Edward Dymtryk's Murder, My Sweet and Mirage
Murder, My Sweet review
Is Dick Powell the best Phillip Marlowe? Edward Dymtryk’s Murder, My Sweet makes a great case for it.
On our podcast this week, we covered the film—the first proper adaptation of a Phillip Marlowe novel.
Dymtryk combines Chandler’s spitfire dialogue with surrealist touches and a psychedelic montage to capture the hardboiled spirit of Chandler’s story, and the existential dread and confusion of the noir era.
The Big Sleep is great, and Bogart/Bacall are magnetic, but I’ll take this less flashy take on Chandler anytime. Powell’s Marlowe feels very authentic to Chandler’s novel, and a nice match with Elliot Gould’s Marlowe in Altman’s The Long Goodbye.
Who's your favorite Marlowe, and why?
Next week, we’re covering Dymtryk’s Mirage, a mostly forgotten noir starring Gregory Peck from 1965. Mirage was a huge influence on Mad Men, and it shows. Check it out if you haven’t seen it!