Lady in the Lake (1946)

The lady editor of a crime magazine hires Philip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.

Director:

Robert Montgomery

Writers:

Steve Fisher (screenplay), Raymond Chandler (novel)

Stars:

Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Montgomery	...	Phillip Marlowe
Audrey Totter	...	Adrienne Fromsett
Lloyd Nolan	...	Lt. DeGarmot
Tom Tully	...	Capt. Kane
Leon Ames	...	Derace Kingsby
Jayne Meadows	...	Mildred Havelend
Dick Simmons	...	Chris Lavery
Morris Ankrum	...	Eugene Grayson
Lila Leeds	...	Receptionist
William Roberts	...	Artist
Kathleen Lockhart	...	Mrs. Grayson
Ellay Mort	...	Chrystal Kingsby

Storyline

The camera shows Phillip Marlowe's view from the first-person in this adaptation of Raymond Chandler's book. The detective is hired to find a publisher's wife, who is supposed to have run off to Mexico. But the case soon becomes much more complicated as people are murdered.

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Plot Keywords:

breaking the fourth wall | dysfunctional marriage | car chase | character's point of view camera shot | christmas | 

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Taglines:

DIFFERENT...DRAMATIC...DARING! (original print media ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Dama do Lago

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,026,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,812,000, 31 December 1947

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,657,000, 31 December 1947

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lloyd Nolan who plays Lt. DeGarmot in this film previously played the lead in "Time To Kill" based on Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novel "The High Window", which was released as part of the Michael Shayne series of detective films.

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Goofs

When Marlowe approaches the telegram on the table in Adrienne's apartment, there is a cut and the telegram becomes less folded and more flattened on the table before he picks it up.

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Quotes

Adrienne Fromsett: What I want you to do is this: I want you to find Mr. Kingsby's wife without his knowing you're looking for her. She's run off with another man. She's a vicious woman - a liar, a cheat and a thief. She may even end up in the hands of the police. He's had 10 years...
Philip Marlowe: Pardon me if I'm nosey, Miss Fromsett. What makes this any of your business?
Adrienne Fromsett: I handle all of Mr. Kingsby's affairs. He wishes to divorce her. She must be found before she can be served with the papers.
Philip Marlowe: [Snorts] Nice job you have here...
Adrienne Fromsett: [...]

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER! In the opening credits Crystal Kingsby is written as being played by Ellay Mort, the phonetic spelling for 'elle est morte', French for 'she is dead'

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Connections

Referenced in Hardcore Henry (2015)

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Soundtracks

The First Noel
(uncredited)
Traditional Christmas song
Played during the opening credits

User Reviews

Hardly a classic, but great fun nonetheless.

If you want a great, serious Philip Marlowe mystery, go check out "The Big Sleep." If you're in a lighter mood, however, this one is well worth watching. The POV is cute and leads to some decent effects, but it's also tremendously goofy sometimes. The dialogue really sells it though. The lessons I learned from this movie were 1) Only men can handle guns. 2) Having four thumbs is bad. 3) Never, ever tell anyone the time. 4) If you try hard enough, you can drink whiskey through your eyes. I'm sure there are hundreds more gnomic sayings, easily applicable to daily life, scattered through it!

Seriously, though, it was a lot of fun to watch, mostly because of the problems with it, and I'd highly recommend it.