Movies - The Long Goodbye

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	Movies - The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye is a 1973 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel The Long Goodbye. Directed by Robert Altman from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett, the film stars Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe, film noir veteran Sterling Hayden as Roger Wade and future director Mark Rydell as the gangster Marty Augustine.

Leigh Brackett was also one of the screenwriters on the 1946 film version of The Big Sleep.

Unlike the novel, which plays in the fifties, the film plays in the seventies, whereas Marlowe in his suit and tie still looks like he could be from the fifties. In another time, Marlowe acts more like a relic or even a sad clown.

Reaction

Reviews for the film were mixed. Some critics objected to a 1970s Marlowe, feeling a keen sense of betrayal, tracking down and killing his friend at the end of the movie. Altman liked the new ending so much that he insisted on a clause in his contract that guaranteed the ending wouldn't be changed during production or editing. The act of cold violence and Gould's sloppy, boyish Marlowe was a clear attempt to distance the movie from Bogart's The Big Sleep
. Other reviewers compared the film favorably to other Altman films. A New York Times review of the film, by critic Vincent Camby in 1973, noted "Don't be misled by the ads, The Long Goodbye is not a put-on. It's great fun and it's funny, but it's a serious, unique work."

Trivia

In one scene of the movie Marlowe says that he is going to "call Ronald Reagan", who was governor of California then - and future actor and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in a minor role during the following scene.

Originally Dan Blocker, who played the character of Hoss in Bonanza and was a close friend of Robert Altman was chosen to play the character of Roger Wade, but he died before filming began. The film is dedicated to Dan Blocker.

Featured cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger also appears in the film in a small part as one of Augustine's hoods.

Quotes

"I tell you what we're gonna do, Marlboro. You're gonna take that goddamn J.C. Penney tie off and we're gonna have an old fashioned man to man drinking party." "Well, that's okay but I'm not taking off the tie." (Roger Wade and Marlowe)
"It's okay with me."(Marlowe's mantra, stated many times throughout the film)

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