Philip Marlowe Versions: A Critical Analysis - Essay Example

?Philip Marlowe Versions: A Critical Analysis 0 Introduction History comes back, but not literally. Contemporary film noir emerged, and their existence is based either from totally new concepts or a development of the idea from the old film noir--a remake. There are a number of successful film productions that have various portrayals, which may be perceived with gap between the original noir to the current. However, the heart of the story is still present, and alterations are accounted to portrayals. This paper depicts Marlowe character, which have undergone various portrayals in the film noir industry. Some of which will be delineated by depicting differences. Finally, statements will be drawn to deliver the conclusion. 2.0 Philip Marlowe Versions Some of the Marlowe versions are depicted to fathom the mythic, fictional character Marlowe in film noir. It all commenced in 1944 when the first ever film noir was perceived. This was the result of adaptation from Raymond Chandler’s classic detective fictional character Marlowe. Various actors have been chosen to portray such a role, and their individual personalities and film scheme have affected the mythic character. However, with these variations emerge a set of perspectives on how should Marlowe be portrayed, along with that is the inventive plot that does not follow the original story of Chandler. However, all were for entertainment and variations of portrayals may somehow suggest the marketing of such film noir. Dick Powell. Film crooner Dick Powell portrayed the fictional character Philip Marlowe in the Murder, My Sweet (1944) film noir. Philip Marlowe is a private detective, whose role is a protagonist in noir. However, the Marlowe version in Murder, My Sweet is somewhat depicting the real concept of the character. Marlowe has been influenced by taking illicit drugs that made the character felt like a nightmare as being a protagonist. Further, it has been discovered that this influence of drugs was rarely seen until Hitchcock's Vertigo in 1958. In 1975, a remake was made through Robert Mitchum’s portrayal (“Murder, My Sweet”). Dick Powell’s portrayal of Marlowe varied from Humphrey Bogart. While the latter had a pessimistic attitude and stony frost portrayal, Dick Powell was not certainly and consistently wise, but had the capacity to entice the public to admiration. In fact, the role had entirely metamorphosed Dick Powell into someone he was not (Crowther). Marlowe in the film noir was dubbed as an “eagle scout” (Ahearn, “Murder, My Sweet”). Humphrey Bogart. The original film noir version of The Big Sleep was portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in 1946. The film had encountered a little problem in the story because of an additional corpse at the end of the tale. The novel itself was an ambiguity because the writer did not able to justify the confusion about the killer of the additional corpse. However, the director of the film stipulated to dissolve the additional corpse and create the film (Ebert). As the result, the film noir had numerous insignificant characters, tale distortions, double-crossers, and firing that was unbearable; needless to say, the title of the film itself has no definite sense. The overall film noir was full of conversation, concentrating on style, and the environment. The film focused on Bogey and Bacall’s film chemistry--dissolving the significant character of Marlowe all throughout the production (Greydanus). James Garner. In 1969, Marlowe was played by James Garner that was based on the film noir The Little Sister. It was the first ever movie that was updated on that time; simultaneously, it was the first film noir that was based on Chandler book that utilized on spot firing, but the film had never integrated the surrounding as what Chandler utilized it. Marlowe helped a woman who had nothing, but only $50 to remunerate Marlowe on finding her brother. Marlowe’s character was active and always on the lead as he was constant on locating corpse with a dagger on their necks. He assisted the lady in finding her missing brother. Having the original story in the beginning, the story became complex. James Garner had a girlfriend and could find himself in the situation, but he sustained the delusion of honesty that was crucial to the portrayal. However, this film noir dissolved the real character of Marlowe. Marlowe is not someone who tries to adapt to the environment; instead, he lets the environment amend for him (Ahearn, “Marlowe (1969)”). Elliott Gould. Elliott Gould portrayed Marlowe’s character in the film noir, The Long Goodbye in 1973. The director of the film, Robert Altman, stipulated to adopt Raymond Chandler’s classic sleuth book by creating Marlowe, a “distressed, mumbling shadow” character in the noir. Marlowe, in this movie noir, was someone different from other portrayals. Marlowe lost the faith towards himself, unable to articulate things on his own, and downright dissolving the mythic character. It was one of the cleverest moves that have been stipulated among the Marlowe film noir (Wilner). More than that, Marlowe’s character had been manifested to endure the film noir having a smoke in every scene. Further, in the overall cast of the film noir, Marlowe was the sole character with a moral sense. However, at the end of the film, Marlowe assassinated his best friend (Harvey). Although Elliott Gould’s portrayal may vary from others, the real character of Marlowe did exist in his personal. The film noir was considered one of the finest since the character profile of Marlowe has been deliberated well, and the production team had stipulated to get Elliott Gould to portray the character--as it was in the 1944 film noir. Robert Mitchum. Robert Mitchum had been chosen to portray Philip Marlowe’s character in the remake of the film noir Murder, My Sweet (1944). In 1975, the remake was pronounced as Farewell, My Lovely (“Murder, My Sweet”). However, the ending part of the story was amended, but not the heart of the whole tale (Crowther). More than that, Marlowe’s character became passive because of other influential roles of Moose Malloy, Doctor Sonderborg and Jesse Florian in the noir. Marlowe's character became reckless and uncontrollable. That had led for other characters to conquer his role. The noir was one of the numerous times when Marlowe himself did not fathom the situation until everything had gone wrong. Further, the film noir was totally different from others as Marlowe did not get his ideal partner (Ahearn, “Murder, My Sweet”). In contrast, Dick Powell’s portrayal of Marlowe was still the best as the whole facet of the story was hard-boiled for him (Ahearn, “Murder, My Sweet”). The Big Sleep remake in 1978, however, was also portrayed by Humphrey Robert. Marlowe’s character became constrained. The whole story was compelling, but not at the ending part that depicts an unfinished business--dubbing it as another mystery. The story was so complex, but it was not part of the story that made it unfavorable. The style of the film noir contributed to the detrimental issue because Marlowe himself was restricted. The way his characters utters to other characters, wear his suit, smoke cigarettes and carry his pistol made the film a disappointment (Ebert). 3.0 Conclusion Marlowe is a fictional character, but actors are enticed to portray the character because of its uniqueness and masculinity. Numerous portrayals have been made for the Marlowe character, but only one has the right to claim the exact portrayal. For that, there could be no one in the line of portrayals to be termed as the classic and, considerably, must have been gained favorable recognitions than the original version. There seems to be no original version of Marlowe since he is a fictional character. However, since Dick Powell was the first-ever Marlowe in the film noir, he could be the model for the character portrayal. The industry would utter Powell as the perfect Marlowe since his character portrayal was preceded with no ambiguity. The later versions are products of the director’s imaginations. Dick Powell’s Marlowe version is certain--originally from Raymond Chandler’s classic detective character. Works Cited Ahearn, William. “Marlowe (1969).” William Ahearn. William Ahearn, 2008b. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Ahearn, William. “Murder, My Sweet (1944).” William Ahearn. William Ahearn, 2008a. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Crowther, Bosley.”Murder My Sweet (1944) the Screen; ‘Tonight and Every Night,’ Film Musical, with Hayworth, at the Music Hall--’Murder, My Sweet,’ Arrives of the Palace at the Palace.” The New York Times Company. The New York Times Movies, 9 Mar. 1945. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Ebert, Roger. “The Big Sleep.” Rogebert.com. Chicago Sun Times, 24 Mar. 1978. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Greydanus, Steven D. “The big sleep (1946).” Steven D. Greydanus. Decent Films Guide, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Harvey, Del. “Elliott Gould: Seventies everyman.” Celebrity Profiles. Film Monthly, 15 Jun. 2000. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . “Murder, My Sweet (1944).” Database and Search Engine by Stewart M. Clamen. Movie Review Query Engine, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Wilner, Norman. “Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe in ‘The long goodbye’ (1973).” Microsoft. Canada MSN Entertainment, 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Read More