Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Starring: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley
Synopsis:
Private detective Philip Marlow is hired to track down the girlfriend of an ex-con and then finds himself caught up in a plot involving a stolen jade necklace.
Impressions:
I suppose it should be little surprise that the character of Philip Marlowe was captured best in the time he was intended for. Of the depictions of the character I've seen so far, Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep remains my favorite, but this one wasn't bad either. I wouldn't have guessed that lead Dick Powell was primarily known for musical comedies prior to this. He does rather well as Marlowe and actually demonstrates some intriguing vulnerability to the character. (There's a dream sequence particularly worthy of note.) Mike Mazurki leaves a strong impression as the quintessential mook Moose Malloy. The twists of the plot are pretty good and this was overall a pretty satisfying film noir experience. Give it a watch.
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