Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, Dorothy Malone, John Ridgely

(9-Great Film)

Iconic. Stylish. Classic.

Private detective, Phillip Marlowe (Bogart), gets in way over his head when an old retired General hires him to find and suppress his wild daughter’s blackmailer. The case spirals, and pretty soon, there’s a string of murders complicating matters. Marlowe can’t help getting all the way down to the bottom of things, despite several warnings and bribes to quit. One coming from Vivian Rutledge (Bacall), married and calculating daughter of the general, and Marlowe’s eventual flame. Mystery, tough-guy detective, femme fatales, I love this stuff. Novelist Raymond Chandler is a well-acknowledged master of the style, and this is one of the best film adaptations of his work. Bogey and Bacall are timeless, and the dialogue is sterling.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(442)