I remember seeing this movie as a kid. The fascinating thing was how the Private Investigator Phillip Marlowe invited you to come along and see how he plied his trade. He promised that we would see everything as he saw it right up to the payoff when the real killer is revealed. I found this such a generous and friendly way for a shamus to usher the viewer into his world that to me it was a foolproof narrative hook. I loved the way it starts all sweetness and light before the gun comes out and we're advised by Marlowe that we've got to watch 'em all the time. The first time I saw it, I felt like a child (which I was) being taken by an adult to see how he spent his day at work.
Robert Montgomery used a novel idea of having us see everything from the camera's point of view (i.e. his own as private investigator) and for the most part it works to build up anticipation for the coming dangers ahead. The reveals of Montgomery's character in reflections from the mirrors could have been more adroitly handled, as a few of them come across as a little self congratulatory, but I enjoyed so much being asked to walk a mile in the private detective's gumshoes it seemed a negligible drawback. It is one thing to watch a private eye being tough and resourceful and quick with the wisecracks when encountering suspects, but quite another to feel you are tough and resourceful and to watch Miss Fromsett played by Audrey Totter get a quip in the face to her dismay when she is expecting a smack on the kisser. The point of view gimmick worked best for me when Marlowe was getting socked or socking someone or being tailed by an ominous mysterious suspect or on the verge of discovering a dead body.
This is a less adult version of the Murder Mystery. Phillip Marlowe comes on at the beginning and then at the end like he's going to award you with a decoder ring once you've guessed correctly who the real culprit has been all along. That to me is it's primary strength, the fact that it takes the viewer in and along as a sidekick and to some extent as an equal. The plot itself is rather run of the mill, but the reaction shots of several of the characters to Marlowe's presence or snappy one-liners are vividly priceless. Leon Ames as the guilty looking book publisher Derace Kingsby and Lloyd Nolan as the brutally determined Lt. DeGarmot along with Jayne Meadows as a duplicitous Mrs. Falbrook come particularly to mind. Tom Tully as Capt. Kane has the most endearing moment when he is talking to his wife and kid in the Police Station House outside of and excepting Montgomery's and Totter's romantic banter.
A New York Times Film Critic states that Montgomery as the Director of the piece did not explore the full possibilities of this cinematic version of the first-person narrative. This may be so, but what Montgomery did actually accomplish is so vivid in my mind that I think he employed the camera as the viewpoint of the central character to useful and workmanlike effect. There is no doubt that this version of a Marlowe Adventure comes across to some as childish and barely above the level of a comic book or story in a TRUE CRIME magazine. But that's partly its charm the way I see it. It's a tale for a rainy afternoon complete with tough guys and babes and dead bodies all done with a light touch, but not to be taken without a grain of salt. The hero takes you into his confidence and then when all is said and done and the case is closed hints that you should beat it as he and his lady fair go off to fly the friendly skies. He wishes you Merry Christmas and all that stuff about Holiday cheer. Just watch that you don't get blood on your shoes on the way out and keep your hands off the bullet holes in the walls.
The last thing worthy of mentioning is how much like a radio play this whole thing comes across. I understand that it was done as a Radio Adaption with Robert Montgomery and Audrey Totter reprising their roles and I could easily see it also done as an audio book. Those who have played video games will also see this first person investigator as similar to the first person shooter they are used to manipulating with a joy stick.
That being said; good luck as you test your smarts discovering who is that Lady in the Lake!
Robert Montgomery used a novel idea of having us see everything from the camera's point of view (i.e. his own as private investigator) and for the most part it works to build up anticipation for the coming dangers ahead. The reveals of Montgomery's character in reflections from the mirrors could have been more adroitly handled, as a few of them come across as a little self congratulatory, but I enjoyed so much being asked to walk a mile in the private detective's gumshoes it seemed a negligible drawback. It is one thing to watch a private eye being tough and resourceful and quick with the wisecracks when encountering suspects, but quite another to feel you are tough and resourceful and to watch Miss Fromsett played by Audrey Totter get a quip in the face to her dismay when she is expecting a smack on the kisser. The point of view gimmick worked best for me when Marlowe was getting socked or socking someone or being tailed by an ominous mysterious suspect or on the verge of discovering a dead body.
This is a less adult version of the Murder Mystery. Phillip Marlowe comes on at the beginning and then at the end like he's going to award you with a decoder ring once you've guessed correctly who the real culprit has been all along. That to me is it's primary strength, the fact that it takes the viewer in and along as a sidekick and to some extent as an equal. The plot itself is rather run of the mill, but the reaction shots of several of the characters to Marlowe's presence or snappy one-liners are vividly priceless. Leon Ames as the guilty looking book publisher Derace Kingsby and Lloyd Nolan as the brutally determined Lt. DeGarmot along with Jayne Meadows as a duplicitous Mrs. Falbrook come particularly to mind. Tom Tully as Capt. Kane has the most endearing moment when he is talking to his wife and kid in the Police Station House outside of and excepting Montgomery's and Totter's romantic banter.
A New York Times Film Critic states that Montgomery as the Director of the piece did not explore the full possibilities of this cinematic version of the first-person narrative. This may be so, but what Montgomery did actually accomplish is so vivid in my mind that I think he employed the camera as the viewpoint of the central character to useful and workmanlike effect. There is no doubt that this version of a Marlowe Adventure comes across to some as childish and barely above the level of a comic book or story in a TRUE CRIME magazine. But that's partly its charm the way I see it. It's a tale for a rainy afternoon complete with tough guys and babes and dead bodies all done with a light touch, but not to be taken without a grain of salt. The hero takes you into his confidence and then when all is said and done and the case is closed hints that you should beat it as he and his lady fair go off to fly the friendly skies. He wishes you Merry Christmas and all that stuff about Holiday cheer. Just watch that you don't get blood on your shoes on the way out and keep your hands off the bullet holes in the walls.
The last thing worthy of mentioning is how much like a radio play this whole thing comes across. I understand that it was done as a Radio Adaption with Robert Montgomery and Audrey Totter reprising their roles and I could easily see it also done as an audio book. Those who have played video games will also see this first person investigator as similar to the first person shooter they are used to manipulating with a joy stick.
That being said; good luck as you test your smarts discovering who is that Lady in the Lake!