''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles
private eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiel ...
. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio.
Plot
Private detective Philip Marlowe is investigating a dead-end missing person case when he sees a felon, Moose Malloy, barging into a nightclub called Florian's, looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma Valento. The club has changed owners, so no one there now knows her. Malloy ends up killing the black owner of the club and escaping. The murder case is assigned to Lt. Nulty, a Bay City police detective who has no interest in the murder of a black man. Marlowe advises Nulty to look for Malloy's girlfriend, but Nulty prefers to let Marlowe do the routine legwork and rely on finding Malloy based on his huge size and loud clothes. Marlowe decides to follow up and look for the girl.
He tracks down Mrs Jessie Florian, the widow of the nightclub's former owner, and plies her with bourbon. Mrs Florian claims Malloy's girlfriend is dead. Before making further progress, Marlowe receives a call from a man named Lindsay Marriott, who claims his friend has been robbed and requests Marlowe's presence in delivering a ransom payment for stolen jewellery. Later that evening, in a deserted canyon, Marlowe waits in the dark and is hit on the head from behind. When he awakes, Marriott is dead. A passerby, Anne Riordan, finds him and takes him home.
Lt. Randall, the cunning but honest Los Angeles cop investigating Marriott's murder, is skeptical about the story. At Marlowe's office, Anne explains that she is from Bay City, a policeman's daughter interested in local crime. Her father was cashiered by the corrupt cops running the Bay City Police. She tells Marlowe that she learned from Randall that the stolen necklace belongs to a Mrs Lewin Lockridge Grayle, the young wife of a wealthy and influential Bay City resident. Mrs Grayle is a ravishing blonde whom Grayle met when she was singing for the radio station he owned. She married him in Europe under an assumed name, to keep her background secret. Anne offers to have her hire Marlowe to find the necklace.
Marlowe examines some
marijuana cigarettes he found on Marriott's body and discovers the card of a psychic, Jules Amthor. He makes an appointment to see him. On a hunch, he investigates Mrs. Florian's house and discovers that Marriott held a
trust deed on it, meaning he could foreclose on her at will. Following up with Mrs Florian, she reveals she was once a servant for Marriott's family, and Marlowe suspects she was somehow blackmailing him. Marlowe visits Mrs Grayle, who finds him attractive and hires him, which he can use as an excuse to continue investigating the two murders. They make a date to meet again at the club of a local hoodlum, Laird Brunette, near the spot where Marriott was killed.
At Amthor's office, Marlowe probes him for his connection to Marriott and the drugs. Amthor calls in a pair of Bay City detectives out of their jurisdiction to arrest Marlowe, claiming Marlowe tried to blackmail him, but instead of taking him to jail, they knock him unconscious and lock him up in a private hospital run by Dr. Sonderborg, a drug dealer who keeps him docile with drug injections. Marlowe escapes, but on the way out, he sees Malloy in another room. He discusses the case with Randall, who is annoyed at his persistence in investigating the case. They suspect Marriott of blackmailing wealthy women, in league with Amthor, and return to Mrs Florian's, only to find her murdered, apparently shaken to death by Malloy.
Because of the involvement of the Bay City cops whom Amthor called in, Marlowe visits the corrupt Bay City police chief, John Wax, who brushes him off until Marlowe mentions that he has been hired by Mrs Grayle. Marlowe is then told that Malloy may be hiding out on a gambling boat anchored beyond the
three-mile limit
The three-mile limit refers to a traditional and now largely obsolete conception of the international law of the seas which defined a country's territorial waters, for the purposes of trade regulation and exclusivity, as extending as far as the r ...
and run by Brunette, who also controls the corrupt city government in Bay City. Marlowe sneaks on board with the help of Red Norgaard, another honest cop fired by Bay City, and despite being caught by Brunette, persuades him to pass a message through his criminal network to Malloy.
Marlowe calls Mrs Grayle, ostensibly to have her pick him up at his apartment for their date. Responding to Marlowe's message, Malloy shows up first, and hides when Mrs Grayle arrives. Marlowe confronts her: she is Velma and had used Marriott to keep Mrs Florian in line after she recognised Velma's voice on Grayle's radio station. Marriott had worked as an announcer at the same station. Mrs Grayle convinced Marriott to set up Marlowe to be killed in the canyon, but actually did so to kill Marriott because she viewed him as a 'weak link' who would reveal her secret past. She had also informed on Malloy about the robbery that sent him to prison. When Malloy hears this, he steps out to confront Velma, who shoots him fatally and flees. Amthor, Sonderborg, and the crooked cops are all exposed; Red gets his job back. Velma flees, but when she is eventually tracked down in Baltimore, she kills the detective who recognizes her, and commits suicide when cornered.
Characters
*Philip Marlowe
*Lt. Nulty
*Lt. Carl Randall
*Moose Malloy
*Mrs. Jessie Florian
*Lindsay Marriott
*Jules Amthor
*Dr. Sonderborg
*Mr. Lewin Lockridge Grayle
*Mrs. Lewin Lockridge Grayle, also known as Velma Valento
*Laird Brunette
*Anne Riordan
*John Wax
Background
Chandler worked on the book from June to December 1939, before destroying the entire typescript and starting again. He completed the novel in the spring of 1940.
''Farewell, My Lovely'', like many of Chandler's novels, was written by what he called cannibalising previous short stories—taking previously written short stories and altering them to fit together as a novel. This practice is sometimes known as a
fix-up
A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...
. In this case the three stories were "Try the Girl", "Mandarin's Jade", and "The Man Who Liked Dogs".
"Try the Girl" provided the initial story about a hoodlum looking for his old girlfriend who has moved on to a more respectable life. "Mandarin's Jade" was the basis for the middle sections about a jewel theft which may or may not have actually happened, the murder of a blackmailer, and a corrupt psychic who works with a crime ring. "The Man Who Liked Dogs" provided the final part, where the detective is looking for a criminal and his search ultimately takes him to a gambling boat anchored off the Santa Monica coast, out of reach of the local law.
In all of the initial stories, the criminals and motives are clearly explained by the end. However, as Chandler adapted and integrated the stories—which were originally written completely independently—he cared more about the style of writing and the characters than about making sure every plot point fit together with consistency and lucidity. As he said of his work, "my whole career is based on the idea that the formula doesn't matter, the thing that counts is what you do with the formula; that is to say, it is a matter of style."
Chandler used this writing style to develop his themes of corruption, social decay, cynicism and fatalism.
Chandler used recognizable locations in Los Angeles as settings, but he created the fictional town of Bay City as a stand-in for
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, known for its widespread corruption in city government during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The title of the novel is apparently a reference to a song in the 1935 musical revue ''
At Home Abroad
''At Home Abroad'' is a revue with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. It introduced the songs "Love Is a Dancing Thing", "What a Wonderful World" and "Got a Bran' New Suit", among others. The revue follows a bored couple who fl ...
''.
Film adaptations
''Farewell, My Lovely'' was the first Philip Marlowe novel to be filmed. In 1942, ''
The Falcon Takes Over
''The Falcon Takes Over'' (also known as ''The Falcon Steps Out''), is a 1942 black-and-white mystery film directed by Irving Reis. The B film was the third, following '' The Gay Falcon'' and '' A Date with the Falcon'' (1941), to star George ...
'', a 65-minute film that was the third in the ''
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
'' series about
Michael Arlen
Michael Arlen (16 November 1895 – 23 June 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian ( hy, Տիգրան Գոյումճեան), was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of Armenians, Armenian origin, who had his ...
's gentleman sleuth Gay Lawrence (played by
George Sanders
George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...
), used the plot of ''Farewell, My Lovely''. In 1944,
Dick Powell played the part of the hard-boiled detective, named Philip Marlowe this time, in a classic
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
release—alternatively entitled ''
Murder, My Sweet
''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The film ...
'' (in the United States) and ''Farewell, My Lovely'' (in the UK)—two years before cinema-goers saw
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
as Philip Marlowe in ''
The Big Sleep
''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, The Big Sleep (1946 film), in 1946 and again The Big Sleep ...
'' (1946). In 1975,
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...
starred in a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of ''Farewell, My Lovely''.
Although not technically an adaptation, the "Harlem Nocturne" episode of the television series
The New Mike Hammer
''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' (later titled ''The New Mike Hammer''), with Stacy Keach in the title role, is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 28, 1984, to May 13, 1987. The series consist ...
(Aired 26 November 1986 on CBS) borrowed major plot details from the novel's story of the search by a huge ex-con for his former girlfriend and criminal partner, including the fight in the bar and someone deliberately identifying a photo incorrectly and then being killed.
Radio adaptations
The novel was adapted on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
by Bill Morrison, directed by
John Tydeman
John Peter Tydeman OBE (30 March 1936 – 1 April 2020) was an English producer of radio and director of theatre plays. He was responsible for commissioning and directing the early plays of Caryl Churchill, Joe Orton, Tom Stoppard and Sue Towns ...
and broadcast on 22 September 1988, starring
Ed Bishop
George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in ''UFO'', Captain Blue in ''Captain Scarlet and the Myste ...
as Marlowe.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
, as part of its Classic Chandler series, also broadcast on 19 February 2011 a dramatic adaptation by
Robin Brooks
Robin Brooks (born 1961 in Leeds) is a British radio dramatist, some-time actor and author.
Selected credits Adaptations
* 2000 – '' The Art of Love'', a comedy, emphasizing Ovid's role as lover, with Bill Nighy and Anne-Marie Duff
* 2004 – ...
, with
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...
as the hardboiled detective. It was adapted in a condensed form under the title of ''Murder My Sweet'' on
Hollywood Star Time, broadcast on 8 June 1946, starring
Dick Powell.
Cultural references
In the first shot after the opening titles of ''
Get Carter
''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detecti ...
'', the character played by
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
is seen reading a paperback copy of the book.
In the opening episode of the television series ''
Bored to Death
''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, Ne ...
'', the character Jonathan Ames, played by
Jason Schwartzman
Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician.
Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjeeling Limited'' (2 ...
, is inspired to become a private detective after reading the book.
[
The novel's title was used as the subtitle of the Japanese version of the video game '' Sakura Wars V'', but this reference was lost in the translation.
The fourth and final case in the video game '' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All'' is called "Farewell, My Turnabout," a reference to the novel's title.
In 2015 video game, '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'', the title of the mission "Va Fail, Elaine" translates into "Farewell, beauty," a reference to the novel's title.
]
References
External links
*
Outline of the plot by William Marling
(includes an explanation of some literary allusion
Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...
s)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farewell, My Lovely
1940 American novels
1940 British novels
Alfred A. Knopf books
American novels adapted into films
British novels adapted into films
American detective novels
Hardboiled crime novels
Novels by Raymond Chandler
Novels set in Los Angeles