Philip Marlowe, another Raymond Chandler creation, was first made famous by Humphrey Bogart's portrayal in The Big Sleep during the hay-day of noir. True, there is something classic about Bogart's performance (he is the quintessential P.I., after all), but that's what make's Robert Altman's subversive re-imagining so great. In 1973, Altman set out to adapt Chandler's The Long Goodbye as a "send-up" of the classic 1940s detective character navigating 1970s Southern California. What makes this approach work is the abandonment of any "fish out of water" scenarios that might seem natural to this set-up. It's not tacked on, or even all that noticeable. The story, along with Elliott Gould's wonderful performance, are allowed to operate naturally within the conceit.