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DVD Murder, My Sweet
Dick Powell will forever be known as a 1930s crooner in archetypal musical comedies, but this career-changing role shows Powell at his best and remains perhaps the most faithful cinematic representation of Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled hero, Philip Marlowe, ever put on screen. In this adaptation of Farewell, My Lovely, Powell's cynical, smart-talking private eye is hired by a dim ex-con (pug-nosed Mike Mazurki) to find his girl Velma, and by the prissy stooge of a blackmail victim to babysit him during a handoff. The meeting ends with the stooge's death, and Marlowe is immediately engaged by the owner of some jewels, the wily Mrs. Grayle (Claire Trevor), to recover them. As Marlowe navigates the dark, dangerous world of wartime L.A., splitting his search between high-society haunts and the cheap, smoky bars and flophouses of the inner city, he turns up one too many stones, winds up on the wrong end of a fist, and wakes up to a drug-induced nightmare that director Edward Dmytryk delivers with a mixture of surreal symbolism and sinister expressionism. Powell delivers screenwriter John Paxton's snappy lines and droll asides with hard-boiled cynicism, like someone not quite as tough as he talks; but it's Powell's innate vulnerability that makes this reluctant saint of the city so compelling. Dmytryk's shadowy style creates a visual equivalent to the web of intrigue Marlowe navigates, an almost perpetual world of night. One of the first great films noir and an often-overlooked detective-movie classic. --Sean Axmaker
The storyline of this movie is that a private detective, Phillip Marlow (Dick Powell), gets involved in the recovery of a stolen jade necklace. The job initially seems simple, but the investigation gets more convulated and dangerous as time goes on. During the job, Marlow encounters two very attractive women (Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley) who also make the movie very watchable.
Overall, its a beautifully filmed movie. It clearly has the classic film noir style, but the substance of the plot gets so complicated that at times its too hard to follow, and finally has to end by explaining a lot of the twist and turns. It's a lot more of a murder-mystery movie than an crime-action film. I still strongly recommend this movie, but if you are like me, you will probably have to watch it twice to pickup all the subtle details of the story.
The DVD quality is excellent overall, but some small specs of film deterioration could be seen once in a while during the course of the movie. It's not a perfect picture presentation, but near perfect. The only bonus features are commentary by film noir author Alan Silver and the original theater trailer.
PLEASE NOTE: Before buying this DVD, consider buying the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 1 which contains this movie plus four other highly recommended movies at a very reasonable price.
Movie: B+
DVD Quality: A-
Wonderfully Serpentine Private Eye Film Noir.
"Murder, My Sweet" was adapted for the screen by John Paxton from Raymond Chandler's novel "Farewell, My Lovely". The title was changed to "Murder, My Sweet" for American release, because the studio felt that Chandler's title might confuse Dick Powell fans into thinking the movie was a musical, as Powell had made a career up to this point of singing in musical comedies. This role as Chandler's blunt-talking private eye Philip Marlowe was intended to change Powell's image as the actor approached middle age and became unsuitable for crooning young man parts. And it worked.
The film opens to a scene of policemen questioning private detective Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) on suspicion of murder. Marlowe's in a bad mood, can't see a thing, and resentful of the whole situation, but he tells them, and us, his story from the beginning: One evening a tough guy named Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) walked into his office, made some threats, gave him some money, and hired Marlowe to locate an ex-girlfriend whom Moose had known before he spent 8 years in prison. The next day, a stylish gentleman named Mr. Marriott (Douglas Walton) waved some more money at Marlowe to accompany him while buying back some stolen jewels for an associate. The buy didn't go as planned. Marriott was working for a Mrs. Helen Grayle (Claire Trevor), the wife of an elderly jade collector, who then hired Marlowe to find her stolen necklace. But Helen's stepdaughter, Ann (Anne Shirley) tried to buy Marlowe off the case for mysterious reasons. And Moose is increasingly impatient to find his former flame.
"Murder, My Sweet" is one of only a dozen or so private detective film noirs, and it adheres to some private eye and some film noir conventions. The story is told in flashback with voiceover narration. The detective goes from person to person, place to place, often around in circles, questioning people. And there is a pronounced sense of confusion. Marlowe is thoroughly perplexed about his cases -and has a sense of humor about it- for most of the film, but he keeps going until he bumps into something that will clarify matters. When he is beaten up, drugged, and held captive by some equally bewildered characters, Marlowe's drug-induced, surreal perception of reality exemplifies his confusion. "Murder, My Sweet" was made at RKO, where the noir visual style can be said to have originated under the influence of "Citizen Kane". Director Edward Dmytryk and cinematographer Harry Wild employ a lot of low key lighting and low angles, so this is a nice example of noir expressionist lighting.
The DVD (Warner Home Video 2004): There is a theatrical trailer and an audio commentary by film noir theorist and author Alain Silver, who wrote "Raymond Chandlers' Los Angeles", among other things. Silver is slow to introduce himself, but launches straight into a scene-by-scene analysis of the film. The commentary isn't very fluid, but it contains a lot of information. Silver seems to comment on whatever comes to his mind, so we have analysis of lighting and characters, information on actors and locations, discussion of Chandler's novel, and general trivia. Subtitles are available for the film in English, Spanish, and French.
"You're not a detective, you're a slot machine."
Dick Powell makes a fine Philip Marlowe in this splendid film noir. The film is based on Raymond Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely," which marks the second appearance of Marlowe in print. The book was actually adapted once before for an entry in the Falcon series ("The Falcon Takes Over"), which featured George Sanders. That film, however, simply adapted the plot of "Farewell, My Lovely" for the Falcon series; hence, the character is named Gay Lawrence, not Philip Marlowe. So in effect, "Murder, My Sweet" is the first screen appearance of Philip Marlowe. In addition, "The Falcon Takes Over" is a decent but lightweight thriller - not the noir classic of "Murder, My Sweet."
The plot is typically convoluted for a film noir written by Chandler. Marlowe, a somewhat down-on-his-luck private detective, is approached by Moose Malloy, a giant of a man who has just been released from the pokey and is searching for his ex-girlfriend. He reluctantly accepts the case. However, before he can make headway, Marlowe gets a second client, the effete Lindsay Marriott who wants Marlowe to accompany him on a late night pay-off. These two cases quickly become enmeshed and lead to numerous complications and murders.
"Murder, My Sweet" is first-rate film noir in every way. Director Edward Dmytryk (The Caine Mutiny, Crossfire) was one of the best noir film makers of all time, and he uses the conventions of the genre (shadows and unusual lighting, hard-boiled dialogue) with fine subtlety. The cast is also extraordinary - lead by Powell as Marlowe. Arguably, Humphrey Bogart was a more forceful Marlowe two years later in "The Big Sleep." However, Powell is convincing as the straight-shooting but somewhat desperate detective. Furthermore, he's joined by femme fatale Claire Trevor, who is always terrific in this type of hard-bitten role. Screenwriter John Paxton adapted Chandler's novel - managing to save some of the best bits, such as Marlowe's encounter with Mrs. Florian ("She was a charming middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud"). All of the elements really come together for one of the finest noirs ever made, and this DVD transfer is solid.
DVD extras: The original theatrical trailer and an informational, but somewhat boring commentary by Alain Silver, who is a film producer and has written several books on film noir.
This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man's gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger's cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Tierney - Dana Andrews Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Alan Ladd is razor sharp as Raven, a contract killer who likes cats and kills witnesses. The first 15 minutes of this film is excellent noir. A hit man (Ladd) lives in a shabby hotel, when the smart mouthed maid enters to clean she slaps his kitten aside, prompting Ladd to knock her to the floor, tearing her dress. Ladd then proceeds to his first job in the film and on the way up the stairs en route to the apartment where his soon-to-be victim resides he encounters a girl in leg braces. Ladd is so good, as is the directing, we are not sure if he is going to retrieve the ball that has bounced out of her reach or blow her brains out with his Colt .32 pistol.
Also excellent is the photography, set between San Francisco and Los Angeles, many great shots include a gas works... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Veronica Lake - Alan Ladd Director(s): Frank Tuttle DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Humphrey Bogart - Lauren Bacall Director(s): Howard Hawks DVD Release Date: Released the 15 February 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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