Re: RARA-AVIS: Lady in the Lake

From: Brian Thornton ( tieresias@worldnet.att.net)
Date: 17 Feb 2006


Richard Helms wrote:

> Bill Denton wrote:
>
> <<I did notice that included in the Warner Brothers DVD release list is
> LADY IN THE LAKE, the 1947 one
> shot from Philip Marlowe's (Robert Montgomery) perspective. You only ever
> see Marlowe when he looks in a mirror, because you're looking through his
> eyes. I saw it years ago and liked it, though I think some folks here
> found it strained.>>
>
> Count me in that group. Every time I see it, it gives me a headache. The
> only saving graces are Lloyd Nolan and one of my personal heartthrobs,
> Audrey Totter.

My sentiments exactly. Lloyd Nolan was terrific as DeGarmo the crooked cop, and Audrey Totter was, well, Audrey Totter.

Speaking of good performances on TCM, I recently (and not for the first time) watched OUT OF THE PAST, the film version of Geoffrey Holmes' BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH, with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. They were released, what? A year apart? Imagine if Montgomery had gotten the project going, but instead of "starring" in that experimental version of THE LADY IN THE LAKE, he directed a more conventional form, with Mitchum in the lead. Man, that could well have turned out to be the definitive Marlowe movie, especially with such heavy hitters as Lloyd Nolan and Audrey Totter in the mix.

I've seen Mitchum's turns as Marlowe, the ones he did in the 70s, and I can't help but think had they gotten him for the part back in the late 40s...

Your Mileage May Vary-

Brian Thornton

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