L'investigatore Marlowe

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.

Following a typical Chandlerian plot involving lots of intrigue, sex, lies, booze, and violence, Garner makes a mildly charming, laid-back Marlowe, trading a fair share of witty one-liners with the policemen, toughs and many eager young women he encounters, as he tries to unravel a convoluted missing persons/blackmail/murder case. Gets an interesting edge from the sixties characters and attitudes (Marlowe's hairdresser neighbour providing light relief, the stoner hotel at the start) but staying very much in the world of sleazy hoods and wealthy stars associated with earlier Bogey takes on Chandler. Bruce Lee's performance as a toughie sent to threaten Marlowe with some spectacular chop-socky is a high-point but sadly brief, and Garner is no Bogey, and the director is no Howard Hawks. Good-ish stuff, but confused by too many personality-free characters (rather than by a complex web as in The Big Sleep), and lacking Bogart's ice-hard edge, Garner is a smooth, witty and fairly convincing Marlowe; likewise the film, fairly convincing, but no classic.

Marlowe (1969)

While not a great one, this is an unusual version of Philip Marlowe on film. James Garner is an odd choice in a way, but he's handsome and charming. The photographer, Bill Daniels, is a stalwart from the classic years of Hollywood, and it shows, with nicely filmed scenes (in color). Daniels is famous as Garbo's main photographer, if that gives an idea of his long lineage.

It's definitely 1969. New Hollywood is here, and there is a certain cheese factor that is part of the game, and not in the best ways. And the story itself is just not Raymond Chandler's best. Director Paul Bogart does his best, but for a comparison of a noir crime update, you might prefer the wonderful "The Long Goodbye" from 1973.

But here we are. Garner is really good, in fact, and if not a Humphrey Bogart type, that might be really appropriate. Still, he's indifferent to pretty women until he isn't, he drinks, he's sarcastic, he is appropriately weary. Here he smokes a pipe, and he remains interesting.

There is (for me) a simple appeal to the sets and the time it was shot. It's a crazy time in US history (great crazy). Everything is updated—there is no sense of recreating the 1940s, but rather of just setting the old story (from the 30s) into the new world.

There are some fun curiosities, like Carroll O'Conner (the leading male in "All in the Family," which started the year before)—who isn't quite convincing as a tough cop. And the gay hairdresser played by Christopher Cary. And the side actor who does karate on Marlowe's office (for real) by the name of Bruce Lee (in his first American film). And two beautiful women (as usual) who play more pithy parts than you'd expect (clever or strong) until, of course, the stripper scene at the end. One of them, the fabulous Rita Moreno, had a continuing career with Garner in the "Rockford Files" for t.v. And finally another William Daniels (unrelated) who played Dustin Hoffman's dad in "The Graduate" two years early, and who is so different here you might not recognize him.

Okay, so what ends up happening is a weird mix of humor and cleverness. The movie really wants to entertain, and yet it keeps inside the hard edged world of classic 1940s noir with references to tough guys and ice picks in the neck. It has almost absurdist humor and then it seems (somewhat) to want to take the crime and the criminals and the sleuthing seriously. It doesn't quite jive.

Blame the era, maybe, but watch "Klute" or other detective yarns from the era and you can see an opportunity that went astray. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but only by kicking back. The story is a bit jumbled, either at its root or in its telling, but I think they thought viewers would enjoy the whole situation and all these interesting actors at work. It only goes so far.

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.