Philip Marlowe (James Garner, The Great Escape) is a private investigator hired by Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell, It’s Alive) to locate her brother in Los Angeles. What begins as a simple missing person case quickly spirals out of control. Everyone wants to silence the snooping Marlowe including someone who sends a martial arts assassin (Bruce Lee, Enter The Dragon, in his American feature film debut).
Marlowe is based on Raymond Chandler’s novel The Little Sister. The cast also includes Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Carroll O’Connor (All In The Family), William Daniels (Knight Rider), and Jackie Coogan (The Addams Family). Garner would later return to a similar role in his legendary TV series The Rockford Files.
What We Thought:
Marlowe lives and breathes on the everlasting charm of James Garner. Phillip Marlowe was a private investigator created by Raymond Chandler. He’s been portrayed by multiple actors through the decades including Humphrey Bogart, but with Garner’s portrayal, you see hints of what he would do with Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files years later.
Garner’s Marlowe is suave and crafty. He’ll head into danger and take a few punches. He’ll also refund your money if he can’t get the job done and that’s where he finds himself, not able to help a woman looking for her brother. She’s come all the way from Kansas, but when he goes looking for her brother, he finds a body killed by an ice pick. As another body comes his way with a similar death, the whole situation isn’t quite what it seems. A famous actress has pictures with a gangster being used as blackmail and all of it might be connected if Marlowe can figure it out before he gets himself killed.
Garner is fantastic in the noir-ish drama. He would play Jim Rockford five or so years later and this performance seems to be heavily influential. All the bravado mixed with the kindness and charm is there. The cast also includes Carrol O’Connor as a detective and Bruce Lee as a hired assassin. Also Rita Moreno who would appear in The Rockford Files as well.
The setting for Marlowe works perfectly with late 60s Los Angeles being a great backdrop for crime thrillers. With movie studios and nightclubs, noir and Los Angeles make for a great combo. Add in an established character from Raymond Chandler and the leading man charisma of Garner and it’s a solid flick. The Blu-ray features a restored version of the film and the $100 a Day (Plus Expenses) bonus feature was really neat showing the historical portrayals of the character. If you are a fan of the film, this new release is:
RECOMMENDED!
Special Features:
- LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Original lossless mono audio
- $100 A Day (Plus Expenses), a brand new appreciation by film historian Howard S. Berger
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by John Pearson
- Collectors’ booklet containing new writing by critics Jeff Chang and Priscilla Page
The Nerds Templar 