Murder, My Sweet (1944)

dir. Edward Dmytrk
writ. Raymond Chandler (novel), John Paxton (screenplay)
feat. Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger, Mike Mazurki, Douglas Walton

Little Dicky Powell, eager to exchange his golden-throated crooner image for that of hardboiled dick, steps into the Philip Marlowe role. After finding Marlowe, eyes bandaged from an unknown injury, in police custody explaining his way out of trouble, we dive backward into the story.

Big lug, Moose Molloy (Mazurki) shows up looking for his old flame, nearly dragging Marlowe from his office to go hunting for her. Then an old fop (Walton) shows up needing help with retrieving a jade necklace. Soon there is a murder and Marlowe's cases start to cross wires, leading him into typical Chandler territory, a labyrinthine mystery with a few too many twists and coincidences, but also a ride so enjoyable that one forgives such crimes.

Murder, My Sweet runs dark and deep. In addition to being assaulted repeatedly, Marlowe is taken captive and drugged in a wonderfully nightmarish scene where he fights off the cobwebs clouding his mind as he stumbles through his escape, all while drifting in and out of lucidity. The film is beautifully shot, including a few matte shots to set up especially cinematic settings, namely the Grayle's seaside house. It also moves along fluidly and compellingly, keeping one guessing right up until the final explosive climax. Heck, it even works in a nice little love story with some good 40s sexist commentary by Marlowe.

While Powell manages a reasonably believable beleaguered-yet-flippant tone through the picture, there is something about his delivery that retains a hammy quality hailing from his musical days. He appears to be working at sounding casual, like a man on stage, too aware of his presence. Still, he entertains and lends a vulnerability to Marlowe that you won't find in Bogart's version two years later in The Big Sleep.

An interesting additional note for 1944 is Chandler's other film, Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder. Indemnity was the bigger success for the year, a script that Chandler adapted from the James Cain novel. Naturally, Chandler complained about changes made to his story by Paxton (aside from the title change from Farewell, My Lovely, made to dissociate the film from Powell's musicals,) while making plenty of his own revisions to Cain's work.