History Literature / PhilipMarlowe

-->'''Marlowe: I've never liked this scene. Detective confronts murderer. Murderer produces gun, points same at detective. Murderer tells detective the whole sad story, with the idea of shooting him at the end of it. Thus wasting a lot of valuable time, even if in the end murderer did shoot detective. Only murderer never does. Something always happens to prevent it. The gods don't like this scene either. They always manage to spoil it.

* AccidentalTruth: In [[''The Little Sister'']], intending to express his lack of interest in a case, Marlowe tells a random person that he couldn't care less if they were a previously mentioned long-disappeared killer: [[spoiler:a gangster named "Weepy Moyer"]]. This causes most of the book's plot as [[spoiler:Steelgrave]] mistakenly assume Marlowe knows their secret.

* DeadpanSnarker: And ''how.'' Practically every other sentence, whether spoken or part of Marlowe's PrivateEyeMonologue is a barbed witticism or cutting observation.

-->"I've never liked this scene," ''I said.'' "Detective confronts murderer. Murderer produces gun, points same at detective. Murderer tells detective the whole sad story, with the idea of shooting him at the end of it. Thus wasting a lot of valuable time, even if in the end murderer did shoot detective. Only murderer never does. Something always happens to prevent it. The gods don't like this scene either. They always manage to spoil it."

* FriendOnTheForce: Marlowe was formerly with the DA himself, still has contacts at headquarters, and occasionally befriends some of the more honest cops he meets. The only one to appear in more than one of the books, however, is Bernie Ohls, longtime investigator for the DA. He and Marlowe part on bad terms in ''Literature/TheLongGoodbye''. Red and Lt. Randall, both of whom appear in ''Literature/FarewellMyLovely'', are mentioned in later books but do not reappear in person. "Red" Norgaard had quit the force at the time of his introduction, but is later revealed to have been rehired before being drafted. UnseenCharacter Violets M'Gee is also namedropped several times, but only when Marlowe needs to give a reference to a big client.

-->'''Gonzalez:''' One moment, you have not told me what happened.\\

-->Now we get characters like this Steelgrave owning restaurants. We get guys like that fat boy that bailed me out back there. We've got the big money, the sharp shooters, the percentage workers, the fast dollar boys, the hoodlums out of New York and Chicago and Detroit -- and Cleveland. We've got the flash restaurants and night clubs that they run, and the hotels and apartment houses they own, and the grifters and con men and female bandits that live in them. The luxury trades, the pansy decorators, the Lesbian dress designers, the riff-raff of a big hard-boiled city with no more personality than a paper cup.

* MacGuffin: ''The High Window'' has Marlowe tracking down the Brasher Dubloon, a legendary coin worth a fortune that leaves a trail of dead thieves behind it; come the ending, it turns out [[spoiler:a minor character sold it for a new start with a clean slate]], but it's unimportant considering Marlowe uncovers a framing and a few murders in the process.

* AccidentalTruth: In one book, intending to express his lack of interest in a case, Marlowe tells a random person that he couldn't care less if they were a previously mentioned long-disappeared killer. This causes most of the book's plot as they mistakenly assume he knows their secret.

* ChandlersLaw: Used several times, but usually with some kind of twist. In ''The Lady in the Lake'', a ''woman'' comes through the door with a gun, and that's only the first of several twists.

* DeadpanSnarker: And ''how.'' Practically every other sentence, whether spoken or part of Marlowe'sz PrivateEyeMonologue is a barbed witticism or cutting observation.

-->"I've never liked this scene," I said. "Detective confronts murderer. Murderer produces gun, points same at detective. Murderer tells detective the whole sad story, with the idea of shooting him at the end of it. Thus wasting a lot of valuable time, even if in the end murderer did shoot detective. Only murderer never does. Something always happens to prevent it. The gods don't like this scene either. They always manage to spoil it."

* FixupNovel: The first four Marlowe novels are patched together out of Dalmas and Carmady short stories, with bits rearranged, merged, split and/or renamed.

* GeniusBruiser: Marlowe is tall and about as tough as they come. He's also incredibly street smart, an intelligent detective and has a classical education. He occasionally references some pretty academic subjects that usually confuse whomever he's talking to. His only real hobby seems to be playing chess.

* TheIngenue: In ''The Little Sister'', Marlowe's client Orfamay looks and acts like one. Marlowe refuses to believe anyone can be that innocent. [[spoiler: He's right.]]

* LoveMakesYouEvil: ''The Little Sister'' has the murderer kill her lover after he throws her over for another. [[spoiler: Or at least, it seems like that for a while.]]

* NiceHat: Being set in a time when men were NeverBareheaded. Can't go wrong in a classic fedora.

-->[The living room] was curtained and quite dark, but it had the feel of great size. The darkness was heavy in it and my nose twitched at a lingering odor that said somebody had been there not too long ago. I stopped breathing and listened. Tigers could be in the darkness watching me. Or guys with large guns, standing flat-footed, breathing softly with their mouths open. ''Or nothing and nobody and too much imagination in the wrong place.''

* PoliceAreUseless: [[DownplayedTrope Not as often as you'd think, though.]] The cops are often allowed to give as good as they get, noting that a large part of what's making their job so hard is people like Marlowe and his clients withholding information and trying to solve cases on their own terms in their own favor. Marlowe fires back with the fact that the police, even when they're not actually on the take, still have their hands tied by public opinion and political maneuvering. In later books he's philosophical about it -- provided the other party isn't too self-righteous about it.
* PosthumousCollaboration: Chandler's unfinished eighth Marlowe novel, ''Poodle Springs'', was finished by Robert B. Parker (of ''Literature/{{Spenser}}'' fame) and published in 1989. Generally [[FanonDisContinuity dismissed]] by Chandler fans.

* SmokingIsCool: Marlowe starts out as a cigarette smoker, then switches to a pipe as he grows older and more thoughtful.

* HorribleHollywood: Features prominently in ''The Little Sister''.

* TheIngenue: In ''The Little Sister'', Marlowe's client Orfamay looks and acts like one. Marlowe [[spoiler:correctly]] refuses to believe she can be that innocent.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: ''The Little Sister'' has the murderer kill her lover after he throws her over for another.

Besides Chandler's works, Marlowe appeared in [[{{Continuation}} three novels]] - ''Poodle Springs'' (unfinished, [[PosthumousCollaboration completed]] by Creator/RobertBParker), ''Perchance To Dream'' (an original sequel to ''The Big Sleep'', also by Parker) and ''The Black-Eyed Blonde'', by John Banville (under his crime-writer alias of "Benjamin Black"). There was also a 1988 short story collection to celebrate the centenary of Chandler's birth, by a variety of well-known crime and hardboiled writers.

* DeadpanSnarker: And ''how.'' Practically every other sentence, whether spoken or part of Marlowe's PrivateEyeMonologue is a barbed witticism or cutting observation.

* FriendOnTheForce: Marlowe was formerly with the DA himself, still has contacts at headquarters, and occasionally befriends some of the more honest cops he meets. The only one to appear in more than one of the books, however, is Bernie Ohls, longtime investigator for the DA, and he and Marlowe part on bad terms in ''Literature/TheLongGoodbye''. Red and Lt. Randall, both of whom appear in ''Literature/FarewellMyLovely'', are mentioned in later books but do not reappear ("Red" Norgaard had quit the force at the time, but is revealed to have been rehired before being drafted). UnseenCharacter Violets M'Gee is also namedropped several times, but only when Marlowe needs to give a big client a reference.

* TheAlcoholic: Marlowe himself would be considered an alcoholic by today's standards.

* ComicBookTime: While he did get older, he didn't age as much as the intervening years between installments should have allowed for.
* DeadpanSnarker: And ''how.''
* EvilGloating: Lampshaded in ''The Lady in the Lake''.

* FriendOnTheForce: Bernie Ohls, chief investigator for the DA's office. Also, [[UnseenCharacter Violets M'Gee]].

* NiceHat: Can't go wrong in a fedora.

* PinkElephants: In chapter 18 of ''The Lady in the Lake'', a character refers to a doctor "who ran around all night with a case of loaded hypodermic needles, keeping the fast set from having pink elephants for breakfast."
* PoliceAreUseless: [[DownplayedTrope Not as often as you'd think, though.]]

* PrivateDetective: Marlowe is one.
* PrivateEyeMonologue: The TropeCodifier.
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Marlowe's .38.

-->''She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.''

* SmokingIsCool: Marlowe starts out as a cigarette smoker, and switches to a pipe as he grows older and more thoughtful.

* TalksLikeASimile: A feature of Marlowe's narration, originally because Chandler was being paid by the word.
* TapOnTheHead: Happens quite often, sometimes accompanied by a lengthy and poetic description of darkness washing over him as he loses consciousness. Did we mention Chandler was being paid by the word?

* 1975: ''Film/FarewellMyLovely''. Marlowe is played by Robert Mitchum -- the only actor ever to play Marlowe in two different movies.

%%* BadassLongcoat
%%* BlackAndGreyMorality

%%* FilmNoir

%%* TheForties

%%* GambitPileup

%%* HardboiledDetective

* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: Quite a lot of Marlowe's cases follow this pattern -- he's hired to do something relatively straightforward (negotiate with a blackmailer, mind a missing woman) and as soon as he begins asking questions, everybody in the neighbourhood with a dirty secret assumes he's after them and starts threatening him. Then, of course, he ''has'' to investigate them, just in case they're connected to his case.
%%* MysteryFiction

%%* StreetSmart

* TropeCodifier: Of the {{Hardboiled|Detective}} PrivateDetective -- well, ''[[Film/TheMalteseFalcon one]]'' of them, at least.

* SelfPlagiarism: The first four Marlowe novels are patched together out of Dalmas and Carmady short stories, with bits rearranged, merged, split and/or renamed.

Besides Chandler's works, Marlowe appeared in [[{{Continuation}} three novels]] - ''Poodle Springs'' (unfinished, [[PosthumousCollaboration completed by Creator/RobertBParker]]), ''Perchance To Dream'' (an original sequel to ''The Big Sleep'', also by Parker) and ''The Black-Eyed Blonde'', by John Banville (under his crime-writer alias of "Benjamin Black"). There was also a 1988 short story collection to celebrate the centenary of Chandler's birth, by a variety of well-known crime and hardboiled writers.

Besides Chandler's works, Marlowe appeared in [[{{Continuation}} three novels]] - ''Poodle Springs'' (unfinished, [[PosthumousCollaboration completed by Robert B Parker]]), ''Perchance To Dream'' (an original sequel to ''The Big Sleep'', also by Parker) and ''The Black-Eyed Blonde'', by John Banville (under his crime-writer alias of "Benjamin Black"). There was also a 1988 short story collection to celebrate the centenary of Chandler's birth, by a variety of well-known crime and hardboiled writers.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* 1944: ''Film/MurderMySweet''. Based on the novel ''Farewell, My Lovely''. Marlowe is played by Dick Powell.

Besides Chandler's works, Marlowe appeared in [[{{Continuation]] three novels]] - ''Poodle Springs'' (unfinished, [[PosthumousCollaboration completed by Robert B Parker]]), ''Perchance To Dream'' (a sequel to ''The Big Sleep'', also by Parker) and ''The Black-Eyed Blonde'', by John Banville (under his crime-writer alias of "Benjamin Black"). There was also a 1988 short story collection to celebrate the centenary of Chandler's birth, by a variety of well-known crime and hardboiled writers.

Besides Chandler's works (and some other authors' take on the character as well), Marlowe has appeared in no less than 10 film adaptions, even more television and radio programs, and at least one video game.

!!Adaptations without their own pages provide examples of:

* POVCam: The 1947 film version of ''Lady in the Lake'', directed by and starring Creator/RobertMontgomery, was filmed almost entirely in P.O.V. Cam to imitate the novel's first-person narration. Just so the film's Big Name Star was not totally unseen, he appears in bridging sequences and is seen whenever Marlowe looks into a mirror.

* PublicDomainCharacter: The Marlowe novels are in the public domain.

* PosthumousCollaboration: Chandler's unfinished eighth Marlowe novel, ''Poodle Springs'', was finished by Robert B. Parker (of ''{{Spenser}}'' fame) and published in 1989. Generally [[FanonDisContinuity dismissed]] by Chandler fans.

%%* LoveMakesYouEvil: ''The Little Sister''.

%%* PrivateDetective

%%* PublicDomainCharacter

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: In ''Marlowe'' (1969), Philip Marlowe, at the scene of a murder, checks that a gun has been fired by putting the muzzle under his nose and smelling it. Yes, his finger isn't on the trigger, but he certainly should know better.
* BadassInANiceSuit: The title character aside, there is Winslow Wong in the 1969 version. When Marlowe refuses his Bribe, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Winslow tears apart his office with his bare hands.]] It helps that Wong is played by Creator/BruceLee prior to his Hong Kong action films.

* 1973: ''Film/TheLongGoodbye''. Marlowe is played by Elliott Gould. Interestingly, it is not a PeriodPiece, but takes place in TheSeventies, when it was made.

* GenreSavvy: Marlowe knows he can't take Winslow on in a one on one fight. [[spoiler:So his plan is to get him angry, [[DeadlyDodging while dodging him.]] Then when Winslow is too riled up, he goes for a flying kick, causing him to fall to his death.]]

* GenreSavvy: Marlowe knows he can't take Winslow on in a one on one fight. [[spoiler: So his plan is to get him angry, [[DeadlyDodging while dodging him.]] Then when Winslow is too riled up, he goes for a flying kick, causing him to fall to his death.]]
* POVCam: The 1947 film version of ''Lady in the Lake'', directed by and starring Robert Montgomery, was filmed almost entirely in P.O.V. Cam to imitate the novel's first-person narration. Just so the film's Big Name Star was not totally unseen, he appears in bridging sequences and is seen whenever Marlowe looks into a mirror.

'''Philip Marlowe''' is the creation of Creator/RaymondChandler, and an original TropeCodifier of the [[HardboiledDetective Hardboiled]] PrivateDetective archetype. While his first official appearance was in the 1939 novel ''Literature/TheBigSleep,'' Chandler later adapted some of his short stories about similar detectives into longer novels.

* 1946: ''Film/TheBigSleep''. This is perhaps the most famous film adaption. Marlowe is played by HumphreyBogart.

* TheAlcoholic: Roger Wade and Terry Lennox of ''The Long Goodbye''. Both are, interestingly, based on aspects of Chandler himself.
** Marlowe himself would be considered an alcoholic by today's standards.

* BelligerentSexualTension: With Linda Loring in ''The Long Goodbye''.

* BluffTheImpostor: In ''The Long Goodbye'', when a woman is giving a confession that Marlowe doubts, she talks of dumping a man's body in a reservoir and Marlowe asks her how she got it over the fence. She blusters about adrenaline and then Marlowe reveals that there is no fence. After she breaks down he admits that he's never been there and really doesn't know about fence or no fence. He just thought she was lying.

* ChandlersLaw: Used several times, but usually with some kind of twist. In ''The Long Goodbye'', the man who comes through the door with the gun is a friend who's come to Marlowe for help. In ''The Lady in the Lake'', a ''woman'' comes through the door with a gun, and that's only the first of several twists.

* MacGuffin:
** ''The High Window'' has Marlowe tracking down the Brasher Dubloon, a legendary coin worth a fortune that leaves a trail of dead thieves behind it; come the ending, it turns out [[spoiler:a minor character sold it for a new start with a clean slate]], but it's unimportant considering Marlowe uncovers a framing and a few murders in the process.
** ''The Long Goodbye'' has Marlowe's drinking buddy, Terry Lennox, fleeing the country and paying Marlowe with a $5000 bill. Marlowe, believing he hasn't earned the sum of cash, spends the entire plot refusing to spend it. [[spoiler:Its only significant uses are: to involve Marlowe in the second case; and so Marlowe can pay it back to Lennox, giving them an excuse to meet up again in the conclusion.]]

* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Harlan Potter in ''The Long Goodbye''. It's practically in the stars that he eventually becomes [[spoiler: Marlowe's father-in-law....]]

* SpiritedYoungLady: Whenever Chandler gives the story a clear-cut heroine (as opposed to an ambiguous FemmeFatale or a DamselInDistress), she will be this. Linda Loring in ''The Long Goodbye'' is a refined, dignified heiress who matches Marlowe's [[SnarkToSnarkCombat snark with some of her own]], shares his KnightInSourArmor / [[DistaffCounterpart Princess In Sour Dress]] approach to the world, and helps him a little in the investigation.

* ZillionDollarBill: Marlowe receives a "portrait of Madison" (a $5,000 bill) for doing a small favor at the start of ''The Long Goodbye''. The bill causes no end of trouble.