Just perfect...

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

That's the trouble with watching old movies: you are always going to compare them to others you've seen. I found Farewell, My Lovely to be inferior in almost every way to Murder My Sweet when it comes to performances. Mitchum was probably 20 years too old to be playing Marlowe; there is very little snap in his dialogues with other actors whereas Dick Powell had a wonderful blend of sarcasm and directness. Charlotte Rampling has played women in jeopardy throughout her career, but here she's playing a hard-bitten villain and she just can't rise to the demands of the part. This is a great casting flaw. Mike Mazurki was a marvellous Malloy, far and away superior to the bland O'Halloran here. Sylvia Miles supplies enough vitality to keep things going in her scenes. Art direction and music are no more than perfunctory. Noir fans should stick to the Dmytryk version from 1943; it has evocative b/w photography and a better pace.

Robert Mitchum made two films for ITC in which he played the famous Raymond Chandler character, Philip Marlowe...."Farewell, My Lovely" and "The Big Sleep". "Farewell My Lovely" is by far the best of the two, as the studio took a lot of care to get the 1940s look just right. In contract, the follow-up film was set in the present day and was a big disappointment. So if you have to see one of these, DEFINITELY make it "Farewell, My Lovely".A huge, hulking man, Moose Malloy (Jack O'Halloran) has been in prison 7 years and cannot find his old girlfriend, Velma. So he demands the Marlowe take the case...of the implication is that he'll rearrange Marlowe's face. This, and the fact he can pay, result in Marlowe taking the case. However, it soon becomes pretty obvious that Vera doesn't wanna be found and soon all sorts of bad things start happening to Marlowe. Can he somehow survive all this and get to the bottom of this?The best version of this story was the 1944 film "Murder, My Sweet" with Dick Powell. However, one of the problems with the film was that the Chandler novel was heavily sanitized. After all, there was the Production Code which forbade much of what happens in the sordid story. So, in this 1970s Robert Mitchum version, you hear cursing, see Marlowe slug a 'lady' in the mouth, hear references to a character being a homosexual and you see a bit of nudity. It certainly is a tougher version of the story. However, this alone don't make it better...though the Mitchum version is quite good. He's fine in the role--world- weary, cynical and worth seeing even if he is a tad old for the part. However, I still think Dick Powell was a bit better--a bit more cynical and smart-mouthed. However, for me I love the story so much it's a no-brainer...see them both. Or, better yet, see the first version as well--"The Falcon Takes Over". While it's the farthest from the original source material, it is very good as well because Chandler's story idea was so good...it can't help but be enjoyable.

"Farewell My lovely" is a pretty good take on Raymond Chandler's novel, and Robert Mitchum makes a great screen Marlowe; he's a little older and a little more weather-beaten than Bogart in the role. Interestingly, Chandler always thought Cary Grant would have been the right choice for the part - who'd have thought? Set around 1940, Marlowe gets involved in two cases that eventually join together. Moose Malloy, played by ex-heavyweight boxer Jack O'Halloran, hires him to find Velma, the girlfriend he hasn't seen in seven years - he's been 'in the can'.Marlowe is also hired to find jewellery belonging to rich old Judge Grayle (Jim Thompson) and his sexy young wife Helen (Charlotte Rampling). The body count mounts as the strands come together and Marlowe expounds his world-weary philosophies on just about everything. The film is peppered with characters that have been dealt a bad hand by life, but they are people Marlowe relates to.It was uncomfortable to get on the wrong side of Mitchum. He seemed to have built in radar that detected any kind of pretence and his comments in an interview with Roger Ebert about the director of the film, Dick Richards, were harsh.He also didn't seem to feel the mystique of Charlotte Rampling, dismissing her, according to Lee Server's biography of Mitchum, as "the chick who did the S&M movie 'The Night Porter'". However Charlotte Rampling, clothed and styled to recall Lauren Bacall, brings an enigmatic quality to her role, the camera loves her in her few short scenes.The film has a similar retro feel to "Chinatown". Both had great scores, and David Shire didn't spare the alto sax creating an evocative work to rival Jerry Goldsmith.Marlowe as played by Mitchum is a guy who knows deep truths about human nature; he's been knocked around and has felt pain - he understands you even if he has to shoot you. It's a quality that works well in this 40-year old movie.

The best of the more modern renditions of Forties' detective noir films ; this is the second adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, is much closer to the source text than the original . Featuring world-weary private eye Philip Marlowe (magnificent Robert Mitchum as a serviceable and seen-it-all detective) chasing for an ex-inmate's (Jack O'Halloran) lost girlfriend in 1941 Los Angeles . Meantime , there happens various murders and Marlowe being interrogated by Police Inspectors (John Ireland , Harry Dean Stanton) . The eye private becomes involved into a dark world of killing , treason and leading in twisted results .This interesting , hard-boiled film packs thrills , suspense , mayhem , and employs flashback fashion in ever-twisting directions , using that crisp Raymond Chandler narrative . The picture offers a nicely detailed production design by Dean Tavoularis who designed The Godfather . This is a remake and only a pace behind the Dick Powell original , using the novel's title from the first recreation titled ¨Murder my sweet¨(1944) by Edward Dmytryck starred by Dick Powell , Claire Trevor , Mike Mazurki and Otto Kruger . Very good acting by Robert Mitchum , even at 57 , as a down-on-his-luck detective who searches an ex-convict's sweetheart . This is a breakthrough dramatically for the great Robert Mitchum , at his best . Charlotte Rampling is stunning as a Femme Fatale and does quite a nice imitation of Lauren Bacall . Excellent support cast plenty of veteran actors as John Irekand , Sylvia Miles , Harry Dean Stanton , Anthony Zerbe and introducing the massive Jack O'Halloran . Furthermore , there's an early screen character for Silvester Stallone who along with Joe Spinell play the bad guys .Classic cinematographer John A. Alonzo prowls his camera menacingly through some wonderfully seedy neo-Forties settings . Evocative and atmospheric musical score by David Shire , including enjoyable leitmotif . This agreeable thick-ear thriller was well directed by Dick Richards , recreating compellingly this thrilling story , perhaps the most accurate of Chandler adaptations , and whose best movie this is . Furthermore , Dick gets to remain the mystery and suspense until the final . Before entering the film industry , Dick Richards was a contributing photographer for Life magazine , subsequently turning into filmmaking , he is a good craftsman who has directed a few films but of great quality , such as ¨The Culpepper Cattle¨, ¨March or die¨ , Death valley¨ and ¨Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins ¨, in addition , he found the script for 'Tootsie' and co-produced it with Sydney Pollack . Rating : above average , essential and indispensable watching this Chandler's favorite version .