Lady in the Lake (1946)

The lady editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip 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 | first person perspective | dysfunctional marriage | car chase | character's point of view camera shot | 

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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:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lloyd Nolan was almost blinded when the glass splinters from bullet shell that smashed the window hit him in the face.

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Goofs

In the "El Paso" telegram from Chrystal to Derace, both of their names are misspelled. (Chrystal does not have the "h" in it, and Derace has two "r's" in it.)

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Quotes

Lt. DeGarmot: [learns Marlowe is writing fiction] What are you trying to do, elevate yourself?

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on what appear to be holiday cards, as someone flips through the collection.

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Connections

Referenced in Enter the Void (2009)

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Soundtracks

Balulalow
(uncredited)
Music by Peter Warlock
Author of carol unknown
Played in background during Christmas Eve midnight scene

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lady in the Lake

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,026,000 (estimated)

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