Lady in the Lake (1947)

I had seen Lady in the Lake, which is based on Raymond Chandler’s novel The Lady in the Lake, several years ago. (And yes, the title of the film drops the first article.) I remember not enjoying the film as much as I had hoped when I saw it the first time. It is shot from Marlowe’s point of view, with the camera standing in for Marlowe and viewers seeing everything from Marlowe’s perspective, a first-person point of view (POV) that didn’t work very well as a filming technique, as I recall. It was very distracting, more so than it might sound on paper (or on-screen, as the case may be). And that is still true for a second viewing. The first-person POV is still . . . clunky. That’s the best word I can think of to describe it in this film; 1947 is long way, after all, from modern handheld cameras. I usually enjoy the novel more than the film adaptation, and that certainly holds true in this case.

The film credits spell Philip Marlowe’s name with two ells: Phillip. I’m going to stick with Raymond Chandler’s spelling, one ell: Philip.

This time, however, perhaps because my expectations were scaled back, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would. This time, I was also able to enjoy the similarities and differences between the film and the novel. In this case, reading the book before seeing the film really may be the best way to go. One of the biggest differences in the film is that the story takes place at Christmas instead of in July. The opening credits are presented as a series of Christmas cards, with a chorus singing snippets of various Christmas songs on the soundtrack. The last card is taken away to reveal a handgun on the top of a desk. The Christmas theme is carried throughout the film, for instance:

◊ The film itself starts a few days before Christmas, with the wrap-up occurring on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

◊ The Christmas carols continue on the soundtrack. In fact, there is no other music, not even playing instruments.

◊ Marlowe visits the Kingsbury Publications offices during their Christmas party.

◊ Marlowe and Adrienne Fromsett spend Christmas Day together listening to part of a production of A Christmas Carol on the radio.

After the opening credits, Philip Marlowe, played by Robert Montgomery, addresses viewers (the camera) directly. He explains some details about the case and the first-person POV in the filming. The story in the novel is told from Philip Marlowe’s point of view, but that doesn’t need any direct explanation; the written account is presented that way and nothing more need be said. But according to the DVD commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini, the studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, insisted that Montgomery explain the first-person POV camera technique he intended to use because it was so new in 1947. The explanation does help, but I couldn’t help thinking that Robert Montgomery looks so stiff doing it.

After the introduction, viewers see Robert Montgomery as Philip Marlowe only two more times, when he once again addresses them directly about halfway through the narrative and at the end, to wrap up the story. During the story of the criminal investigation, viewers hear Marlowe speaking his lines of dialogue, but they see him only when he happens to appear in a mirror. Otherwise, Marlowe doesn’t have much of a screen presence. The camera moves from his point of view, which means he spends most of the film’s time behind the lens, not in front of it.

The actual story begins when Adrienne Fromsett of Kingsby Publication, Inc. sends Marlowe a letter about a book deal. He goes to her office but instead of a book deal, Fromsett hires Marlowe to find Crystal Kingsby, wife of Derace Kingsby, the president of the publishing company and Adrienne’s boss and love interest. She asks Marlowe to start with Crystal’s last known boyfriend, Chris Lavery. When Marlowe pays Lavery a visit, he claims to know nothing about her or her whereabouts. But Lavery sure acts guilty: He knocks Marlowe out cold.

Fromsett next tells Marlowe that Crystal Kingsby was last seen at Little Fawn Lake, in the mountains beyond Arrowhead. Muriel Chess was found drowned in the lake; her husband Bill Chess is being held for her murder. Marlowe heads up to Little Fawn Lake to find out what he can but none of that happens on-screen. The novel takes readers to the mountains along with Marlowe, where he meets several characters that are important to the story. In the film, some of the characters at Little Fawn Lake are cut out of the story altogether; others are alluded to only when Marlowe returns to town and discusses them as part of the case.

Adrienne Fromsett and Phillip Marlowe fall in love in the film, which doesn’t happen in the novel. In the short stories and novels that I have read so far by Chandler about his detective, Marlowe doesn’t fall in love (he is attracted to women, but love is not part of the encounters). Raymond Chandler can wax poetic, but his stories are strictly criminal investigations to be solved. Romance and love aren’t part of the storyline. So I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the romance in this film adaptation struck me as very un-Chandler-like, very un-Marlowe-like. But it’s very Hollywood.

Audrey Totter is great in the role of Adrienne Fromsett. She spends a lot of time on-screen interacting with Marlowe, who, as I have said, is almost always behind the lens. She has a much bigger part in the film compared to the novel, and in some ways, she is really the star of the film. She plays directly to the camera and seems more comfortable in front of it than the other members of the cast. In their DVD commentary, film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini have nothing but high praise for Totter.

The Silver/Ursini commentary is well worth a listen because they provided some interesting facts and observations. Here are just a few:

◊ Phillip Marlowe is in Adrienne Fromsett’s bedroom, lying in her bed, after his “accident” with Lieutenant DeGarmot (DeGarmot tried to kill Marlowe). The moment that Adrienne Fromsett sits on the bed, the film violated the production code in effect at the time in Hollywood. Fromsett and Marlowe have along conversation and share a kiss, which are more violations of the production. Somehow the filmmakers avoided any repercussions.

◊ Adrienne Fromsett’s character goes through an arc. She changes, softens a bit. Marlow is the same throughout, and he’s not very likeable.

◊ The film is shot like a stage play. The other actors do all the work and do so with very long takes.

I didn’t agree with one point that Silver and Ursini make about Marlowe. They were discussing the scene where Captain Kane gets a phone call from his daughter about celebrating Christmas Eve, a phone call that interrupts his discussion with Marlowe in his (Kane’s) office. Silver and Ursini think Marlowe hangs around listening to Captain Kane’s phone conversation about his Christmas plans because he has nowhere else to go. But Marlowe wants to discuss Lieutenant DeGarmot and his connection to the murders; he has to wait until Kane is finished talking before he can make his point. I don’t think Marlowe would have hung around otherwise. It’s true that Marlowe is a loner, but isn’t that exactly the reason why he would not hang around with other people for no reason? The fact that Lieutenant DeGarmot wants to see Marlowe dead and Marlowe has his suspicions about DeGarmot might just be two more reasons!

Setting the film at Christmas is a great idea to contrast the crime and violence in the film with the holiday and all that goes with it. The opening credits sequence is very clever. Having Marlowe and Fromsett listen to a radio presentation of A Christmas Carol naturally made me think of Charles Dickens and his writing, and I think Dickens and Chandler actually display a similar dry wit in their fiction. I even wonder now if Robert Montgomery got some of his inspiration from comparing Dickens and Chandler. Who knows!

In spite of some major differences, the film follows the basic story and murder investigation in the novel. I enjoyed the film so much more the second time. I think it helped to have read the novel beforehand. Listening to the DVD commentary from Silver and Ursini helped, too, thanks to their enthusiasm for the film.

January 23, 1947, release date  •  Directed by Robert Montgomery  •  Screenplay by Steve Fisher  •  Based on the novel The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler  •  Music by David Snell  •  Edited by Gene Ruggiero  •  Cinematography by Paul Vogel

Robert Montgomery as Phillip Marlowe  •  Audrey Totter as Adrienne Fromsett  •  Lloyd Nolan as Lieutenant DeGarmot  •  Tom Tully as Police Captain Fergus X. Kane  •  Leon Ames as Derace “Derry” Kingsby  •  Jayne Meadows as Mildred Havelend  •  Richard Simmons as Chris Lavery  •  Morris Ankrum as Eugene Grayson  •  Lila Leeds as the receptionist  •  Robert Williams as the artist  •  Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Grayson

Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  •   Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer