Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Movie Editions: Marlowe (The Little Sister)


Man, it's been a long time since I saw this flick. I didn't realize how long until I saw Rita Morena in a guest shot recently on In Plain Sight. Rita is one of two things I remember from this movie. The other is the scene where Bruce Lee does a flying kick off the roof of a building.

Marlowe (1969) was the first and only film version of The Little Sister. I'm pretty sure it was also the first (of three) Marlowe stories moved from its proper setting into the "present". In this case, as I recall, the updating was not too distracting, while the later attempts were disastrous.

Too bad they latched onto this "Marlboro Country" theme for the advertising, because it produced one butt-ugly poster. I have a copy of the 1-sheet (at bottom), but only unfolded it once to look at it. Who would want that atrocity on their wall?












8 comments:

Deka Black said...

¿¿¿Bruce Lee???

Evan Lewis said...

Yep. This is a couple of years after his run as Kato on The Green Hornet.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

Those are fantastic! Thanks for sharing. I've always liked Garner in the Marlowe role, and I even plunked down real cash to buy this movie, so I could see it whenever I want. What a treat!

Cheers,
Jeff

David Cranmer said...

I always liked this movie and especially the scene where Lee reduces Marlowe's office to rubble.

The flying kick off the roof is a bit silly but otherwise a very fine film.

David Cranmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Todd Mason said...

More than a bit silly...they really could've set it up better. But this is an excellent showcase for Moreno, who didn't get too many satisfying showcases, despite a career running from WEST SIDE STORY through THE ELECTRIC COMPANY to OZ...a span few others than TEC castmate Morgan Freeman could easily emulate...and I suspect Moreno danced better...and I certainly enjoyed watching her dance more than I think I might Freeman...

Ann Littlewood said...

you could never go wrong with James Gardner. Wow!

Booksteve said...

Garner's okay in this but the absolute only reason most people remember it is, of course, Bruce Lee.

Gayle Hunnnicut was the "next big thing" for several years but never quite emerged from her cocoon. I always liked her, though.

I had never seen that poster or book cover before though. Interesting. Not likely to entice me to see the picture mind you but interesting.