Curious tale of a private eye who is hired by a villain to find his homicidal girlfriend. But the story takes a twist when he tracks her down and promptly falls in love with her.”Build my gallows high, baby”–just one of the quintessentially noir sentiments expressed by Robert Mitchum in this classic of the genre. Mitchum, in absolute prime, sleepy-eyed form, relates a complicated flashback about getting hired by gangster Kirk Douglas to find femme fatale Jane Greer. The chain of film noir elements–love, money, lies–drags Mitchum into the lower depths. Director Jacques Tourneur gets the edgy negotiations between men and women as exactly right as he gets the inky shadows of the noir landscape (even the sunlit exteriors are fraught with doubt). This is Mitchum in excelsis, with his usual laid-back cool laced with great dialogue and tragic foreshadowing. As for his co-star, James Agee immortally opined that Jane Greer “can best be described, in an ancient idiom, as a hot number.” Remade in 1984, unhappily, as Against All Odds (with Greer in a supporting role). –Robert Horton

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Of all the Philip Marlowes, Robert Mitchum’s in Farewell, My Lovely resonates most deeply. That’s because this is Marlowe past his prime, and Mitchum imbues Raymond Chandler’s legendary private detective with a sense of maturity as well as a melancholy spirit. And yet there’s plenty of Mitchum’s renowned self-deprecating humour and charismatic charm to remind us of his own iconic presence. As in the previous 1944 film version, Murder, My Sweet, Marlowe searches all over L.A. for the elusive girlfriend of ex-con Moose Malloy, a lovable giant who might as well be King Kong. In typical Chandler fashion, the weary Marlowe uncovers a hotbed of lust, corruption, and betrayal. Like Malloy, he’s disillusioned by it all, despite his tough exterior, and possesses a tinge of sentimentality for the good old days. About the only current dream he can hold onto is Joe DiMaggio and his fabulous hitting streak. Made in 1975, a year after Chinatown (shot by the same cinematographer, John Alonzo), Farewell, My Lovely is more straightforward and nostalgic, but still possesses a requisite hard-boiled edge, and the best kind of angst the ’70s had to offer. (By the way, you’ll notice Sylvester Stallone in a rather violent cameo, a year before his Rocky breakthrough.) –Bill Desowitz

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Of all the Philip Marlowes, Robert Mitchum’s in Farewell, My Lovely resonates most deeply. That’s because this is Marlowe past his prime, and Mitchum imbues Raymond Chandler’s legendary private detective with a sense of maturity as well as a melancholy spirit. And yet there is plenty of Mitchum’s renowned self-deprecating humour and charismatic charm to remind us of his own iconic presence. As in the previous 1944 film version, Murder, My Sweet, Marlowe searches all over L.A. for the elusive girlfriend of ex-con Moose Malloy, a loveable giant who might as well be King Kong. In typical Chandler fashion, the weary Marlowe uncovers a hotbed of lust, corruption and betrayal. Like Malloy, he’s disillusioned by it all, despite his tough exterior, and possesses a tinge of sentimentality for the good old days. About the only current dream he can hold onto is Joe DiMaggio and his fabulous hitting streak. Made in 1975, a year after Chinatown (shot by the same cinematographer, John Alonzo), Farewell, My Lovely is more straightforward and nostalgic, but still possesses a requisite hard-boiled edge, and the best kind of angst the 1970s had to offer. (By the way, you will notice Sylvester Stallone in a rather violent cameo, a year before his Rocky breakthrough.) –Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com

Farewell My Lovely [DVD] [1975] <- Read More Buy Now for £9.99 (Best Price)

His Kind of Woman: Black-and-White, Comedy Drama, Film Noir, Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price, Raymond Burr, Charles McGraw, John Farrow, Howard Hughes

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Of all the Philip Marlowes, Robert Mitchum’s in Farewell, My Lovely resonates most deeply. That’s because this is Marlowe past his prime, and Mitchum imbues Raymond Chandler’s legendary private detective with a sense of maturity as well as a melancholy spirit. And yet there is plenty of Mitchum’s renowned self-deprecating humour and charismatic charm to remind us of his own iconic presence. As in the previous 1944 film version, Murder, My Sweet, Marlowe searches all over L.A. for the elusive girlfriend of ex-con Moose Malloy, a loveable giant who might as well be King Kong. In typical Chandler fashion, the weary Marlowe uncovers a hotbed of lust, corruption and betrayal. Like Malloy, he’s disillusioned by it all, despite his tough exterior, and possesses a tinge of sentimentality for the good old days. About the only current dream he can hold onto is Joe DiMaggio and his fabulous hitting streak. Made in 1975, a year after Chinatown (shot by the same cinematographer, John Alonzo), Farewell, My Lovely is more straightforward and nostalgic, but still possesses a requisite hard-boiled edge, and the best kind of angst the 1970s had to offer. (By the way, you will notice Sylvester Stallone in a rather violent cameo, a year before his Rocky breakthrough.) –Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com

Farewell My Lovely

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