173. Murder, My Sweet (UK: Farewell, My Lovely) (1944)

Directed By Edward Dmytryk

Synopsis

There's so many twists and turns that this is complicated. Basically Marlowe is investigating a murder and theft of a jade necklace, while also investigating the whereabouts of Moose's ex-girlfriend Velma.

Review

Marlowe is one of the most interesting detectives in print and this is supposedly the best adaptation of Marlowe to the screen, so it is bound to be good. OF course this isn't the most popular version of Marlowe, Bogart would make the character almost synonymous with him after the Big Sleep.

Still this is a pretty fun film, there are plenty of things happening here, but unlike the Maltese Falcon it never goes too fast or too pointless for you to follow or care. The twists are believable but this is also because the main character is believable. He is expertly played by Dick Powell who wasn't really used to playing serious roles, but seems to do fine here. Hell, more than fine.

Much like Double Indemnity this is another film noir which really ticks all the boxes, there is the voice-over there is the shadows and the flashbacks and the anti-hero and all the dames. But also like Double Indemnity it is done really well and therefore avoids the falling into cliché which is the bane of many of these films.

Final Grade

9/10 (can't seem to give anything else lately)

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Dick Powell was previously known only for light comedies and musicals, so the casting of him as Chandler's hard-boiled private detective antihero was a surprise to many. The studio changed the title from Farewell, My Lovely because they thought audience would think the film was a musical. Powell's performance is much debated by fans of Chandler and film noir; some think it too light and comic; others consider it the best interpretation of Philip Marlowe on film.

Beginning of the film, going into flashback: