.
However,The Big Sleepwas a tough act to follow, as it was always going to be compared toHumphrey Bogart’s iconic 1946 version, which stood as one of the greatest film noirs of all time. With these giant shoes to fill, Mitchum’sThe Big Sleepwas always going to fall short and felt flat and dull in comparison.The Big Sleepwas not a bad movie by any means, but when given the choice, the earlier version will always be the one that film noir viewers choose to watch.
The Brasher Doubloon
The Brasher Doubloon is a 1947 film noir directed by John Brahm, featuring George Montgomery as private investigator Philip Marlowe. The plot revolves around Marlowe’s investigation into a missing rare coin, the Brasher Doubloon, which leads him into a web of murder and deception. The film is an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel ‘The High Window.’
By 1947, film noirs and the character of Philip Marlowe had become extremely popular due to the success of classics likeThe Big Sleep,and 20th-Century Fox wanted to make the most of their ownership of the film rights to Raymond Chandler’sThe High Window. Fox had already adapted the novel years before asTime to Kill, but this time decided to be more faithful to the source material and keep the character of Detective Marlowe intact. This led to a far better film that was much more attuned to the wise-cracking, hard-drinking, tough-guy detective audiences had come to love.
WhileThe Brasher Doubloonwas an improvement upon Fox’s previous efforts, it also felt like an inferior copycat of Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal inThe Big Sleep. Here, George Montgomery played Marlowe, but it lacked the conviction needed to make the character truly come alive on the screen. There’s snappy dialogue, a moody atmosphere, and a creepy villain played by Fritz Kortner, but when compared to the best outing of this character in the 1940s, it all felt like an unnecessary attempt to cash in on Marlowe’s recent popularity.
Poodle Springs
Poodle Springs is a 1998 neo-noir crime film that follows private detective Philip Marlowe, played by James Caan, as he navigates a web of crime and mystery in the newly affluent desert town of Poodle Springs. Based on a novel by Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker, Marlowe’s investigation reveals dark secrets, shedding light on the hidden corruption beneath the town’s glamorous facade. Directed by Bob Rafelson, the film captures the classic noir atmosphere.
The most commonly forgotten entry when discussing Philip Marlowe movies was James Caan’s take on the character in the 1998 made-for-TV moviePoodle Springs. This neo-noir HBO film wasbased on Raymond Chandler’s unfinished novelPoodle Springsand followed an aging Marlowe in 1963 who was recently married to a young socialite named Laura Parks (Dina Meyer.) From here, Marlowe got mixed up in a story of blackmail and murder amid the wayward antics of Los Angeles’ young social scene.
Poodle Springswas just okay, and its saving grace was Caan’s performance, as he seemed to be having a great time portraying Detective Marlowe. There were plenty of twists and turns asPoodle Springshit on the most common film noir tropes and cliches, but something felt missing, and it did not have the same infectious energy as other Chandler adaptations. There’s great potential inPoodle Springs, but overall, it was a mid-tiermade-for-TV moviethat’s best sought out by Marlowe completionists and left behind by those without a special affinity for the character.
Marlowe
Marlowe is a neo-noir crime thriller directed by Neil Jordan, featuring Liam Neeson as the eponymous private detective Philip Marlowe. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, the film follows Marlowe as he becomes entangled in a complex case involving a mysterious heiress, played by Diane Kruger, and a web of deception. The screenplay, adapted by William Monahan, is based on the novel The Black-Eyed Blonde by John Banville.
Marlowewas the only theatrical depiction of Detective Philip Marlowe in the 21st century, and sadly, it paled in comparison to the character’s best representations. While Liam Neeson did a decent job as an older, worldly-weary version of the film noir detective, the film lacked spark and felt like a meandering retread of noir tropes and cliches as it adapted Irish novelist John Baville’s authorizedThe Long GoodbyesequelThe Black-Eyed Blonde. For all the love thatMarloweshowed for the legacy of its character, the film just never came to life in the way that it needed to.
With Bogart’s classic iteration to compete with and the character already having been reimagined for modern audiences by Robert Altman and Eliott Gould, if a director like Neil Jordan really wanted to revive Marlowe once again, then it would have been wise to have something new and urgent to say. However, this was not the case, andMarlowecame across as a fantastic-looking film with practically no purpose. Sadly,Marlowewas a movie doomed to be forgotten entirely just minutes after the credits rolled.
Lady in the Lake
Lady in the Lake is a 1946 film noir directed by and starring Robert Montgomery, based on Raymond Chandler’s novel. The film features Montgomery as private detective Philip Marlowe, who is hired to find a missing woman. Notably, the movie employs a first-person perspective, with the protagonist’s face rarely seen, creating a unique narrative style that places viewers directly in Marlowe’s shoes.
Phillip Marlowe was given an extra ‘L' in his name for Robert Montgomery’s portrayal inLady in the Lake, a murder mystery based on Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same name. Montgomery directed himself in one of the most unusual and unique Marlowe adaptations, and it utilized a point-of-view style as viewers only saw what Marlowe saw and the character only appeared in mirrored reflections or when he addressed the audience directly. This ambitious style made it the first film of its kind, and sadly,contemporary critics dismissedLady in the Lakeas gimmicky.
However, this willingness to try something new madeLady in the Lakestand out among the litany of other inferior Marlowe movies from the 1940s. While its POV style felt interesting and exciting at the beginning, asLady in the Lakeprogressed, it began to lose steam, and the style did the movie a disservice by the end. As a unique experiment,Lady in the Lakewas an important film noir and an enjoyable Marlowe film, but this was not enough to make it rise above the very best portrayals of the character.
Marlowe (1969) is a neo-noir crime film directed by Paul Bogart, starring James Garner as private detective Philip Marlowe. The plot revolves around Marlowe’s investigation into a missing person case, which leads to a series of complex events involving various crime figures in Los Angeles. The film is based on Raymond Chandler’s novel “The Little Sister” and features a cast that includes Bruce Lee, Carroll O’Connor, and Rita Moreno.
As the only Detective Philip Marlowe movie that paired the hardboiled investigator with Bruce Lee,Marlowewas an absolute must-see for lovers of film noirs and Kung Fu alike. WithJames Garner as Marlowe and Bruce Lee in a supporting role as the villain Winslow Wong,Marlowewas a convincing update on well-worn storylines that showcased the character still held some relevance after his heyday in the 1940s. While its litany of subplots made for confusing viewing, film noirs have been known for their complex and convoluted narratives, andMarlowewas no different.
Garner did well in his role as Marlowe and captured just the right balance between subdued charisma and cool confidence that made the character one of the most iconic detectives in all of fiction. Marlowe failed to reach the heights of classics likeThe Big Sleepand did not reimagine the character as vividly as inThe Long Goodbye, but there was still a lot to enjoy about this version. For Bruce Lee alone,Marlowewas worth seeking out.
Farewell, My Lovely
Farewell, My Lovely is a 1975 film noir adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel, starring Robert Mitchum as private detective Philip Marlowe. Set in 1940s Los Angeles, Marlowe navigates a series of complex cases involving a missing woman, a corrupt cop, and a formidable gangster. Directed by Dick Richards, the film captures the gritty essence of Chandler’s story, presenting a dark and atmospheric portrayal of crime and intrigue.
As the first film to feature Robert Mitchum as Detective Philip Marlowe,Farewell, My Lovelywas a neo-noir update of Raymond Chander’s novel, which powerfully captured the seedy underbelly of 1940s Los Angeles. Coming off the back ofChinatownthe same year, which similarly paid tribute to film noirs of the past,Farewell, My Lovelyfelt like a campy tribute to a bygone era in Hollywood. This could have fallen flat on its feet, but with an actor as talented as Mitchum in the lead paired with the accomplished direction of Dick Richards, they pulled it off.
Farewell, My Lovelynot only looked great and had incredible performances but gave audiences an updated version of Marlowe that leaned heavily into the hard-boiled style in which Chandler created him. Like the best Marlowe movies,Farewell, My Lovelywas full of twists and had a moody atmospherethat sucked viewers into its world. Charlotte Rampling also deserved praise for her portrayal of the quintessential femme fatale seductress, Helen Grayle.
Murder, My Sweet
Murder, My Sweet is a 1944 film noir directed by Edward Dmytryk, featuring Dick Powell as private detective Philip Marlowe. Adapted from Raymond Chandler’s novel Farewell, My Lovely, the story follows Marlowe as he is hired to find a missing woman and becomes embroiled in a complex web of deceit, crime, and murder in Los Angeles. Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley co-star in this quintessential example of the genre.
Murder, My Sweetwas the first true Philip Marlowe movie, as the previous Raymond Chandler adaptations renamed and repurposed the character in different ways. WithDick Powell as Detective Marlowe, this story was based on the novelFarewell, My Lovely,and was a key influence on the development of the film noir genre as a whole. Looking back on the film today, it may be hard to see how trailblazing its stylish atmosphere and dark mood were, as countless noirs copied and mimicked it in the following years.
As Marlowe was drawn into a complex world of murder and deceit, all his classic character traits as a no-nonsense, hard-drinking, and intelligent investigator were fully displayed.Murder, My Sweetwas a definitive Chandler adaptation, and Powell even gave Humphrey Bogart a run for his money by being among the best versions of Marlowe cinema that has ever been seen. It’s complex, mysterious, and still holds up eight decades later.
