Time for a new Chandler adaptation?

Cafe Society
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Re-reading The Little Sister got me wondering if it were time for Hollywood to have another go at Raymond Chandler. With new paperback editions of his books appearing just last year, and the Library of America treatment a few years before that, the popular interest is certainly there. More than that, I think we’re due: I think our current generation of filmmakers needs to put its unique stamp on Philip Marlowe.

Which book would be the right choice? The Big Sleep has been done definitively by Howard Hawks, and the disastrous attempt at a remake (let’s set a Chandler novel in London … brilliant idea) suffices to warn off anyone foolhardy enough to try to top perfection. Farewell My Lovely was done very well with Robert Mitchum in the title role, and you’re not likely to find a better Moose Malloy than Richard Kiel. Robert Altman took a shot at The Long Goodbye which I haven’t seen, though I understand it’s not all that faithful to the Chandler style. That leaves The High Window, The Lady in the Lake, the Little Sister, and Playback. (No, it does not include Poodle Springs.) My vote would probably be for The High Window, as it’s got some great humor and a fine, nasty villainess in Mrs. Grayle.

Most importantly: who should play Marlowe, and who should direct? I think for a “classic” approach to Marlowe, you can’t do better today than Robert Patrick. As for a director, I’m frankly stumped … though no one better suggest Tarantino. :slight_smile:

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Ohhh…Raymond Chandler…

“Look at me, I’m Philip Marlowe…could I be solving more crimes?”

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I’d love to see Michael Madson play a detective in a black and white movie. He was born to play such a role. He has a rasy voice, a baddass slouch, and displays the best eye squinting action since Eastwood in his prime. I’m not sure if he’s right for Chandler, but he has to be a detective in a B&W movie while sprouting one liners somewhere in his career.

So far I’ve only read The Big Sleep, and the first 11 chapters of The Long Goodbye, so I can’t make any suggestions myself…well that’s not entirely true. If The Long Goodbye is as unfaithful as you’ve heard, it should be remade. I’m not too far in it, but so far it reads like something that would do real well on the big screen. Hell, I would have finished reading it by now if I actually owned it :wink: .