Watch Murder, My Sweet For Free

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fresh and Exciting

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel "Farwell, My Lovely", "Murder, My Sweet" is a great example of noir, with dramatic lighting, many night scenes, and a number of tough characters. Dick Powell--in a dramatic shift from the crooner roles he was used to--plays Philip Marlowe, the private eye who lives in a seedy world of losers and the corrupt. Marlowe's office is a small hole is a trashy building. Yet, healways needs rent money, so he is not very picky about the cases he takes.The film starts with Marlowe getting the third degree from the cops. Most of the story is his recounting of two cases, with Powell's voice frequently providing the voice-over narration. In one case, Marlowe agrees to search for a missing woman. The other starts as an insignificant job attending a planned rendezvous. As the cases develop, Marlowe discovers both are complex and dangerous enterprises.Along they way, he meets Ann Grayle, featuring Anne Shirley in her final screen role. Her motives are obscure, but she definitely gets Marlowe's attention.He also deals with Ann's step-mother, Helen Grayle (Claire Trevor), who has an eye for interesting men, and it doesn't take much to interest her. A few years after this role, Ms. Trevor will win an Oscar for her work in "Key Largo" in a very different role.Chandler's Marlowe is quick with the wisecracks and the similes ("She had a face like a Sunday school picnic.") I leave it up to the viewer to decide if Powell fully embodies the tough guy, but I think he does surprisingly well. Watch for the scene where he tries to shake off a drug-induced stupor. As with all Marlowe stories, the characters are stylized and so is the dialogue. But good acting makes even a stylized role realistic. The acting of Miles Mander (as Mr. Grayle) is likewise convincing.Another attribute of many noir detective films is a convoluted story (see "The Maltese Falcon" for example), and this film is true to form. But the story holds up to scrutiny. Still, I think the viewer will have greater success watching this film without distractions at home. I wonder how many moviegoers in 1944 were able to follow the story while seated in a theater with the usual distractions.One of the charming aspects of the film is the humorous dialogue, sometimes dark and deadpan, usually from Marlowe. It differentiates Marlowe from Sam Spade, for example, who is more intense.

FAREWELL, MY LOVELY is a dyed-in-the-wool film noir production featuring everyone's favourite hardboiled private detective Philip Marlowe on the trail of a missing girl. With Dick Powell's dogged detective as the lead, the rest of the character list is populated by a mix of backstabbers, villains, henchmen, conmen, and femme fatales, and just keeping track of the complexities of the storyline is a job in itself.Still, the film benefits from Edward Dmytryk's solid direction which enlivens the film with atmosphere and some fun suspense scenes, a lot of them involving characters skulking around or getting beaten up by a seven foot tall bad guy. There are some good performances here from the likes of Otto Kruger and Mike Mazurki, and FAREWELL, MY LOVELY proves a solid example of the detective genre as a whole.

Produced by the legendary RKO during the golden age of American film noir, Murder, My Sweet remains to this day one of the best adaptations of the adventures of Philip Marlowe.The mythical antihero Raymond Chandler had a slew of excellent adaptations to the big screen including The Big Sleep by Howard Hawks and The Private by Robert Altman. Philip Marlowe has inspired dozens of imitators and one can still find his DNA in the chronic darkness of James Ellroy. Everything is there: the smoky bars populated by exotic dancers, the femme fatale, the weary detective who is constantly beaten up after his hilarious escapades, etc. To this Dmytryk adds a few original touches straight out of German Expressionism. Humphrey Bogart will overshadow him a few years later, but Dick Powell portrays a Philip Marlowe deeply funny, always ready to deliver a good line. A memorable performance, although the actor did not necessarily look the part. Powell is accompanied by excellent supporting characters, including two femmes fatales Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley. In the role "Moose" Malloy, Mike Mazurki intimidates while managing to remain touching. As for Otto Kruger, he plays a deliciously evil villain. Scripted by John Paxton, the film is somewhat watered down compared to the Chandler novel, he nevertheless manages to bring out the very substance without too many sacrifices.Murder, My Sweet is a fine example of film noir.

The simple fact is that Dick Powell was a lousy actor, completely wooden and without conviction.This is a terrific story and the much better film of it is the 1975 version with Robert Micham.Because a person is popular does not mean that they are good – Dick Powell was very popular in his day.The book is very good and I would urge people to read it – complicated plot lines which are often simplified for the cinema audiences. The direction of this movie is nearly as bad as the acting – watch the later version.