Watchingwell
Curated classic films
Through the Lens Darkly
I am often disappointed when
books I love are made into movies, because the images created in my mind are
vivid and usually superior to the images of the filmmaker. As a big consumer of mystery
novels, I’ve read most of the classics from Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers
and the other British masters, and some of them have been made into films
successfully. But I’m also a fan of a different kind of mystery, the classic
American gumshoe and sometimes, the movies made from these stories, although different
from the books, are still good because they manage to convey the mood and the
atmosphere, if not the details, of the story.
This is particularly true in the case of three great American mystery
writers.
Raymond Chandler wrote with a
cynical humor and tough-guy tone that he applied to Los Angeles of the 1930s. His
detective, Philip Marlowe, has come to be the embodiment of the “hard-boiled”
detective.
Before Philip Marlowe, there
was Sam Spade and the gritty realism of Dashiell Hammett. One of his best-known works, The Maltese Falcon, had been adapted for
film in an early talkie from 1931, and in a spoof of it in 1935, before the
1941 version that is now considered one of the all-time classics.
A real ‘noir’ writer, James
M. Cain is best known for tales where crime, violence, and sex intersect, told in
retrospect by the main character. No detective work is necessary because the
narrator tells us how it happened.
Films from Raymond Chandler Stories
Two films are based on The High Window by Chandler. The earlier, A Time to Kill (1942),
directed by Herbert I. Leeds, seems to follow the story line of the novel more
closely, and is a decent mystery with Lloyd Nolan as the smart-talking
detective.
Murder My Sweet (1944), directed by Edward Dmytryk, is, in my opinion,
the best adaptation, in that Dick Powell shows just the right combination of cynical
and decent in his portrayal of Philip Marlowe.
Claire Trevor is delicious as Helen Grayle and the rest of the cast is
top notch. A dark film, both in plot and cinematography, this is essential
film noir.
Farewell, My Lovely (1975), directed by Dick Richards, stars Robert
Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling, and adheres more closely to the novel, but for
me, Mitchum is a bit old for the part, and, as a result, although visually
impressive, the film doesn’t have the same energy as the 1944 version.
The Big Sleep (1946), directed by Howard Hawks, starring Humphrey
Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is a dark and complicated mystery that has so many
sub-plots and threads to tie up that by the end, a viewer can get worn out. But it has great style and the charisma of
the stars going for it. Howard Hawks
pulls it off.
The Lady in the Lake (1946), directed by and starring Robert Montgomery,
is one of my favorites because, although Robert Montgomery is the detective, we
only hear his voice as he narrates, except when he passes in front of a mirror,
until the very end, when he was forced to add a scene where he is in the scene instead of observing it for
us, which completely ruins the concept.
I heard in an interview with his costar, Audrey Totter, that he was
furious at the studio for this.
It is worth mentioning that
Raymond Chandler wrote the screenplay for the 1946 film, The Blue Dahlia, starring
Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and William Bendix.
Directed by George Marshall, although not adapted from a novel, it has some
of the familiar Chandler cynicism with nasty women and tough men who crack
wise.
Based on Chandler’s The Little Sister, Marlowe (1969) has a
pre-Rockford James Garner taking a turn as Philip Marlowe, hired to find a
missing brother. Garner is a little too affable for the world-weary Marlowe,
and shot in color, the noir mood is diminished, but this is entertaining, with
a good supporting cast, particularly, Rita Moreno, who practically steals
it. Directed by Paul Bogart.
That’s not to say that you
can’t make a film noir in color. Robert
Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) is based on the Chandler novel, but
strays into more of an Altman take on southern California in the 70s. Elliot Gould stars as a quirky and witty
Philip Marlowe, who is kind of hip and kind of not. For all the playful wit,
this is a mean film. Highlighting this is the contrast with the
oppressively-bright L.A. landscape created by the cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. If you like it, it will stay with you.Films from Dashiell Hammett Stories
In spite of creating tough
guy, Sam Spade, Hammett’s other equally-famous detective
creation, Nick Charles, turned out to be the urbane sophisticate of The
Thin Man (1934), due to the witty script by Albert Hackett and Frances
Goodrich, and the casting of William Powell as the detective. Directed by W.S.
Van Dyke, the repartée between Powell and Myrna Loy as Nora Charles, however,
is what sets this film apart from other excellent mysteries. It is equally enjoyable as a comedy. So successful was this chemistry that five
other films were made with the characters, although after the first three with
the same screenwriters and director, they were only connected to Hammett by featuring
his creations, Nick and Nora Charles. The stories were created by other
screenwriters.
Sam Spade is associated
with Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon from 1941, but
there was an earlier version from 1931 which was a little more explicit,
despite the static nature of this early talkie.
Ricardo Cortez plays Spade and Bebe Daniels is Ruth Wonderley. Directed by Roy Del Ruth.
Another film of the story is
one with Bette Davis in a comedy role, Satan Met A Lady (1936). Directed by William Dieterle, with 30s star
Warren Williams as Spade, the story is loosely the same as The Maltese Falcon with a few changes (the boss bad guy is a woman).
It is played for laughs.
However, the 1941 version,
for many, the first ‘noir’ film, is the jewel, thanks to the screenplay and
direction of John Huston. Humphrey Bogart's version of the tough-guy-who-doesn’t-take-anything-but-his-reputation-seriously is now THE Sam Spade, and as I know the script
practically word for word, I can hear him now, telling Mary Astor in that great
scene in the end how “I won’t play the sap for you”. Nobody else, including
George Raft, who was offered the role and turned it down, could have done it and turned it into a classic.
Supporting roles played by great character actors, Peter Lorre, Sydney
Greenstreet, Lee Patrick, Elisha Cook Jr, among others.
A so-so adaptation of a
Hammett story, Woman in the Dark (1934) stars Ralph Bellamy as an ex-con who
thinks he’s killed a man, but didn’t.
Fay Wray and Melvyn Douglas round out the cast and make it somewhat
interesting – as do titillating pre-code touches. Directed by Phil Rosen.
Although the 1942 version of
the Hammett novel is the better known, this 1935 adaptation of The
Glass Key, directed by Frank Tuttle, with George Raft as the operative
for political boss, Edward Arnold, is pretty good. With Claire Dodd.
These films were adapted from
a really good book, so I was hoping The Glass Key from 1942 would do it
justice. I’m not a big fan of Alan Ladd, but he does a good job here and his
chemistry with co-star, Veronica Lake, seems so obvious to all that they were cast
together in seven films. William Bendix as the psycho thug that works for
political boss, Brian Donlevy, also worked often with Ladd (10 films). Perhaps
the violence he portrayed so well was a good contrast to Ladd’s cold
detachment. Directed by Stuart Heisler, there are some tough scenes to watch
even now when we have seen it all.Films from James M. Cain Stories
In Double Indemnity (1944), insurance salesman, Fred MacMurray tries to sell a man insurance, but ends up buying a murder plot from the man’s wife, played by Barbara Stanwyck. Edward G. Robinson is the suspicious investigator at the insurance company. All three actors at the top of their game. Directed by Billy Wilder.
This time, the plot is about
a wife who gets a man who is not indifferent to her charms to help her murder
her husband. Wait – this sounds like the
last one. Well, different stars, -- Lana Turner and John Garfield, and even the
suspicious nemesis, this time played by Hume Cronyn. The film is The Postman Always Rings Twice
and released only two years later in 1946. Directed by Tay Garnett, it has a
totally different identity, in my opinion, because of the kind of energy Garfield
brings to the role. By contrast, in Double
Indemnity, MacMurray, looking back, gives his narration of events a
tone of deliberate fatalism.
The plot variation here is
that a woman is narrating backward from the commission of a murder. However, “Spoiler Alert”: the murder is committed by a woman. Again. Boy, do you think these guys had a low
opinion of women, or what? Even the long-suffering and suffering-inflicting
mother of the title, Mildred Pierce (1945), fails to get
our sympathy in her lifelong attempt to create a good life for her daughter,
because she bungles the job so badly.
Played obsessively by Joan Crawford, with Jack Carson, Ann Blyth,
Zachary Scott and Eve Arden. Directed by Michael Curtiz.
Slightly Scarlet (1956), adapted from a lesser James M. Cain novel, is
a debatable film noir, in vivid, garish color.
John Payne is not a hero, not quite an anti-hero. But he gets involved
with the strong-arm attempts to take over the political scene in a California
town. He also gets involved with two red-headed sisters, played by Rhonda
Fleming and Arlene Dahl, who leaves it all on the soundstage. Directed by Alan
Dwan.
Serenade (1956) is a vehicle for Mario Lanza’s singing and
bears little resemblance to the James M, Cain novel, except
for the title and the characters. Joan
Fontaine is a rich patroness of young, handsome, male talent. She has a habit of using people. Lanza is in love with Spanish actress Sarita
Montiel and also wants to have a singing career. Conflict abounds. But beautiful singing makes this worth
the time. Directed by Anthony Mann.I hope I've kindled your interest in taking a longer look at these films made from the works of American mystery writers. You might also enjoy reading the books.
