La Valse des truands

Vintage Garner, solid sleuth story with sophisticated plot twists! Somewhat in the same cut as Paul Newman's "Harper", but bearing Garner's unique brand of sardonic humor: Sort of a modern Bret Maverick and a soon-to-be Jimmy Rockford!

Good late 60's detective romp through West Coast life, interweaving the societal trends of that time period (Hippie, straight, boozer, "sleazer", etc.) Bruce Lee is a welcome interlude, especially in his scene at Marlowe's office.

However, Rita Moreno is the real treat in this one: probably her best dramatic performance! One wishes she had been cast in more roles like this one to let the public see her for the multi-dimensional actress that she was.

One last "shout out" to Peter Matz for his super soundtrack which added the appropriate audio flavorings to the respective scene changes, while keeping the atmospheric late 60's mood in full swing.

Interesting variation on 'The Little Sister' by Raymond Chandler with '40's film noir replaced by a colorful and stylish '60's motif. The film does a good job of keeping certain Chandler elements in the forefront...the violent thugs, the irritable cops, and the classy woman in distress are all here, as is Marlowe, portrayed as a prototype Jim Rockford. Garner does a good job in the lead; his performance is really truer to the Marlowe character than Bogart managed in 'The Big Sleep' (but then that wasn't the point of 'The Big Sleep', now was it?). Supporting characters are, in some places, excellent, while lacking a bit in others. Carrol O'Connor, Rita Moreno, Bruce Lee (whose role was far too brief), and Sharon Farrell are either convincing or fun, but the female lead and the villainous but sympathetic killer are rather flat.

All in all, a movie I wouldn't mind owning.

A young girl from Kansas hires Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Marlowe's investigation leads to two dead bodies and a blackmail plot concerning an actress. Decent adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel "The Little Sister," updated to the '60s. Garner's not an ideal Philip Marlowe but he's charismatic and enjoyable to watch. He has good chemistry with Rita Moreno, who steals every scene she's in. Bruce Lee has a small but memorable part. Carroll O'Connor and Kenneth Tobey are good as a couple of cops easily frustrated with Garner. A little too mellow and lacking grit for a hardboiled detective story, though it's still entertaining. More Rockford than Marlowe. A minor quibble: there's a scene late in the film that takes place in a wooded area but is very obviously filmed on a sound stage. I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it if the movie had been made even ten years earlier but for a 1969 film it was very noticeable and fake.

Rita Moreno steals this movie! Plus, she had great chemistry with James Garner which is why they used her on Rockford files. Somewhat complicated plot about P.I. Garner finding a missing brother of an actress who also happens to be dating a gangster. Cameos by Bruce Lee, Jackie Coogan, Carroll O'Connor etc. Great 1960's Los Angeles/Hollywood locales (the strip joint used in the film went on to become the famous Roxbury on Sunset Blvd). I love everything about this movie, the clothes, the cars, the great 60's style overall. Rita Moreno in a platinum blond wig doing a strip tease at the end is worth the price of admission! She even shows a little nudity (if viewed un-edited) which is rare for a star of her magnitude to do in the late 60's. Sharon Farrell is another actress with lots of charisma who is used to little here. Gayle Hunnicutt (who I love) is miscast here as Sharon Farrell's sister, although she adds a lot of glamour. The script is a little hard to follow but it is quite an enjoyable movie as the action never slows down for too long.

Shifting Chandler's private eye to the '60s seems to work fairly well, although I still miss the film noir look of the gritty '40s melodramas with either Humphrey Bogart or George Montgomery as Marlowe. In addition, filming this one in color to take advantage of some Los Angeles locations, was not necessarily the best idea.

JAMES GARNER works well as Marlowe, although I still prefer the dry delivery of Humphrey Bogart and his one-liners in THE BIG SLEEP. But Garner is at his physical peak and makes a persuasive private detective on the trail of someone's missing brother. Along the way, he gets involved with the usual assortment of disreputable characters who occupy seedy hotel rooms and the shady side of town.

With a supporting cast that includes CARROLL O'CONNOR, JACKIE COOGAN and RITA MORENO (as a stripper), it's a stylish updating of Chandler's novel, "The Little Sister". And let's not forget BRUCE LEE who does a Karate job on Garner's office wall and furniture.

Too many of the early scenes drag and it's an hour into the story before the plot gets any livelier. In short, the plot remains rather flat and devoid of any real urgent suspense in spite of the fact that it deals with ice pick murders.

Summing up: Despite the okay performance from Garner, it remains a flabby exercise in suspense, lacking the terse quality of Chandler's stories and doesn't really perk up until the last ten minutes.