James Garner is Marlowe. The 60s comedic murder mystery is new to Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
The Film
James Garner, much like Elliot Gould (a few years later in the Altman Masterpiece The Long Goodbye), seems like an unconventional choice to play tough gumshoe, Phillip Marlowe. Especially considering the fact that he was first played by the likes of tough guys Dick Powell and, of course, Humphrey Bogart. Garner was a loquacious charmer who made the TV series Maverick and The Rockford Files so fun to watch week in and week out. What surprises in Marlowe (based on the novel The Little Sister) is that the private eye is perfectly suited for Garner as much as it was for Gould, Powell, and Bogart (or in a few years after Garner and Gould by Robert Mitchum and recently as 2022 by Liam Neeson).
The fact that six wildly different stars could play and interpret the character across the spectrum of tones speaks to the character and words written by novelist Raymond Chandler. Chandler’s hard-bitten plots and snappy dialogue are almost timeless. There’s a cynicism at play that will always work, no matter the era/decade, that translates to a contemporary setting. Marlowe is an ever-kicked-in-the-dirt working man who doesn’t let anything or anyone (especially cops and gangsters) get the better of him.
In Garner’s hands, the character is armed with an unflappable wit and mind that seems to be three steps ahead of everyone. The carshare cat version of Marlowe. An answer for everyone and everything, but just charming enough not to insult the wrong people. So agile you ALMOST believe his Marlowe can outmaneuver Bruce Lee’s Winslow Wong … almost. Like all the iterations of in the multi-verse, Garner’s Marlowe’s single weakness are The Dames.
Marlowe (the movie) casts an impressive net of various actors to portray the various female characters in the film. Rita Moreno, Galye Hunnicutt, and Sharon Farell play the trio of women who circle around Marlowe and the case of the missing man named Orrin Case (Roger Newman). As with all Marlowe cases, there’s corruption, blackmail, double crossing, strongarming, drugs, and of course, murder.
Part of the oddball charm of this adaptation is that director Peter Bogart (no relation to Humphrey but was Father-in-Law to Elliot Gould for a time) and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant bring a proto-hippie go-go Los Angeles that never was vibe to the entire film. A film at home with Rita Moreno playing a burlesque dancer, as much as it is having Bruce Lee show up in a cameo role because of the cultural impact he had as Kato on The Green Hornet.
There’s an anything can go (within a limit) to the way the film plays out. It almost distracts from the plot until the very final thirty minutes. One could almost see this being a film that could have been used in Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood, where Rick Dalton had one of the lesser parts. It has that sort of vibe to it. Something that even when the violent darkness comes in, and it’s left hanging … it doesn’t feel there’s a weight to it, the way the Post-Nixon malaise and seething contempt for authority and humanity that Altman’s The Long Goodbye has. That being said, Marlowe is still James Garner doing what he does best, playing a charming private detective.
The Transfer
The all-new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films is another example of how there are few types of restorations that the boutique label can’t handle. The 1969 film looks gorgeous on Blu-ray in this restoration. The film looks beautiful with the color reproduction being that specific type of Technicolor coating of filmmaking of the era. The image is sharp without any sort of blemishes during the runtime. Another winner from Arrow Video.
The Extras
They include the following;
$100 A Day (Plus Expenses): The Strange Case of the Reconstitution of Phillip Marlowe
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
$100 A Day (Plus Expenses): The Strange Case of the Reconstitution of Phillip Marlowe [51:23] – is an all-new appreciation by film historian Howard S. Berger of the Philip Marlowe character and novelist Raymond Chandler. Beginning with how Chandler developed the Marlowe character in shorts and eventually writing the character into a novel and adapting him to the big screen. Berger discusses both the written and onscreen versions; Chandler’s theory on the detective; the various films they made of Chandler’s novels and how different they were; the connections to Marlowe and another literary figure, James Bond; how this, along with the late 60s culture, created James Garner’s (hot off of the success of Maverick) own version of the character in Marlowe; and much more. Berger brings his acutely aware and detailed dissection of film to this fascinating look at Philip Marlowe and this particular Adaptation.
Theatrical trailer (2:13)
Image gallery – the two galleries can be accessed from a submenu. Each gallery can be navigated by using your next and back chapter buttons on your remote.
Posters – the gallery consisting of 15 different posters
Promotional Stills – the gallery consists of 90 different black and white and color promotional stills
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given another winning edition for an almost forgotten genre title with wonderful extras. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Arrow Video’s Blu-ray Edition of Marlowe is out now.
James Garner is Marlowe. The 60s comedic murder mystery is new to Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
The Film
James Garner, much like Elliot Gould (a few years later in the Altman Masterpiece The Long Goodbye), seems like an unconventional choice to play tough gumshoe, Phillip Marlowe. Especially considering the fact that he was first played by the likes of tough guys Dick Powell and, of course, Humphrey Bogart. Garner was a loquacious charmer who made the TV series Maverick and The Rockford Files so fun to watch week in and week out. What surprises in Marlowe (based on the novel The Little Sister) is that the private eye is perfectly suited for Garner as much as it was for Gould, Powell, and Bogart (or in a few years after Garner and Gould by Robert Mitchum and recently as 2022 by Liam Neeson).
The fact that six wildly different stars could play and interpret the character across the spectrum of tones speaks to the character and words written by novelist Raymond Chandler. Chandler’s hard-bitten plots and snappy dialogue are almost timeless. There’s a cynicism at play that will always work, no matter the era/decade, that translates to a contemporary setting. Marlowe is an ever-kicked-in-the-dirt working man who doesn’t let anything or anyone (especially cops and gangsters) get the better of him.
In Garner’s hands, the character is armed with an unflappable wit and mind that seems to be three steps ahead of everyone. The carshare cat version of Marlowe. An answer for everyone and everything, but just charming enough not to insult the wrong people. So agile you ALMOST believe his Marlowe can outmaneuver Bruce Lee’s Winslow Wong … almost. Like all the iterations of in the multi-verse, Garner’s Marlowe’s single weakness are The Dames.
Marlowe (the movie) casts an impressive net of various actors to portray the various female characters in the film. Rita Moreno, Galye Hunnicutt, and Sharon Farell play the trio of women who circle around Marlowe and the case of the missing man named Orrin Case (Roger Newman). As with all Marlowe cases, there’s corruption, blackmail, double crossing, strongarming, drugs, and of course, murder.
Part of the oddball charm of this adaptation is that director Peter Bogart (no relation to Humphrey but was Father-in-Law to Elliot Gould for a time) and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant bring a proto-hippie go-go Los Angeles that never was vibe to the entire film. A film at home with Rita Moreno playing a burlesque dancer, as much as it is having Bruce Lee show up in a cameo role because of the cultural impact he had as Kato on The Green Hornet.
There’s an anything can go (within a limit) to the way the film plays out. It almost distracts from the plot until the very final thirty minutes. One could almost see this being a film that could have been used in Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood, where Rick Dalton had one of the lesser parts. It has that sort of vibe to it. Something that even when the violent darkness comes in, and it’s left hanging … it doesn’t feel there’s a weight to it, the way the Post-Nixon malaise and seething contempt for authority and humanity that Altman’s The Long Goodbye has. That being said, Marlowe is still James Garner doing what he does best, playing a charming private detective.
The Transfer
The all-new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films is another example of how there are few types of restorations that the boutique label can’t handle. The 1969 film looks gorgeous on Blu-ray in this restoration. The film looks beautiful with the color reproduction being that specific type of Technicolor coating of filmmaking of the era. The image is sharp without any sort of blemishes during the runtime. Another winner from Arrow Video.
The Extras
They include the following;
$100 A Day (Plus Expenses): The Strange Case of the Reconstitution of Phillip Marlowe [51:23] – is an all-new appreciation by film historian Howard S. Berger of the Philip Marlowe character and novelist Raymond Chandler. Beginning with how Chandler developed the Marlowe character in shorts and eventually writing the character into a novel and adapting him to the big screen. Berger discusses both the written and onscreen versions; Chandler’s theory on the detective; the various films they made of Chandler’s novels and how different they were; the connections to Marlowe and another literary figure, James Bond; how this, along with the late 60s culture, created James Garner’s (hot off of the success of Maverick) own version of the character in Marlowe; and much more. Berger brings his acutely aware and detailed dissection of film to this fascinating look at Philip Marlowe and this particular Adaptation.
Theatrical trailer (2:13)
Image gallery – the two galleries can be accessed from a submenu. Each gallery can be navigated by using your next and back chapter buttons on your remote.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given another winning edition for an almost forgotten genre title with wonderful extras. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Arrow Video’s Blu-ray Edition of Marlowe is out now.
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