Robert Mitchum made two films for ITC in which he played the famous Raymond Chandler character, Philip Marlowe...."Farewell, My Lovely" and "The Big Sleep". "Farewell My Lovely" is by far the best of the two, as the studio took a lot of care to get the 1940s look just right. In contract, the follow-up film was set in the present day and was a big disappointment. So if you have to see one of these, DEFINITELY make it "Farewell, My Lovely".
A huge, hulking man, Moose Malloy (Jack O'Halloran) has been in prison 7 years and cannot find his old girlfriend, Velma. So he demands the Marlowe take the case...of the implication is that he'll rearrange Marlowe's face. This, and the fact he can pay, result in Marlowe taking the case. However, it soon becomes pretty obvious that Vera doesn't wanna be found and soon all sorts of bad things start happening to Marlowe. Can he somehow survive all this and get to the bottom of this?
The best version of this story was the 1944 film "Murder, My Sweet" with Dick Powell. However, one of the problems with the film was that the Chandler novel was heavily sanitized. After all, there was the Production Code which forbade much of what happens in the sordid story. So, in this 1970s Robert Mitchum version, you hear cursing, see Marlowe slug a 'lady' in the mouth, hear references to a character being a homosexual and you see a bit of nudity. It certainly is a tougher version of the story. However, this alone don't make it better...though the Mitchum version is quite good. He's fine in the role--world- weary, cynical and worth seeing even if he is a tad old for the part. However, I still think Dick Powell was a bit better--a bit more cynical and smart-mouthed. However, for me I love the story so much it's a no-brainer...see them both. Or, better yet, see the first version as well--"The Falcon Takes Over". While it's the farthest from the original source material, it is very good as well because Chandler's story idea was so good...it can't help but be enjoyable.
A huge, hulking man, Moose Malloy (Jack O'Halloran) has been in prison 7 years and cannot find his old girlfriend, Velma. So he demands the Marlowe take the case...of the implication is that he'll rearrange Marlowe's face. This, and the fact he can pay, result in Marlowe taking the case. However, it soon becomes pretty obvious that Vera doesn't wanna be found and soon all sorts of bad things start happening to Marlowe. Can he somehow survive all this and get to the bottom of this?
The best version of this story was the 1944 film "Murder, My Sweet" with Dick Powell. However, one of the problems with the film was that the Chandler novel was heavily sanitized. After all, there was the Production Code which forbade much of what happens in the sordid story. So, in this 1970s Robert Mitchum version, you hear cursing, see Marlowe slug a 'lady' in the mouth, hear references to a character being a homosexual and you see a bit of nudity. It certainly is a tougher version of the story. However, this alone don't make it better...though the Mitchum version is quite good. He's fine in the role--world- weary, cynical and worth seeing even if he is a tad old for the part. However, I still think Dick Powell was a bit better--a bit more cynical and smart-mouthed. However, for me I love the story so much it's a no-brainer...see them both. Or, better yet, see the first version as well--"The Falcon Takes Over". While it's the farthest from the original source material, it is very good as well because Chandler's story idea was so good...it can't help but be enjoyable.