Farewell, My Lovely

This, the second adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel, is much closer to the source text than the original – Murder, My Sweet (1944)…

• Director: Dick Richards
• Genre:Crime / Mystery / Thriller
• Runtime:95 minutes

Cast

Robert Mitchum : Philip Marlowe Charlotte Rampling: Helen Grayle John Ireland : Det. Lt. Nulty Sylvia Miles : Jessie Halstead Florian Anthony Zerbe : Laird Brunette

Set in Los Angeles in 1941, against a seamy backdrop of police corruption, cheap hotel rooms, illegal gambling and jewel trafficking, private detective Philip Marlowe is holed up in a hotel room and growing more weary by the hour. As he explains to his police lieutenant friend Nulty: “I’ve got a hat, a coat and a gun, that’s it.”

Marlowe has been hired by a huge and surly ex-convict, Moose Malloy, to find his old girlfriend Velma, whom he hasn’t seen in years. At the same time, Marlowe is investigating the murder of a client who was a victim of blackmail and a stolen necklace made of jade.

While encountering connections to both cases, Marlowe develops an attraction to the married but seductive Helen Grayle. As the body count mounts, Marlowe survives numerous attempts on his life which include being drugged and held captive by a psychotic madam. The action comes to a head with a shootout on a gambling boat off the L.A. coast. Read more