The Brasher Doubloon (1947) User Reviews

No Bogart, No Powell, No Problem

[psych-shawn · 7/10 · 3 September 2015]

Almost all the reviewers of the Brasher Doubloon have complained that George Montgomery was no Bogart or Powell. True. Would this film had been better with either of them playing the iconic Philip Marlowe? Of course. And while you're at it, it would have been better with Lauren Bacall as the femme fatale and Peter Lorre as the villain, etc. etc.

Get over it, not every classic film can have a Hall of Fame cast. Many movies with 'B' stars were very entertaining -- and the Brasher Doubloon is a good example.

Watch the film with fresh eyes, pretend this is NOT Raymond Chandler's Marlowe and I think you'll enjoy it more. In this film, Marlowe is younger, handsomer and more suave. The script, which many also complained about, suits the persona of the debonair George Montgomery better than the more cynical lines given Bogart and Powell.

The main actors did a good job with their portrayals, the plot keeps you guessing with some good twists, the photography is great, the outdoor locations perfect.

In sum, this is NOT the Maltese Falcon or Murder, My Sweet which are 10+. But the Brasher Doubloon is a solid 7 and well worth watching on its own merits.

atmospheric location photography

[jeffhanna3 · 6/10 · 1 June 2007]

Can't add much to what has already been said, but what this film has over some of the better known Marlowe films is some real Los Angeles location photography, which gives it a special atmosphere; the eerie Pasadena mansion with huge palm trees blowing in the wind, and a rambling old Craftsman house in the Hollywood Hills on a windy afternoon.

Among other films based on Raymond Chandler stories, "The Big Sleep," in particular, all filmed on indoor sets, has no feeling of Los Angeles at all. George Montgomery in "Brasher Doubloon" is a lightweight, but the film is fun and entertaining. Surprising that it is virtually NEVER shown on TV. I only saw it because a pal owns a 35mm print.

that old film noir magic

[catman47 · 8/10 · 6 September 2004]

The late 1940's produced some of Hollywood's best film noir....Out of the Past, Murder my Sweet, The Blue Dahlia, Crossfire, The Dark Corner, Dark Passage, The Big Sleep....and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, The Brasher Doubloon was not one of them! However, the 1947 film with George Montgomery as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, has gotten a bad rap! It has terrific atmosphere...that old mansion, the Santa Ana winds, terrific character actors and that exceptional personality - actress Florence Bates.

True, George Montgomery doesn't possess the world weariness of Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell (both of whom played Marlowe previously), but there is a winsomeness about his character that keeps surviving the constantly battering given to him that works for the film. Nancy Guild as the young woman in distress possesses a femme fatale quality which was often found in noir films of the time...ie..Martha Vickers in 'Big Sleep', Mary Astor in 'Falcon' as well as Veronica Lake and June Duprez "Murder My Sweet".

The least of the forties Marlowe films, but still worth a look!

[youroldpaljim · 17 October 2001]

Most reviews of this film that I have read described this film as poor. Actually it really isn't. Its just that the other 40's Phillip Marlowe films are better. George Montgomery tries hard as Marlowe, but he is a bit to young looking to be convincing as a hard boiled detective. Ideally,an actor in his thirties or forties should have been cast; old enough to have grown world weary but still young enough to woo the babes. Despite this films faults, its still worth a look and is not the dismal failure some critics have claimed it is.

Coin Of The Realm

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 December 2011]

Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's trenchant private detective saw many incarnations on the screen big and small. Chandler like S.S. Van Dine the creator of Philo Vance sold his work to several studios and the studio cast whomever. Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep for Warner Brothers and Dick Powell in Murder My Sweet for RKO are the best known interpreters of Marlowe. George Montgomery in The Brasher Doubloon gets a short shrift from most film fans.

I don't think this is necessarily Montgomery's fault. The Brasher Doubloon was based on the Chandler story The High Window and unlike Warner Brothers and RKO this was meant to be a B film and was treated that way. I've never read the book, but I could tell a lot was left out in the treatment.

Montgomery is hired by the imperious Florence Bates to get back a valuable coin, The Brasher Doubloon which was the prize of her late husband's valuable coin collection. Upon arrival to her home, Montgomery is told in no uncertain terms that his services will not be needed by her son Conrad Janis. Janis plays this punk as well as Elisha Cook, Jr. ever did in this type of part.

Of course as he starts investigating bodies keep being strewn in his path and the police are blaming Montgomery for some if not all. The mother and son turn out to be some pieces of work.

The Brasher Doubloon has a good deal of its problems with the character Nancy Guild plays. She's Bates's secretary/companion who has issues and she really ought to be seeing a therapist rather than Philip Marlowe. Her character holds the key to the answers, but the character itself is ill defined in the script.

Maybe had The Brasher Doubloon gotten the A treatment it would be better received. As it is it's not a bad film, but not in the same league as the others mentioned.

George Montgomery doesn't cut mustard as Philip Marlowe

[bmacv · 6/10 · 14 May 2001]

In the mid-1940s Hollywood discovered Raymond Chandler: Murder, My Sweet (1944), The Big Sleep (1946) and The Lady in the Lake (1947). Also from '47, John Brahm's The Brasher Dubloon is a version of Chandler's The High Window and, unfortunately, the most disappointing of this crop. Troubles start with the running time; at 72 minutes, that's not enough time for Chandler's baroque structures to start to unfurl, unless you reduce them to mere plot (and plot is not Chandler's long suit). Second, there's George Montgomery trying to fill the shoes of Dick Powell, Humphrey Bogart and the other Montgomery, Robert. He doesn't. While he's pleasant enough -- as a light leading man -- he swallows line after line of the script smoothly where a more nuanced actor would have found a whole ham sandwich to sink his teeth into. Still, there are good points here, especially in Brahm's directing. The big old mansion with its twin, massive turrets is especially ominous with the Santa Ana winds whistling outside; Florence Bates, as its owner, knows how to grande-dame it with the best; and a striking series of sinister characters take us down meaner and ever meaner streets. With a better star and a more leisurely pace, this private-eye flick could have been a contender.

Marlowe (George Montgomery) is hired to recover a rare coin. His investigations reveal several murders and unearth secrets of a wealthy Pasadena household.

[lathbury · 6/10 · 17 July 2007]

_The Brasher Doubloon_ is clearly second tier, with at least one scene in Marlowe's office copied directly (and painfully directly) from _The Maltese Falcon._ If the characters are stereotypes and Montgomery's voice over shy-making in its adolescent appreciation of Merle Davis's beauty, the pacing and plot movement are still satisfactorily brisk. Florence Bates is perfect as the crusty, port-sodden Elizabeth Bright Murdock, and the night club goons look just right. It's not a masterpiece but is a diverting hour and a half. The final revelation is ingeniously presented as it involves a film-within-the-film and the way in which this key piece of evidence for the story came into being is more concretely explained in the movie than in Chandler's original, the one way in which the motion picture is superior to the published novel.

Great atmosphere, a good script, and a bunch of actors I never heard of...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 27 October 2019]

... with the exception of George Montgomery who plays the lead role of Philip Marlowe, but he just doesn't seem the type for this part. Montgomery has the looks, but he just seems like he should be wearing a suit with suspenders giving a presentation on Wall Street. His best film - to me - was "Accent on Love" where he played exactly that - a pedigreed but poor man married to a wealthy woman who treated him like a pet. But I digress.

I like Bogart's interpretation of the detective, as well as a surprising Dick Powell and I even warmed up to Robert Montgomery's Marlowe, who played perennial playboys in the 30s at MGM. But I just could never believe George Montgomery as the cynical detective.

So the script is pretty good. Marlowe is called out to the mansion of matronly socialite Elizabeth Murdock who wants him to find out what has happened to the Brasher Doubloon, a ten thousand dollar coin that disappeared without an apparent break-in. She has a beautiful but strange secretary, Merle (Nancy Guild) who tells Marlowe it is important for her to know what happened to the coin because she doesn't know whether or not she took it. Huh?

From there Marlowe stumbles into a couple of murders that - of course - the police think he did, he gets a visit from a goon working for a gangster who wants to pay him off not to go looking for the coin. There is also a German expatriate cameraman who can't get work BECAUSE he left Germany in the 30s???, and even a parade figures into the plot.

The script gets convoluted at times, but the main problem is I kept thinking - Ella Raines would be great as the enigmatic secretary!, or Peter Lorre would be dynamite as the gangster's henchman!, or Bogart would play Marlowe in these scenes with just the right balance of cool and humor, etc. It's a big mystery why Fox, who had the star power at the time at the height of the noir cycle, did not put more effort into casting this.

There are a couple of things to watch for in this film. First, for some reason there is a giant neon sign reading "Broadway Hollywood Hotel" just outside the window of Marlowe's office that is so gaudy and imposing that it looks like it is an extra character in the room. Also, when Marlowe goes to visit the gangster at his nightclub, there seems to be a female impersonator in the room who is scantily clad in a backless evening gown but has no lines and nothing to do with the plot. How odd in this time of extreme censorship.

Maybe worth it for the curiosity of it all.

The Brasher Doubloon, Film Noir with all it's magic, and plenty of pizazz to please that genre's true fans.

[triad-2 · 10/10 · 10 February 2007]

Mysterious, Moody Mansions, juicy but unexpected villains, great characters, especially Florence Bates as the mother of the 'Poor little Rich Boy', played by youthful fresh-faced and very talented Conrad Janis, whose 'Peck's Bad Boy act', contrasted with his boyish charm, makes you not want him to be part of his mother's dark machinations, and murderous plot to drive poor Nancy Guild over the edge into madness. Nancy Guild's name may not have been as powerful a draw as Lauren Bacall's, or other sultry Film Noir Stars, and George Montgomery may not have had the 'gravitas' Humphrey Bogart so easily exuded, but together this movie is as thrilling these many years later, as our memories are of the more famous Film Noirs of the time. It is not a white knuckle ride, but it is insidiously unnerving, taut, 'shivery' and darkly sensual, and represents a classic style of filming which is layered with conventional ploys of the era in which it was created, but frankly so much more satisfying that most of today's lukewarm fare. Three cheers or 20 for this fun whodunit.

decent B

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 24 November 2017]

"The Brasher Doubloon" from 1947 is a Philip Marlowe detective story, Marlowe here played in an obvious fashion by George Montgomery. By obvious, I mean he's tough, he's loud, he comes on to the women - in this case, woman, portrayed by Nancy Guild, a Gene Tierney/Ella Raines type under contract to Fox.

This film was originally made as a Michael Shayne mystery starring Lloyd Nolan, A Time to Kill, in 1942, though it is a Philip Marlowe story by Raymond Chandler.

Marlowe is hired by an elderly woman (Florence Bates) to locate a valuable coin that has been stolen from her, the Brasher Doubloon. Everyone acts strangely, including the woman's secretary (Guild) and son (Conrad Janis).

Marlowe uncovers murders and blackmail as he attempts to unearth the mystery of who took the coin and why.

The most notable thing in the film for me was Conrad Janis, looking for all the world like a teenager - well, he was 18! Unrecognizable.

The film was probably made in a few days - the fight scenes are rather clumsy.

A comic-book version of Raymond Chandler

[rhoda-9 · 5/10 · 27 August 2017]

Not just one but both leads in this movie are all wrong. George Montgomery, a skinny guy with a skinny moustache, looks like a fellow hanging around a dance trying to get a teenager in trouble. His voice is far too light to sound convincing speaking Raymond Chandler's grim or rueful lines, and his delivery sounds as if he hasn't even convinced himself he's the right one to say them.

It's obvious why most of his romance with Nancy Guild is conducted sitting down when you see them standing together. There are two shots in which this happens, both hilarious, as she comes up to about his belt buckle. In one of them, he is even standing a few steps above her! She also has a very lightweight voice, and she comes off in general like a schoolgirl who has done her hair and makeup to resemble Lauren Bacall, but overdid it. She seems overwhelmed by her hair.

Lacking mood and atmosphere as well, the whole thing is more like a Fifties television episode than a movie.

The many faces of Philip Marlowe.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 26 February 2019]

Best known by western fans, George Montgomery is a forgotten name in the mainstream of Hollywood cinema even though he starred in a few classics. Here, he has the difficult task of making movie audiences forget about Humphrey Bogart and Dick Powell as one of the great film detectives of all time, and his film noir is a real sleeper. He is probably a bit more upscale and well mannered than Bogart and Powell's take on Marlowe, but he's still tough and no-nonsense, and when he takes on a case, he wants to have all the facts before he makes his move in investigating. That makes this particular case involving the Brasher Doubloon very difficult because he can barely get anything out of wealthy matriarch Florence Bates who hires him to find a missing coin from her valuable collection that nearly leads him to his doom.

if you are a fan of the "Mork & Mindy" TV series of the 1970s, you will not recognize Conrad Janis who plays Florence Bates' coddled son, a despicable sort who has a major gambling problem and whom mother would protect at any measure. Bates only gives Montgomery a few clues to go by, and a few pieces of the puzzle are added for him by Bates' obviously troubled secretary (Nancy Guild). In her gloomy Pasadena mansion, Bates holds the reins and obviously has something on Guild to keep her in her employ. Montgomery, heading out to get information, encounters others who are after the coin and several times finds himself held at gunpoint. But in this intelligent film noir, nothing is as it seems to be, and the writers keep the suspense going up until the stunning conclusion.

I have been a fan of the scene-stealing Florence Bates ever since the first viewing I had of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca". Whether imperious or lovable, Bates always commanded attention away from ever who was sharing a scene with her, and it is thanks to her intelligence that she was able to do that. Her character here reminds me of the equally scene-stealing Dame May Whitty in another film noir classic, "My Name is Julia Ross", and in her lengthy three scenes, she will be whom you are focusing on. Guild, fresh from another sleeper film noir, "Somewhere in the Night", once again adds an air of mystery to her character, and perhaps because she only made two films, there is mystery about her as well.

Janis perfectly acts the spoiled loser son and is equivalent to the character played by George Macready in "Julia Ross" as well. However, this is not an imitation of that sleeper Columbia film but stands out on its own. Pay attention to the details here, even though the writers are clever enough to keep you in suspense. The writers utilize the Rose Parade as a major plot device, and the actual mansion that Bates lives in I believe I have seen from my brief time living in Pasadena. (If not, there were many old home similar to it down by the Rose Bowl Stadium and further south of Colorado Blvd.) This is a rare film noir to find, and one which you will not soon forget after seeing it.

Not the worst Marlowe but not the best

[russjones-80887 · 6/10 · 23 May 2020]

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich widow to recover a rare and valuable coin which is missing. A series of murders increases his interest in the case.

Known as The High Window in Britain, and based on Raymond Chandler's novel, it is not the best or the worst of the Marlowe films. George Montgomery tries to bring life to the character, and it does makes for a satisfactory film, but falls short of the standard set by Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell.

The High Window

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 12 June 2016]

****SPOILERS**** George Montgomery playing a far more handsome but less rugged looking, then Humnprey Bogart or William Powell, private eye Philip Marlowe gets himself involved with a rare missing gold Basher Doulloon coin that has something to do with the accidental death, by falling out of a 10th floor window,of Mr. Murdock some five years ago. This happened when Murdock was watching the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade and slipped fell or was pushed to his death while supposedly getting himself good and drunk. It's Murdock's wife Liz, Florence Bates, who hires Marlowe to find the coin that she claims she knows who stole it from her but doesn't want to get the police involved. It was her spoiled rotten good for nothing son Leslie, Conrad Janis, who's behind his mother's back has been playing the horses in Hollywood and Santa Anita Parks and running up a $5,000.00 tab who took the coin in order to pay off his bookies whom he's been holding out on.

Marlowe for his part seems at first very uninterested in taking on the case due to Mrs. Murdock nasty way of talking to him but it's Mrs. Murdock's pretty but scared of men private and in-house secretary Merle Davis, Nancy Guild,who by taking a shine to him that makes Marlowe suddenly change his mind. Taking on the case leads to three murders of persons who are connected with the rare coin as well as Marlowe himself getting kidnapped and worked over by the mob lead by Vince Blair, Marvin Miller, before finally realizing that it's not the elusive Basher Boubloon coin that's causing all this mayhem. But it's the film, shot at the fatal-from Mr. Murdock-Tournament of Roses parade by escapee from Nazi Germany, by photographer Rudolph Vannier, Fritz Kortner, that everyone including Mrs. Murdock is really after!

***SPOILERS***Not that bad of a movie despite the terribly miscast but strikingly handsome George Montgomery in the lead role as PI Philip Marlowe who never , unlike a Bogart or Powell, gets as much as his hat or suite messed up or crumpled in all the actions and beatings he suffers throughout the film. In the end Marlowe solves the case by finding the missing film and playing it in the police station to not only expose Mr. Murdock's killer but what lead up to the three other murders because of it. This has Mr. Murdock's as well as later Vannier's killer totally crack up and end up a crazed and soon to be committed homicidal lunatic as he or she was lead away-screaming biting and kicking-in handcuffs to the total shock of everyone on hand.

A true "B" Movie, but with some class.

[H.J. · 7 July 1999]

Some movies in the 40's starred Humphuy Bogart and some didn't. This one didn't. The Raymond Chandler story is however a very good, tight detective tale with a nice twist to the plot. If only the acting and directing were up to the task. But if you like 1940's detective stories with great location and some half way decent camera work, give "The Brasher Doubloon" a try. Perhaps it won't thrill you, but it won't put you to sleep either.

"There comes a time when one gun more is one gun too many."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 24 August 2021]

Decent Raymond Chandler adaptation that suffers by comparison to the more esteemed Chandler films of the 1940s. Leading man George Montgomery comes across as a poor man's James Craig, who himself was a poor man's Clark Gable. This is a poverty-stricken casting choice for one of the all-time great fictional American characters, Philip Marlowe. Montgomery is just wrong for this part. He doesn't look right and more importantly he doesn't sound right. The rest of the cast is so-so with Nancy Guild a standout, alternating between sympathetic and insufferable. It's interesting to see a young Conrad Janis with hair so there's that.

The script and direction are the film's strength. While it's not as quotable as other Chandler works and it borrows liberally from better stories, most notably Chandler's own The Big Sleep and Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, it kept me glued to the screen the whole time. I also enjoyed the bits of atmosphere throughout. The windy scenes are especially well done.

This was made previously as a Michael Shayne picture. I enjoyed that version more, largely due to Lloyd Nolan being a more interesting and likable actor than George Montgomery. Check out both for the sake of comparison. Neither is a bad watch as long as you go into it knowing you're not getting Bogart.

A golden gem found

[alphadec-1 · 7/10 · 13 December 2017]

This is a movie I never thought I would find.

Brasher doubloon or "The High window" as the title of the Raymound chandler master peice is it is maybe one of his best stories after "Lade in the lake".

When you start to watch brasherdoubloon you see it is filmed page by page from the book something that is not done today.

I am a Chandler fan I love his work and this movie is a gem for any fan of the book a real must see movie.

Decent but just misses being a top flight B

[cherold · 6/10 · 22 August 2023]

It is said that often movies become classics because they somehow accrue talent. A star signs on, like Humphrey Bogart, and other interesting actors jump in, and magic happens.

Then you've got something like the Brasher Doubloon, which has a serviceable lead and a mixed bag of supporting characters. You can see interesting elements and some good performances, but things just don't quite gel.

Montgomery is fine as Marlowe. For me the only true Marlowe was Robert Mitchum, who is what I expect from the books - Bogart is great, but he still wasn't my idea of Marlowe. So I don't look at Montgomery and find him inherently wrong for the part. But he doesn't bring much to it.

Florence Bates, on the other hand, would slot into a better Chandler movie, and Nancy Guild, whoever she is, retains a nice jittery-ness even if the character feels a little all over the place.

There are also some good bit players, like the guy with one messed-up eye. Don't know who he is, but he nails it.

The story is okay, but not exceptional. The dialogue is generally okay, but unmemorable. But this is all generally enjoyable and it feels like if you could have just made a tweak here and there you might have had something genuinely good.

It's not a great Marlowe movie, but certainly if you're into Chandler it's worth taking a look.

This Doubloon Has Some Shine

[daoldiges · 7/10 · 1 November 2023]

I stumbled upon The Brasher Doubloon by chance and decided to stick around and see how it goes, and stuck with it to the end. It's a decent B Noir film with a cast that I wasn't familiar with but nevertheless does a fine job, a nice ensemble if you will. The story has a couple unexpecteds and it looks pretty good as well. I think it's the cast that mostly distinguishes this Chandler/Marlowe film from most of the others. While some reviewers have seen this as a negative, I rather prefer to look at is as equally good, just different than what the viewer of this genre might have been expecting. For those interested in this genre of films should go into it with an open mind and I think you'll have a good time.

My favorite Chandler novel-turned-movie!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 29 December 2017]

My favorite Chandler novel-turned-movie, The Brasher Doubloon (1947), based on Chandler's "The High Window" has no present-day reputation at all.

A now unfashionable leading man, George Montgomery, is regarded (with some justification) as "the worst Marlowe on the screen", whilst the movie itself has been described as "a contemptible violation of everything Marlowe and Chandler stood for."

On the other hand, I look at the movie as an original. I don't care if it's faithful to Chandler or not. My personal opinion of "The High Window" rates it as the least interesting of all Chandler's finished novels. Whilst its style and dialogue often exhibit that prized Chandler gloss, the support characters are mostly dreary as hell and the plot downright stupid.

Stuck with inferior material like this, director John Brahm has spun absolute wonders. The opening windy-day-in-Pasadena sequence is often cited in film noir text books as a perfect example of atmospheric movie-making. It's a shame Brahm's dynamic direction is often vitiated by George Montgomery's lecherous lead, but the rest of the cast, led by the intriguing Nancy Guild, aberrant Fritz Kortner and treacherous Florence Bates (the most powerful performance of her career) more than make up for these stellar shortcomings.

"A coin. A rare gold coin called the Brasher Doubloon."

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 21 September 2018]

The Brasher Doubloon plays a lot like a cross between another Marlowe adventure, The Big Sleep, and The Maltese Falcon. It's nowhere near as good as either of these movies, but the similarities are unmistakable. My pithy plot summary goes something like this: Philip Marlowe (George Montgomery) is hired by an eccentric old woman to find a missing coin known as the Brasher Doubloon. Marlowe's client is less than forthcoming and he doesn't have a lot to go on. Between the old woman, her mysterious secretary, her spoiled son, and the dead bodies that start piling up as he investigates, Marlowe's got a lot to figure out.

As should be obvious from my rating (6/10), I enjoyed The Brasher Doubloon. However, I'm going to spend the rest of my ramblings discussing a couple of things that I didn't like about the film. First, George Montgomery makes for a pretty poor Marlowe. He's not as tough talking or acting as he should be. He's also got something of a slight build to him that doesn't work. He's so . . . well, he's so blah that it's hard to take him serious. In short, he's no Humphrey Bogart.

Second, The Brasher Doubloon feels terribly rushed. The runtime of less than 75 minutes really hurts the film. The plot never has enough time to live and breath. There's not enough time for interesting plot developments or red herrings that go nowhere. Take The Big Sleep as a comparison. The Big Sleep takes its sweet time with twists and turns that create a more interesting world for the mystery to unfold. It's much more than A leads to B which leads to C - wrap it up, mystery solved. Heck, Marlowe finds the coin before the movie's half over. It took Sam Spade a lot longer than 75 minutes to get his hands on the black bird.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that given more time and a better lead, The Brasher Doubloon could have been a real winner. The rest of the elements are in place - an above average director in John Brahm, a nice supporting cast, solid cinematography, and interesting writing. Overall, a good film, but a wasted opportunity.

Lackluster Phillip Marlowe Private Eye Saga

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 9 July 2015]

George Montgomery has always been at home on the range in the dozens of westerns that he saddled up for between his contemporary cinematic assignments. Unfortunately, he appears terribly miscast as Raymond Chandler's world-weary private eye Phillip Marlowe in the urban canyons of Los Angeles. Part of the problem with Montgomery is that he looks too robust and to clean-cut to be playing cynical shamus who has too far much of everything and lives on the edge in smoke-laden quarters, neon-tinged storefronts, and dark streets. Furthermore, he sports an Errol Flynn mustache that would seem more appropriate on an eager guy in a dinner jacket or astride a horse in a polo tournament. Montgomery gets to make wisecracks, but his cynicism lacks conviction. In fact, the client who employs him in "The Brasher Doubloon" makes the observation that he doesn't look old enough to be a private eye. The same can be said of John Brahm's swift, straightforward direction and "Always in my Heart" scenarist Dorothy Bennett's inconsequential screenplay with lackluster dialogue derived from Leonard Praskins' adaptation.

Clocking in at a meager 72 minutes, "The Brasher Doubloon" sacrifices narrative depth and decadence for brevity and superficiality. Neither Bennett nor Praskins exploits the complexity of Chandler's third novel "The High Window" and everything emerges as prefabricated. The villains are sinister, but they aren't intimidating like Bob Steele was in "The Big Sleep." Basically, a wealthy, old widow from Pasadena, Mrs. Elizabeth Murdock (Florence Bates of "Kismet") hires Marlowe for $25 a day and expenses on a $100 retainer to recover a valuable coin, the Brasher Doubloon, which has been stolen from her collection. Murdock doesn't care who stole it; she just wants the coin returned. Marlowe finds this a bit suspicious. Moreover, Marlowe is suspicious about Murdock's secretary, Merle Davis (lovely Nancy Guild of "Black Magic"), who suffers from too much ice. She doesn't like to be touched and this intrigues Marlowe who wants to melt her icy demeanor. We're told that Merle was Murdock's husband's secretary. Why Merle has stuck so long with Murdock is a mystery that will be unraveled. She seems to be trapped for no good reason in the Murdock's mansion. Mrs. Murdock's pampered, good-for-nothing son, Leslie (Conrad Janis of "Snafu"), tries to drive off Marlowe before he has a chance to discuss the assignment with mom. The scene when Marlowe meets Murdock is reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart's meeting with General Sternwood in Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep," except that Murdock has few ailments but a wholly eccentric attitude. Once Marlowe gets out of Pasadena and back to Los Angeles, things pick up. He visits an apartment complex where he finds a warm corpse that provides a clue that sends him to see a coin dealer, Elisha Morningstar (Houseley Stevenson of "Moonrise"), who operates on the fringe. When the bodies start to pile up, Marlowe runs afoul of Detective Lieutenant Breeze (Roy Roberts of "Tumbleweed") who never gets a chance to sweat Marlowe. Marlowe entangles himself in a couple of predicaments that he has little trouble of getting out of by the time he figures out what the mystery is. Blackmail is what it is all about. Mrs. Murdock's husband took a fall for a high window and Merle has labored under the delusion that she was responsible for his demise.

Despite some atmospheric directorial touches and "Cry of the City" lenser Lloyd Ahern's black and white cinematography, "The Brasher Doubloon" qualifies as too frivolous to amount to anything more than a potboiler.

Excellent mystery

[shakspryn · 8/10 · 29 March 2022]

This is a very enjoyable mystery. Some reviewers don't have a high opinion of George Montgomery as the detective hero, comparing him to how they think Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell would have been in the role, but I thought he was very good. Montgomery was handsome, charming and very likeable. Nancy Guild the young lead actress, was also a pleasure to watch--beautiful and mysterious.

The movie has a strong visual style and is fast-paced. Highly recommended for fans of 1940's mysteries.

Now I know this is going to sound kind of radical, but did it ever occur to you that it might make things easier if you told the truth occasionally?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 31 January 2019]

The Brasher Doubloon is directed by John Brahm and adapted to the screen by Dorothy Hannah and Leonard Praskins. It stars George Montgomery, Nancy Guild, Conrad Janis, Roy Roberts, Fritz Kortner and Florence Bates. Music is by David Buttolph and Alfred Newman and cinematography by Lloyd Ahern.

Adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel "The High Window", plot has Montgomery as Private Investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is hired to find a missing gold coin known as The Brasher Doubloon, but soon he finds himself in the middle of a blackmail and murder case that puts him in jeopardy.

The lesser light of the Marlowe filmic adaptations, that should not however deter anyone from seeking this out. The novel has obviously been condensed down and simplified for ease of viewing, but it maintains the sharp dialogue touches so beloved by Marlowe's fans, whilst the characterisations are splendidly noir in substance.

The look and feel is suitably atmospheric, where in Brahm's and Ahern's hands the mansion at the heart of the story is ominously photographed. Both men compliment each other, where one tilts the angles the other brings the shadow bars, these tech touches bring alive the key scenes in the story. Also nice to get some Los Angeles locations in the production, while the sound mix is a sneaky accompaniment as the wind features prominently throughout.

Montgomery is just fine if you accept his more breezy portrayal of Marlowe, managing to be suave and sharp enough to deliver the killer lines for entertainment impact. Guild is lovely and does enough to bring out her character's troubled vulnerability. Bates grand-dame's it with suspicious glee, while Kortner is the stand out performer from the roll call of sinister baddies.

Good solid entrant into the film noir pantheon, arguably stronger on visual terms than actual plot devices, but enjoyable either way. 6.5/10

Footnote: The High Window was previously adapted into Time to Kill (1942) and starred Lloyd Nolan and Heather Angel.

The Big Sleep from wish.com or a Maltese Falcon with far less star-wattage but a fresh take on Marlowe.

[declancooley · 5/10 · 28 February 2023]

George Montgomery plays Marlowe like a proto-Magnum PI as he devastates women and outwits the criminally-minded in a smooth, relentless and dapper manner; sure, it's not what we are used to but I found the take refreshing. His 'Bacall' is Nancy Guild but she comes across as more juvenile - a sort of ingénue on the brink of sanity. There are snappy lines, action and intrigue but it is all just played quite pat - almost like a movie from the 30s than the 40s, with very stereotyped characters brought to 'life' by jobbing actors. The plot's convolutions soon lost my interest as I gave up caring who did what - still, there is an inventive scene near the end, of a film within a film. For a noir-very-lite, this has its entertaining parts, but in a way, it shows what the true classics of the genre had that this flick lacks. 5/10.