Lady in the Lake

... but certainly not all bad. The actor I had a real problem with in this film was Audrey Totter, who seemed to be ludicrous in her over-acting, reactions, etc. I'm not convinced that Robert Montgomery was the right person to play Marlowe (a bit too stiff in comparison to Powell and Bogart, other 40s Marlowes), but in directing this in first person viewpoint so that we see through the eyes of our central hero, he was certainly taking a gamble. It didn't pay off, really, and certainly slowed the pace. However, now and again it did give a quirky bit of life to what is essentially a tired plot. Another minus is the accent of the guy playing Chris Lavery, too OTT. Jayne Meadows is fine in her two scenes, and Leon Ames is endearingly vague as ever as the husband of the missing lady. There's the usual crooked cop as well to muddy the waters. However, 'Lady in the Lake' has to be viewed as a failure, but one worth taking a look at just to see why it could never had worked.