While Marlowe may not be the most original private eye character to ever hit the screen, in fact, most things about him are either clichés or stereotypes, but Garner plays him so well that you won’t mind, and in fact, the one liners and smart talk turn out to be half the fun of the movie. Plenty entertaining in the lead, he carries the film easily and shows both good screen presence and likeable charisma. Supporting efforts from an interesting cast of characters help flesh out the cast and with the likes of Rita Moreno, Carroll O’Connor and Bruce Lee in the cast it’s hard to ask for a better crew of actors to work alongside.
Video/Audio/Extras: The packaging on this Warner Archive release says that it’s remastered and the 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer does look pretty good on this DVD. Colors are nice and bright and bold and well defined but never bleed while black levels remain generally strong. Skin tones look good and detail is better than most will probably expect. As far as print damage goes, there are some specks here and there but overall the picture is clean and clear without any evidence of digital scrubbing to note – all in all, a pretty decent effort from Warner in the visuals department. The English language Dolby Digital Mono sound mix on the disc is fine – dialogue is clean, clear and well balanced and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion of note. The film’s fuzzed out late sixties soundtrack comes through nice and clear as well. No alternate language options or subtitles are offered. In addition to the standard static menu and chapter selection, this disc includes the film’s original theatrical trailer in non-anamorphic widescreen.
The Final Word: It might be a bit clichéd and it might be a little bit predictable but Garner’s excellent lead performance and a fantastic supporting cast more than make up for those flaws and Marlowe turns out to be a whole lot of sleuthy fun. Warner Archives’ DVD-R release is not surprisingly light on extra features, but it looks good and sounds good and those with an interest in or pre-existing appreciation for this particular film should be fairly pleased with the results.
A few good laughs, some strong performances, a fair bit of visual style and a great late sixties era sound track all add up to a fun movie. There are moments where it’s a bit tough to suspend our disbelief and it’s not a perfect picture in terms of plotting or pacing but it gets enough right that, hey, if nothing else, it’s just a really fun and entertaining way to kill an hour and a half.