10 Greatest Film Noirs of All Time

9. Murder, My Sweet (aka Farewell, My Lovely) (1944)

Dir. Edward Dymtryk Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, and Otto Kruger Private eye Phillip Marlow is under arrest, has bandages over his eyes, and cops asking about a murder. In flashback, Marlowe tells his story- how he became involved with a gigantic ex-con called Moose Malloy searching for his lost love, and how Marlowe got involved in the case of a missing jade necklace. The film is adapted from the second Philip Marlowe novel by Raymond Chandler, the novel was the first Chandler I€™d ever read, so it€™s story holds a special place in my heart. The film is a pretty decent adaptation, as they understand that Chandler€™s key strength was his language, so they use as much original dialogue and narration as they can. The film contains a great Expressionistic sequence when a drugged Marlowe has nightmares. And it€™s not a tacky, overtly surrealistic nightmare sequence, but manages to feel unsettlingly like a real nightmare. Dick Powell makes a good Philip Marlowe, even though ever fan of Chandler€™s novels and very fan of film noir knows the only man to truly own that character was Humphrey Bogart. But, his one Marlowe film, The Big Sleep, got cut from the list- it doesn€™t have the ture noir style like Murder, My Sweet. Though, The Big Sleep is the better thing. Key Line (so many to chose from!): Marlowe: €˜Okay Marlowe,' I said to myself. 'You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on.€™
 
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Daniel Williams is a writer from Solihull, UK. His influences include Orson Welles, Bob Dylan, tea, and Snoopy. His personal blog is http://teatieredpen.wordpress.com or you can follow the gentleman on Twitter @DRWilliams14