I suppose it's time I saw this movie again. I hated it when I saw it in the 80s. Altman-Schmaltman, as an interpretation of Philip Marlowe, it sucked. The only thing I liked about it was the Jack Davis 1-sheet and the bit of (non)acting by Jim Bouton. I was a BIG fan of Ball Four and Ball Five, a couple of the funniest books I ever read.
(click to enlarge, of course)
6 comments:
I hated it when I saw it too, and I'd re-read the book not six months before. I just couldn't warm to Gould as Marlowe. Maybe - probably - I was spoiled by Bogart's portrayal of the character. The only other actor I've liked in the role is Dick Powell in "Kiss Me Deadly".
Me neither. To me, marlowe always be Bogart.
Maybe if you have not read the Raymond Chandler novel, then you might be able to enjoy the movie. I like Robert Altman's films and this appears to be a wild, whacky, film like MASH. But if you like Chandler then this movie just strikes a wrong chord and falls flat. I've seen it 3 or 4 times but every time I come to the same conclusion: it's a complete flop, especially Gould as Philip Marlowe.
I was so turned off I couldn't enjoy Gould's later audiobooks of Chandler novels. Of course, since they were abridged, they had a black mark against them anyway.
Gould simply is not believable as Marlowe.
It was a sixties rendering of Marlowe and while it was all wrong it had a few moments. And I don't mean the topless neighbors.
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