Chandler (1971)

A hardboiled aging private eye is hired to find and protect a missing government witness sought after by the gangsters. The witness is a beautiful French woman and even the cops can't be trusted. The case is tough, but so is Chandler.

Director:

Paul Magwood

Writers:

Paul Magwood (story), John Sacret Young

Stars:

Warren Oates, Leslie Caron, Alex Dreier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Oates	...	Chandler
Leslie Caron	...	Katherine Creighton
Alex Dreier	...	Ross J. Carmady
Mitch Ryan	...	Charles 'Chuck' Kincaid (as Mitchell Ryan)
Gordon Pinsent	...	John Melchior
Charles McGraw	...	Bernie Oakman
Richard Loo	...	Leo
Gloria Grahame	...	Selma
Royal Dano	...	Sal Sachese (scenes deleted)
Walter Burke	...	Zeno
Marianne McAndrew	...	Angel Carter
Scatman Crothers	...	Smoke
Lal Baum	...	Waxwell
Charles Shull	...	Binder Ransin
John Mitchum	...	Rudy, Bartender

Storyline

A hardboiled aging private eye is hired to find and protect a missing government witness sought after by the gangsters. The witness is a beautiful French woman and even the cops can't be trusted. The case is tough, but so is Chandler.

---

Plot Keywords:

witness | gangster | french | stool pigeon | jumping from a car | 

---

Taglines:

Chandler is a private eye. It's a hard way to make a living... and an easy way to die.

---

Genres:

Drama | Crime

---

Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1971 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Pebble Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to "Uprising at MGM," a Time Magazine article of Dec. 27, 1971, director Paul Magwood and producer Michael Laughlin placed a black-bordered ad in the Hollywood Reporter apologizing for the movie, claiming that MGM studio chief James T. Aubrey had severely re-cut Chandler and added previously deleted scenes, in Aubrey's judgment, to simplify the plot. Aubrey also allegedly changed the film score from 1940s-type music to something more contemporary. The producer and director also claimed that Magwood was denied entry to the editing room while Aubrey revised the film.

---

Goofs

Taxi sign over the yellow car Chandler is waiting is waiting in, just before the chase scene; is probably supposed to look like the T tipped over. But, it's set to high for that to be true.

---

Quotes

Bernie Oakman: Chandler! You're alive! I got a job for ya!

---

Connections

Featured in Warren Oates: Across the Border (1993)

User Reviews

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

I saw this film when it was first released. The memory of how bad it was has stayed with me almost forty years. I didn't want to trust my own sentiments about the movie when I saw it, so I consulted a movie review published in a major metropolitan newspaper the next day- sentiment confirmed, the reviewer wrote that the movie was incoherent, indecipherable, and uninspiring. A little research reveals that the producer was star Leslie Caron's husband, thus the whiff of nepotism suggests the beginning for this awful film. The film's roster of many capable actors - Caron, Warren Oates, Scatman Crothers, Gloria Grahame, and James Sikking among others - suggests that it holds some promise. But the death of this film is attributable to its terrible screenplay. The "mystery" implicated is so obscure and so little revealed throughout the film that the viewer is left perplexed from scene to scene. The movie seems torn between being a detective mystery and an espionage thriller, but never settles upon one or the other. The sense of suspense is entirely absent. The main characters settle on playing dry, emotionless types in a fashion that inspires no empathy whatsoever. The cinematography is pedestrian. The result is that the hapless viewer loses interest in the characters, the plot, and, in the end, the film itself. I am little surprised that there is no version of this pathetic film available to purchase. I hope that if TCM finds a print of this film and feels compelled to air it that it is safely relegated to the 4:00 am slot.