The Long Goodbye

An honest, outdated private eye stuck in the Bizarro world of modern L.A.

A detached chain-smoking private detective in Los Angeles (Elliott Gould) finds himself hounded by the police after driving a friend to Mexico late one night (Jim Bouton). Upon taking a gig by the wife of a writer to find her missing alcoholic husband (Nina van Pallandt & Sterling Hayden) he finds himself staving off gangsters in search of $350,000 (Mark Rydell, David Arkin, etc.) while trying to connect the dots. Henry Gibson is on hand as a Southern Cal quack.

The Long Goodbye (1973) is a crime drama/mystery with Altmans art-film style that takes Raymond Chandlers 1953 novel and transports it to twenty years in the future with muttering Philip Marlo...

Pretty good 1970s-era neo-noir drama almost entirely relies on the performance from Elliot Gould and the mystery element was well done, though the ending was somewhat predictable but satisfying. 3.75/5

Proof if ever it were needed that no good deed goes unpunished! "Marlowe" (Elliott Gould) is woken up in the middle of the night by his mate ("Lennox") who urgently needs driving to Tijuana. He obliges, only to find that on his return the police are waiting for him. Seems that his pal's wife has been found slain. Initially considered an accomplice, he's release when information arrives suggesting the prime suspect has committed suicide. Things take a turn for the more complex when hood "Augustine" (Mark Rydell) shows up trying to track down his missing cash that "Lennox" was supposed to be couriering and then finally, "Eileen" (Nina van Pallandt) hires him to find her dipso husband (Sterling Hayden) who has gone awol. When "Marlowe" finds t...