Louche style... Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep
A few years back, Chorion, the intellectual property group which controls the estates of Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton and Georges Simenon, added Raymond Chandler to its portfolio.
It's therefore no surprise to learn that plans are now afoot to bring that dark knight of the mean streets, Philip Marlowe, back to the screen. ABC Television in the US have just announced that they are teaming up with producer Sean Bailey for a possible series featuring the classic private eye. A one-hour pilot script has been written by Greg Pruss and Carol Wolper which brings the hardboiled sleuth into the 21st century and modern day Los Angeles, with the obligatory voiceover narrative that Chandler's lean prose favours so well.
Exec producing will be Daniel H Blatt, Bailey and Chorion crime properties honcho Phil Clymer, who has in the past been instrumental in keeping the Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple Christie brands up with the times. According to Clymer, an ongoing dialogue has been taking place with Elliott Gould, who starred in Robert Altman's 1973 version of The Long Goodbye, with a view to the actor possibly reprising the part as an older and possibly none-the-wiser Marlowe walking the backlit streets of modern California. Gould still refers to his character in Altman's film as "my guy".
It's certainly an intriguing prospect as Altman and Gould's take on the classic private dick was both idiosyncratic and individual and divided Chandler fans and critics alike. The character of Philip Marlowe has of course seen many incarnations since Chandler created the melancholy knight errant. Once embodied by Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep, the torch was initially held by Dick Powell. Later Marlowes were portrayed by Robert Montgomery (intriguingly invisible in The Lady in the Lake, as the camera actually witnessed all the action through his eyes), James Garner, James Caan, Powers Boothe, Danny Glover (in a fascinating TV episode) and most strikingly by a wonderfully casual and louche Robert Mitchum in the 70s films Farewell My Lovely and The Big Sleep.
In separate news I have also heard of a further feature film project, with a possible Clive Owen as the eponymous detective, in which the action returns to the 1940s period of the books. A mouth-watering prospect indeed.
So who are your favourite past and future Philip Marlowes?
