The Long Goodbye (1973)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Raymond Chandler (novel)
Leigh Brackett (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Nothing says goodbye like a bullet.

Plot:

Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Suicide | Alcoholic | Murder | Arrest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Elliott Gould	...	Philip Marlowe
Nina Van Pallandt	...	Eileen Wade (as Nina van Pallandt)
Sterling Hayden	...	Roger Wade aka Billy Joe Smith
Mark Rydell	...	Marty Augustine
Henry Gibson	...	Dr. Verringer
David Arkin	...	Harry
Jim Bouton	...	Terry Lennox
Warren Berlinger	...	Morgan
Jo Ann Brody	...	Jo Ann Eggenweiler
Stephen Coit	...	Det. Farmer (as Steve Coit)
Jack Knight	...	Mabel
Pepe Callahan	...	Pepe
Vincent Palmieri	...	Vince (as Vince Palmieri)
Pancho Córdova	...	Doctor (as Pancho Cordoba)
Enrique Lucero	...	Jefe

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:18 | Canada:A (Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

9000 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

E-K-Corporation

Trivia:

Originally released in Los Angeles with a poster campaign more appropriate to James Bond movies, or the Flint spoof series, the film made little impact in the City of Angels. A different advertising campaign was designed for its New York release, where it was a considerable success.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene where Marlowe is chasing Mrs. Wade in her top-down Mercedes 450 SL convertible, the car goes from having head rests to having no head rests in various shots.

Quotes:

Philip Marlowe: Listen Harry, in case you lose me in traffic, this is the address where I'm going. You look great.
Harry: Thank you.
Philip Marlowe: I'd straighten your tie a little bit. Harry, I'm proud to have you following me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

Hooray for Hollywood

A Masterwork

The first time I saw this movie was back in the seventies and this was the film that won me over to Robert Altman's great works in the American cinema.

Granted, at the time of the movie's release Raymond Chandler purists naturally didn't appreciate the transformation his knight errant private eye underwent. But nowadays, the viewer must see the film for its great direction, terrific performances, Leigh Brackett's excellent screenplay and the fine cinematography. Not to mention simply the challenge of understanding a truly baffling plot. As in all of Altman's works, this one is peppered with offbeat characters and subtle (and some not-so subtle) situations that positively take you by surprise. As a maverick figure in Hollywood, Altman made sure "iconoclast" was stamped all over this film, it's a true nose-thumbing at every institution that Hollywood reveres; idealistic movie heroes, neat happy-ever-after endings, big budget spectacles, dependable money-making conventions and all around ass-kissing.

But the real treat here is, of course, Elliott Gould, and I don't believe that it's the best thing he's ever done on screen, as many think. He's certainly turned out even better performances than this one throughout the past 3 decades. But yet, in The Long Goodbye, Gould is just so much fun to watch, especially when he's being interrogated by the police or just muttering lines like, "He's got a girl, I got a cat" or "a melon convention" when he gives up trying to get his topless next-door neighbors' attention.

An interesting thing to note at the end of the film - we see the back shot of Marlowe walking away and that to me, was the private eye's closing shot, but then we have a front shot of Elliott Gould who begins playing his harmonica and then continues on up the road doing his little number, dancing a jig, etc. And to me that shows where Marlowe left off and where Gould takes over. So they weren't one and the same after all. Once again, a statement to those who would be too quick to take the Marlowe myth seriously.

The Long Goodbye is vintage Altman, a masterwork to be savoured forever.