The Brasher Dubloon (1947)
[The High Window]
Director: John Brahm
Starring: George Montgomery, Nancy Guild, Condrad Janis
Synopsis:
Philip Marlowe takes on the case of the theft of a rare coin, but it quickly becomes a lot bigger than he could have imagined.
Impressions:
So I was going on my Philip Marlowe kick, watching Robert Mitchum's takes on the character, going back to rewatch Humphrey Bogart and Dick Powell, and then this shows up. Well, let's give it a shot, I thought. I've seen a lot of takes on Philip Marlowe: Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum, James Garner and even Elliot Gould, and this is the worst so far. I don't know how much I blame actor George Montgomery, though. I can't help but feel he was let down by the script and the direction. The way Marlowe starts wagging his tail for Merle like a puppy when they first meet will instantly put you off if you've seen any other take on the character. I might buy it if this was back when he was just starting out, but he would've been working for the DA then. By the time he went into business for himself, he'd have been way too sour to be this kind of character. The plot isn't bad but nothing amazing. I have yet to check out the original story, but as it stands, this is vastly inferior to The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely. (For a proper assessment of the original, be looking for my coverage of The High Window.) Maybe if you have no preconceptions about who Philip Marlowe is supposed to be, this will come off better, so the best I can do for this film is give it an extremely tepid take it or leave it.
50/50