Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
Oh, man, what a movie!
Perfect on every sense. Great cast, with terrific Bogart and Bacall. Complex and interesting plot and smart dialogues. Only "funny" thing, if we want to say something, is the "perception" of the women roles in the movie. They are strangely all sexy and attracted to and tempting Philip Marlow.
This continues the incredible run of films Bogie made with now-wife Lauren Bacall. Crackling script ran to perfection by Howard Hawks. Essential, especially for fans of detective thrillers or simply well-made movies.
"General Sternwood" (Charles Waldron) has two daughters and poor old private detective "Philip Marlowe" (Humphrey Bogart) might be forgiven for ever getting involved with a case that sees him employed to investigate a case of blackmail against his youngest - "Carmen" (Martha Vickers). It looks like she is the target of the venal rare book seller "Geiger" but swiftly we realise that that's just the tip of an iceberg that includes not just that blackmail, but another one - with the duplicitous "Joe" (Louis Jean Heydt) and then there's the missing "Regan" which takes him fairly and squarely into the scheming orbit of the other daughter "Vivian" (Lauren Bacall). Soon he's chasing his tail, getting thumped, tied up, shot at - and all whilst he s...
A film that would be truly memorable if the script wasn't so poorly written.
In general, I really like noir films, it's a style that I like. However, despite the great reputation, I didn't particularly like this film. It's good, and from a style point of view, it gives us everything we like to see in a noir. However, the film fails too much when it comes to the script and the story it intends to tell us. This is not a mistake that I am willing to forgive lightly, especially if we are talking about a production at the highest level and with professionals of the highest caliber, as is the case.
In fact, the film is a sight for sore eyes. The black-and-white cinematography is of the utmost elegance, and the lighting was magnificently...