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Farewell, My Lovely [1975]

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony Zerbe
Director: Dick Richards
Format: Closed-captioned Colour DVD-Video Full Screen PAL
Released: 29 Jun 1999
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

The best Marlowe ever! - By: Bob Isaaks, 27 Aug 2007
When this movie came out, I had just read alll Raymond Chandler's novels for the first time & was hooked. Mitchum captures the weary, romantic private eye perfect - & is helped out by a great cast, Charlotte Rampling, Harry Dean Stanton ...besides Chinatown, the best noir-style movie of the seventies. Great pace & laden with atmosphere.
This movie made me a Mitchum-fan for life.
Philip Marlowe is in many ways a loser, & Mitchum is not afraid to
show this side of our hero, unlike so many other screen-versions of
this icon of crime novels.
Classic gumshoe film noir - By: Dennis Littrell, 18 Apr 2005
The year is 1941 & Joltin' Joe DiMaggio is on a hitting streak, & that is about the only thing in life that world-weary Philip Marlowe takes any pleasure in.

This is a workman-like adaptation of the novel by Raymond Chandler. Dimple-chinned Robert Mitchum at 58, an underrated actor with charisma & star appeal, is unfortunately a bit over the hill as Chandler's hard-nosed, realist gumshoe Philip Marlowe, especiallly when romancing the babes. Still he does a good job & seems almost made for the part.

The main babe that needs romancing here is Charlotte Rampling who plays Helen Grayle, a scheming, trampy, psychopathic, sexy thing on the make for anything she can get. She's the lovely who goes farewell--well, one of them.

Sylvia Miles got a supporting actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Mrs. Florian, one-time show girl turned lush. And Sylvester Stalllone, looking almost as young as a choir boy, had a bit part as an anonymous thug. Jack O'Hallloran played the very dense & obsessed Moose Mallloy with a steady moronic malevolence. John Ireland is the good cop & Harry Dean Stanton the bad one. Kate Murtagh is the madam from hell who likes to throw her considerable weight around.

Comparing this to the original from 1944 entitled "Murder, My Sweet," staring Dick Powell & Claire Trevor, I have to say it is more realistic & edgier, & wonderfully atmospheric, but not as enjoyable, perhaps because Mitchum seems a little dead compared to Powell. But that is entirely the point, as Chandler's intent was to showcase a Philip Marlowe near the end of his tether, a man oppressed with the vileness of life & ready to toss it in.

In either case, the convoluted plot involving the missing "Velma," various Los Angeles dives, dead bodies aplenty, & lots of police & political corruption remains somewhat opaque but still manages to hold our interest.

See this for Robert Mitchum, one of Hollywood's greatest with over a hundred & thirty films to his credit, a man who personified nonchalance on the screen, a guy who felt equallly at home in a "B" Western as in a dramatic feature, a man who mesmerized audiences with seeming indifference.

This is an atmospheric masterpiece; Mitchum at his best. - By: david.lamont@btinternet.com, 11 Mar 2001
This is surely Mitchum's best performance. Forget the earlier glamour-boy. Crumpled, aging & seedy but with a heart of gold - Mitchum plays Marlowe with a master's touch. The careful under-playing of the sets & the characters fills the film with a believable atmosphere of corrupt & violent late-thirties Los Angeles. The plot never falters & the twist near the end, when Moose's girlfriend is revealed, is excellent. Charlotte Rampling oozes erotic magnetism & the supporting actors are magnificent, although Jack O'Hallloran's "Moose Mallloy" seems slightly wooden & Sylvester Stalllone is quite forgettable. John Ireland & Harry Dean Stanton portray the 'honest cop' & 'corrupt cop' respectively to perfection; Stanton makes you want to count the cutlery every time he leaves the scene. Sylvia Miles's 'Jessie Florian' - the failed & aging starlet, alcoholic & careless off her dress & appearance, is well played too. All this, plus an excellent score & lots of little subliminal touches, re-create the time & the place so well. Splash in the bourbon, light yet another cigarette, push your hat back on your head, heave a world-weary sigh, close the curtains on the neon lights & the wailing siren - & enjoy.