Farvel, Min Elskede
Everybody
knows the private detective Philip Marlowe. If not by name (there are people
more ignorant than me) then as a concept: Trenchcoat, hat, voice-over, dark
streets, complex murder mysteries. That character is an institution. What I did
not know was how funny and entertaining that character can be.
“Murder, My
Sweet” is thoroughly entertaining to a degree that I have to say I am not sure
I had this good a time since I saw “The Awful Truth”. Everything in this film
works out but condensed into one name that would be Dick Powell. Last time I
saw him he was the romantic guy in a series of Busby Berkeley musicals. For
“Murder, My Sweet” he has gone through a transformation and is reinvented as
the tough, smart and cocky boyish detective. He is fantastic, like a 1940’ies
Axel Foley with tons of charm, witty lines and a deadpan attitude and I wonder,
is this really the same guy? I love this fellow. This is a crime story, but the
comedy is bubbling underneath and only by keeping a straight face throughout
does it stay a crime story. With a character like Powell’s Philip Marlowe this
could have become really silly or a spoof on itself, but by taking itself
serious throughout the film pulls it off. But man, it is funny.
The plot of
the film is so complex that it is almost absurd. I will not even try explaining
it. It is convoluted with people showing up out of the blue and being connected
in unexpected and improbable ways. Attempts to follow the deductions Marlowe
makes in his running commentary is bound to make you dizzy and more than once I
was not a little confused. Instead of being annoying I actually felt it worked
very well because Marlowe is just as confused. Often his “sharp” analysis is
just a bluff, a shot, and he admits it willingly, but it often triggers a new
avalanche of unexpected information, adding to the general confusion.
There are a
plethora of characters, all of them with secrets, none of them what they appear
to be, friend or foe? We keep getting surprises. My favorite is the half-wit,
double-size ex-con Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki). He is like a bulldozer without
a driver, with an agenda he hardly knows himself. And then of course the girls:
Pretty, innocent (?) Ann Grayle (Anne Shirley) and the blonde vamp Helen Grayle
(Claire Trevor), women with more secrets and agendas than is good for them and
both with a hungry eye for Marlowe.
“Murder, My
Sweet” can be described as a mix between “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Thin
Man”. The complex crime mystery and noir elements are straight off the Falcon
while the approach with a sharp witted sarcastic, but charming (and thirsty)
detective harks back to the non-stop party of “The Thin Man”. Combining these
two elements into something this dark and threatening and so hilariously funny
was a stroke of genius. In this incarnation it is not cliché, partly because it
is so well done, partly because it was new, but the format has become a favorite
for imitations, good or bad. Think “Naked Gun” or “Bladerunner” and countless
in between.
The
comparison with “The Maltese Falcon is quite appropriate. The theme of a detective
becoming the focus of the plotting of a host of dodgy types is obviously a noir
favorite and these two do that to perfection. The main difference is Bogart
versus Powell. Bogart is the tough nail who keeps his head cool and navigates
those murky waters with a rare skill. He calls the shots and is quick at
turning the situation if he is on the defense. Powell on the other hand is
almost the antihero. He gets beaten up, drugged, dragged around and pulled by
his nose and yet he keeps getting back on his feet. His lines are not so much
cool as they are sarcastic and a bit smart-ass or even jack-ass. It fits him.
Powell is a great antihero. If Bogart is a real man then Powell is a real boy.
This one
could so easily have tipped and become silly. If the Grayle girls had started
telling jokes, if Moose had started laughing or if Marlowe had shifted his
balance from the slightly bitter ironic amusement to not taking the case and
his predicament seriously this would have become a farce. This film walks a
tightrope and only by keeping the straight face and taking itself serious does
it work. We have to believe the story as unlikely as it is. If we realize how
absurd it is or even worse, if the characters start thinking this is absurd
then we get thrown off and this would be neither funny nor suspenseful.
But because
the balance is exactly right this film works perfectly. I highly recommend it.
I wasn't particularly excited about this film when I watched it because I wasn't sure I would buy Dick Powell as a noir detective. Man, was I wrong. I loved this one and it was a complete shock.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is a surprise. such a huge difference from the crooner in the Busby Berkeley musicals to the detective Philip Marlowe. And it does not look contrived either, he was made for this role.
ReplyDeleteLike you and Steve, this movie rather bowled me over. Having endured all those silly Busby Berkeley musicals with Dick Powell, the idea of him starring in a hard-boiled detective noir seemed ridiculous, BUT HOLY CRAP IT WORKS. He is SO much better in this than those stupid early musicals. He's awesome, the film's awesome around him, everyone's on their game.... yeah, this is a great, fun movie. AGREED!
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back, Siobhan.
DeleteThe book did prepare me for Dick Powell, but he took me with surprise as well. He is way way better here than in the musicals. Had he started here he would have been typecast as the mischievous private eye.