Dish of the Day

Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Today’s “Dish of the Day” has a brief review of mine that was inspired by a post in one of the film related Facebook chat rooms. This includes the Cinema Cafe group (all readers are encouraged to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/902349343110685).

Lady in the Lake (1947)

Robert Montgomery directs himself as private investigator Phillip Marlowe in 1947’s Lady in the Lake. Criticised or commended, any pronounced filming technique used throughout practically all of its running time detracts, at least to some degree, from the narrative's overall immersive effect. In Lady in the Lake and the following year’s Rope (1948) the employed photographical experiments, although different, take centre stage drawing attention to themselves and therefore away from the viewer's natural participation in their stories’ progression. Furthermore, the 1st person device used in Lady in the Lake (whether one appreciates it or not) clashes with Montgomery's interspersions delivered directly to us from behind his desk. Right from the beginning, he introduces himself, describes what he does and the preamble to this particular case. So the guy we are looking at and talking to us is the same person we become? I think the idea may have been to cause the audience to assume the role of a detective, to look for clues and examine closely the suspects we come in contact with. Here again, Marlowe's swift, cynical and confident responses provide little opportunity for us to perform that type of investigation. As the plot thickens (mirrors, shadows, slow camera movement, expository dialogue, constant reminders of the Christmas time period, etc. don't help) the “subjective camera” conspicuity increasingly inhibits our emotional and intellectual involvement. At the very least, it’s distracting especially in a Raymond Chandler/Phillip Marlowe adaptation in which one strives to sort out who’s responsible for what. The same device was effectively employed in 1931’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by director Rouben Mamoulian but dropped after the first few minutes. I've also mentioned this technique used for about the first half-hour in Dark Passage (1947) released theatrically the same year as Lady in the Lake. I’m a bit sorry to belabour this point, however, I feel without this eye-catching novelty, the filmmakers would have created a nifty little noir especially with co-stars Audrey Totter and Lloyd Nolan on board. Montgomery would go on to direct himself again and prove his mettle as a director of cool composure in his subsequent (sans gimmick) 1947 film noir masterwork Ride the Pink Horse.

All responses are not only welcomed but encouraged in the comments section below.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

A.G.