Re: RARA-AVIS: Marlowe movies as Bracketted

From: M Blumenthal ( blumenidiot@rcn.com)
Date: 02 Jul 2003


Chris Martin:
> Altman/Gould's Marlowe is similar. Chandler's Marlowe set the standard for
> the lone wolf who cares not for worldly possessions and that model has
been
> put to good use many times over since then. That's well and good, but
Altman
> does a great job of showing that this is not without its sacrifices. That
> crummy apartment Gould's Marlowe lives in sums up a ton about his life and
> is consistent with the type of place Marlowe would have. That's just one
> example from the movie of this. (I should talk. My own place is no better
> and since I don't have Marlowe's neighbors, I'd have to say that it's
> worse!). I like this approach better than having the protagonist somehow
> lucking into insurance money or an inheritance so that they can have
trendy
> stuff while, unlike the rest of us, still remaining untarnished by
commerce.

Almost ten year's earlier the first scene of Harper shows a similar apartment. When it came out a friend of mine told me about that scene. He said it was just the way he had imagined Harper/Archer would live. That discussion got me to read my first Ross MacDonald, and I was hooked.

I don't think Altman/Gould broke ground in that respect, but Gould as a very laid back Marlowe did. I can see a lot of the early Elvis Cole in his portrayal. Mark

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