Lady in the Lake (film) Review

Lady in the Lake  

Director/Studio/Author: Robert Montgomery/Warner Brothers/Steve Fisher

Original release date: 1946

Format, Genre and length: DVD/Film Noir/103 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★

Private detective Phillip Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) decides to try his hand at writing, in order to supplement the living he ekes out as a shamus, so he pens a story he calls If I Should Die Before I Live. He submits it to a publisher, Kingsby Publishing, and receives a letter from an A. Fromsett, requesting his presence. When he duly presents himself, he discovers that A stands for Adrienne (Audrey Totter) and the lady has something else on her mind besides his story.

Synopsis:

It sees that Ms. Fromsett is more interested in Marlowe’s detective skills than in his ability to wield the literary pen. It seems that her boss, Derace Kingsley (Leon Ames) has a wife that has been missing for a month. A telegram received from El Paso claims that she’s run off to get a Mexican divorce and intends to marry Chris Lavery. Fromsett says she wants to find Chrystal Kingsby for her boss’s sake, but Marlowe quickly figures out she has her own agenda.

She sweetens the pot by adding $300 to the $200 she was going to pay for his story, the additional monies to cover his fees for his services. Kingsby learns of her interfering and lets her know in no uncertain terms that his wife is free to do as she wishes, and that he has no romantic interest in Fromsett.

Taking the case, Marlowe goes to Bay City and visits Lavery (Dick Simmons), a southern boy with a smooth way of talking and a way with the ladies. He doesn’t take kindly to Marlowe’s questions and clocks him. Being a stubborn sort of guy, Marlowe continues to follow the trail and ends up on the wrong side of the Bay City police, especially one Detective Degarmot (Lloyd Nolan).

In trying to figure out who’s who and what’s what, Marlowe has to contend with unfriendly police, a dead lady in a lake, a corpse, a landlady, being set up and jailed, and fighting off feelings for Adrienne. Makes him wonder if perhaps writing isn’t a safer career.

Commentary:

First, I have to say if you’ve read the book and enjoyed it, just pretend you haven’t or you might be confused and/or dismayed at the film translation. Yes, the basic facts are there, more or less. But there are some significant, as well as minor changes. I understand the constraints of film, but if I hadn’t read the book, I think I wouldn’t have had a full appreciation for the film. Which isn’t to say you have to read the book to enjoy the movie, but it helps.

Second, the film employs a technique that was new in its day and I don’t believe ever really caught on, although if you watch the film trailer in the extras on the DVD, you’ll see it was touted at the time as quite the breakthrough. The camera shows the film from the perspective of Phillip Marlowe, a subjective view. You and Marlowe together view everything. What he sees, you see. When he gets knocked out, your world goes dark too. I guess in theory it sounded better than it was. Or perhaps the director didn’t utilize the technique very well. Ironically, Robert Montgomery directed as well as starred in this. But it didn’t work for me, and I actually found it annoying, and felt it slowed down the action. I can see why it didn’t catch on.

Montgomery is the third actor I’ve seen portray Marlowe, the first two being Bogart and Dick Powell. I rank him third in my list of who did the best job, with Powell at the top. That doesn’t make him bad, just not great. Besides, he doesn’t spend as much time onscreen, because of the filming technique. Maybe that’s a good thing.

There are minor changes with names and spelling. In the book, there is no Kingsby Publishing Company, and Marlowe deals with Mr. Kingsley, rather than his subordinate, A. Fromsett.  You may remember the actor who plays Kingsby as the father in Meet Me in St. Louis. Jayne Meadows appears as Mildred Haveland; she was married for many years to comedian Steve Allen. Lloyd Nolan plays the prickly Lieutenant Degarmot. He’s done many things over the years. I think of him first as the kindly doctor in the TV series Julia.

On the whole, I enjoyed the film, but I think it could be done better. They really missed the boat in not even going up to the lake where the lady in the title is discovered, and we don’t meet Bill Chess at all. Those could have been interesting scenes, especially the discovery of the body. Plus it’s in the title—Lady in the Lake—but we never see the lake. I think the book could have been adapted better. But, taken as it is, it’s a solid watch, although flawed, and if you enjoy Marlowe and want to experience it all, book and film, then it’s worthwhile watching.

Murder, My Sweet Review

Murder, My Sweet   

Director/Studio/Author: Edward Dmytryk/RKO Radio Pictures/John Paxton

American release date: July 6, 2004 (original theatrical release 1944)

Format, Genre and length: DVD/Film Noir/95 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Philip Marlowe’s in a bit of a bind; his eyes are bandaged and he’s being grilled by the police, who insist they tell him what they want to know. When Randall comes in, Marlowe (Dick Powell) agrees to talk, and begins to spin his tale.

Synopsis:

It all begins when a big lunk named Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) drops into Marlowe’s office. He wants to find a gal he used to go with eight years ago—before he was sent away to prison—and he wants Marlowe’s help. Marlowe ends up accompanying him to a joint called Florian’s. But no one there knows or has heard of Velma, and Moose getting rough doesn’t help anything.

Marlowe agrees to help Moose. Although he’s big and prone to using his fists, he’s also naïve, and a bit slow. Marlowe traces the previous owner of the bar and finds his widow listed in the phone book, so he pays her a visit and plies her with booze. For a drink, she’s ready to tell what she knows. She acts cagey about Velma, and he catches her in a lie, taking a photo of the missing Velma with him.

Back at his office, he has another visitor—a well-dressed foppish gentleman who desires to avail himself of Marlowe’s services, but he isn’t as forthcoming about details as Marlowe would like. He finally gets the man, Lindsey Marriott (Douglas Walton), to admit that there’s a jade necklace involved that he’s paying to retrieve for a lady. Marlowe accompanies him to a deserted spot, off the beaten path. He goes to investigate, sees nothing, but when he returns to the car, he’s hit with a blackjack. When he awakens, it’s to find a flashlight held by a woman shining in his face. She drops it and runs. Then he discovers the dead body in the car and calls the cops.

A third visitor to his office (the elevator operator quips that he’s becoming successful) turns out to be the mysterious lady, one Ann Grayle (Ann Shirley). And the jade necklace belongs to her stepmother, Helen (Claire Trevor). There is obviously no love lost between stepmother and stepdaughter, and the flaxen blonde Helen isn’t slow in showing her attraction to Marlowe.

While following the case, Marlowe becomes involved with a psychic, drugs, a scam, a kidnapping, and more pain than should be given to one man in one lifetime. Will he survive long enough to figure out what’s going on, and who did it?

Commentary:

Murder, My Sweet is based on the novel Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler, that I recently reviewed. It’s pretty much the same story, although some things have been changed and condensed, probably in the interest of time. In the book, Ann was Ann Riordan and not Grayle, therefore not related, but this way does make sense.

One huge change, though, had to do with the things I pointed out in my other review, the un-pc things. The black bar was that no longer. The smelly Indian working for Amthor wasn’t, and Amthor himself became white. The ship that figured in the book is completely gone. The circumstances of Marlowe being in the doctor’s place have slightly changed. But if you haven’t read the book, of course you won’t notice.

All in all, I think it was an enjoyable film, maybe not quite up to snuff with the Big Sleep, except in one regard. The casting of Philip Marlowe. Having seen both films and read both books, I have to say that Dick Powell’s performance was closer to the mark as regards the character that Chandler depicted than Bogart’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bogart. But Powell has it pretty dead-on with how I saw Marlowe, and while I was skeptical before I watched it, afterward I was a firm believer in Powell’s ability to act. I hadn’t seen him in anything before, so I had no preconceived notions, but I understand most of his roles were lightweight compared to this one. I hope he did more Marlowe films after this; he deserved it.

You might recognize the guy who played Moose if you ever watched Gilligan’s Island, and a lot of other old TV shows. He was type cast as the big, dumb heavy, but in real life, he was very intelligent and a witty conversationalist.

As with a lot of films, the romantic element was played up more than in the book, leaving Marlowe and Ann kissing in the back of a taxi. Not a bad ending, but I seriously doubt she appears in any of the other books. Guess I’ll find out.

A good film and a good way to spend an evening. I definitely recommend watching this if you enjoy film noir.

The Big Sleep (film) Review

 The Big Sleep   

Director/Studio/Author: Howard Hawks/Warner Home Video/William Faulkner

American release date: July 25, 2006 (original theatrical release 1946)

Format, Genre and length: DVD/Film Noir/114 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Philip Marlowe’s been around. You see, he’s a private detective, so he pretty well knows the score. But you can’t always be choosy about your clients, even when they live on the right side of the tracks. After receiving a referral from an acquaintance at the DA’s office, Philip (Humphrey Bogart) goes to the home of the wealthy Sternwoods. The General is an elderly infirm man with a stoically discreet butler, and two daughters who were born later in life and who lead him a merry chase. Carmen (Martha Vickers) is wild and flirtatious, and Vivian (Lauren Bacall) is commanding and self-assured. Marlowe discovers how wild Carmen is when she playfully attempts to seduce him in the foyer.

Synopsis:

The General likes to spend his time in the hothouse where he grows orchids—not because he likes flowers, but the warmth feels good. He’s received a threat of blackmail in the mail and he wants Marlowe to look into it. Some guy named Geiger, holding some gambling notes allegedly signed by Carmen. Marlowe agrees to look into it, but as he is leaving, the butler informs him that Mrs. Rutledge (Vivian) wishes to see him. She is curious about why Marlowe is there, but he isn’t exactly forthcoming with details, seeing as she’s not his client. And why is she concerned about a guy named Regan?

It turns out Geiger has a bookstore, so Marlowe does a little homework at the library. He then dons a foppish disguise and makes some inquiries as to certain first editions of the girl who mans the store. Her lack of basic knowledge raises his suspicions, along with the entrance of a guy with a suspicious package in a plain wrapper that she buzzes into the backroom. He tries to talk to the owner, Geiger, but he’s not available.

Going across the street to a rival bookstore, Marlowe charms a description of Geiger out of the more knowledgeable girl there (look for a young Dorothy Malone here0, and afterward settles down to wait. When a man matching that description exits the shop, with his driver, Philip follows them and again watches and waits. During the evening, he sees a flash, hears two shots, and as he approaches the house, he sees two cars flee the scene. Inside he discovers a rather stoned Carmen Sternwood, and a rather dead Arthur Geiger.

Marlowe returns Carmen to the bosom of her family, and then returns to the scene of the crime to discover that the corpse is gone. He notifies the police, while still pursuing his own investigation, which leads to, among other places, a high stakes gambling joint, and low class hoods. Marlowe has to figure out what’s what and who’s who, and hopefully not lose his life in the process.

Commentary:

Just before watching The Big Sleep, I read the novel by Raymond Chandler, so I was probably pre-disposed to catch discrepancies. Some made sense to me, some not so much. For example, in the book Vivian Sternwood is Mrs. Rusty Regan, but that was changed and I don’t know why, because it changes the General’s interest in Regan and his whereabouts. In the book, Marlowe finds Carmen in Geiger’s house, stark naked and sitting on a throne, but I realize that would never have flown back then. Same for when she talks her way into Marlowe’s apartment and is waiting naked in his bed. Censors would have had a cow, I’m sure.

Other than that, it’s fairly faithful to the book. Well, excluding the part where you never do find out the significance of the book/books and the list (Geiger has a lending library of pornography, and the coded list is of his clients). Also, the man who avenged Geiger’s death, without giving away any movie spoilers, is Geiger’s lover, so that was totally glossed over.

Bogart is magnificent as Marlowe, I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role. Martha Vickers is competent as Carmen, but I didn’t see Lauren Bacall as Vivian. In fact, I think she’d have made a better Carmen, but it’s a no-brainer why that casting occurred, since she and Bogie were either married at that point, or at least together. In fact, a romantic aspect was added that didn’t really exist in the book, basically because of that. To me, that’s on a par with something they did in the film Evita, where a song that didn’t even belong to Evita was taken from another character and given to her, basically because Madonna played her.

Other than all that, though, it’s a very enjoyable film, well written and well directed and pretty well acted. True film noir and a classic. I don’t think anyone but Bogie could have carried it off that well, though. A definite keeper for your collection, worth revisiting on a regular basis. And don’t forget to look for Elisha Cook Jr. doing what he does best in a secondary role.

The Prowler Review

The Prowler  

Director/Studio/Author: Joseph Losey/United Artists/Dalton Trumbo (as Hugo Butler)

Distributor: VCI Entertainment

American release date: February 1, 2011 (original film release 1951)

Format/Genre/Length: DVD/Drama/92 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes) is used to being alone at night in her large Spanish style home; her husband John spends his evenings doing his own radio show for a local station. One night after a shower, Susan spots a man peeking in her window, so she calls the police to report a prowler. Officers Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) and Bud Crocker (John Maxwell) are dispatched to her home to check into the matter.

Synopsis:

The policemen look around, but there isn’t much to be seen. The recently cut grass shows no trace of footprints, not even in the vacant lot next door. They reassure the woman that they will keep an eye on the house. Officer Garwood seems particularly interested in the pretty lady, commenting on her to his partner as they leave her home. Later he returns, alone. He says he is simply doing his duty, but his interest in her is obvious. Turns out they both come from Indiana, and once upon a time she watched him play basketball. Now he’s a cop, which he hates. Life cheated him out of his athletic career.

Webb worms his way into Susan’s confidence and into her life, becoming obsessed with the married woman. He visits her in the absence of her husband, and she entertains and feeds him, as if he is no more than an old friend. When he goes too far and makes an advance upon her, she not only rejects him, but she indignantly slaps him and demands that he leave. But he can’t seem to stay away. He returns, in uniform, to apologize, and she ends up falling into his arms.

Now he sees her all the time, her husband’s voice on the radio a bizarre backdrop to their affair. There is something very odd about Webb. He’s a rather bitter man, he hates his job, and it seems as if nothing is ever his fault. A prescription for unhappiness and disaster in the making.

The closer they get, the more tangled the web, until they’re in so deep that they don’t know which way is up or down.

 Commentary:

I like old films of all sorts, including film noir, which I believe this qualifies as. It’s in black and white, but that only adds to the noirish quality. Van Heflin—well, I just expected creepiness from him from the beginning, so I guess I was looking for it. You might remember him as D.O. Guerrero from the film Airport. He’s the guy with the bomb. He has a very creepy presence in The Prowler; perhaps it’s his eyes; he delivers a powerful performance as Webb Garwood. His obsession with Susan Gilvray is more than a little eerie, as are the lengths he’ll go to get what he wants. In one scene, he runs out of cigarettes but she doesn’t smoke. However, her husband has a carton, which he keeps locked up. Webb takes a hairpin from Susan’s hair—making the very act of doing so both sensual and unnerving—and picks the lock, helping himself to a pack of cigarettes. And he also eyeballs the personal papers that are there.

While I liked the film, I felt it could have delved more into the psychology of Webb Garwood and why he is like he is. All we know is that he was a starting center on his college basketball team and he was benched after two games. Perhaps we are meant to infer that he did something to bring that about. We also know that he hates being a cop, and that he lives alone in a room at a hotel and shaves himself using an electric razor while lying in bed. Susan Gilvray seems to love her husband at first, but as the film goes on you see the cracks in the façade, which perhaps explains her loneliness and her slide into the policeman’s arms.

There is a great deal of sexual tension in the film between the lonely woman and the dissatisfied policeman. I kept wondering what was going through Susan’s mind that she would allow this strange man into her life, and why she let him back in after he kissed her. It is an interesting psychological study of these two characters.

The film definitely has some twists to it, and sometimes I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go. The ending wasn’t exactly satisfying, and left a lot of unanswered questions, but perhaps that is just meant to show that not everything can be tidied up into neat little bundles and explained away. On the whole, I enjoyed watching it. It isn’t rated, but I wouldn’t recommend it for children, mostly because of the adult themes, and the darkness of the subject matter. Teens and up should be fine. Would I watch it again, given the opportunity?  Probably.

Piece of trivia: Look for Aunt Harriet of TV’s Batman fame in a small role. Also, I'm guessing that Dalton Trumbo wrote this under another name because he was one of the writers blacklisted during the McCarthy era. And producer S.P. Eagle is actually Sam Spiegel.