IMDb RATING
6.5/10
6.6K
YOUR RATING
The female editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.The female editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.The female editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.
Eddie Acuff
- Ed - Coroner
- (uncredited)
Charles Bradstreet
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
David Cavendish
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers
- Property Clerk
- (uncredited)
Roger Cole
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Frank Dae
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLloyd Nolan was almost blinded when the glass splinters from a bullet that smashed a window hit him in the face. He was rushed to the hospital and a doctor carefully removed a shard of glass from the edge of his cornea.
- GoofsWhen Adrienne is taking care of Marlowe after the car crash, she hands him a mirror so he can see his injuries. As he's putting the mirror down, the face of a stage hand is reflected in the mirror.
- Quotes
Adrienne Fromsett: [to Marlowe] Perhaps you'd better go home and play with your fingerprint collection.
- Crazy creditsSPOILER! In the opening credits Chrystal Kingsby is written as being played by Ellay Mort, the phonetic spelling for 'elle est morte', French for 'she is dead.'
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA srl, "UNA DONNA NEL LAGO (1947) + L'UOMO NELL'OMBRA (1952)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Best of Film Noir (1999)
- SoundtracksJingle Bells
(uncredited)
Written by James Pierpont
Played during the opening credits
Also sung at the office Christmas party
Featured review
Out of the many Marlowe novel adaptations, this must be one of the closest to the spirit of the original. Unfortunately Chandler himself does not seem to have had the opportunity to contribute to the screenplay - although there are plenty of Chandleresque wisecracks. The film, unlike most of the other adaptions reflects the original author's full dislike of the cops (although the tough police chief having to answer a telephone call from his daughter during an interrogation is an unusual appeal for the viewer's understanding), and mistrust bordering on pathological hatred of women (I suspect that the ending is an uncharacteristic 'cop out' to assuage the producer's or popular taste). Director/star Robert Montgomery shows great self-restraint by appearing only briefly in the action. When he does show himself, mainly in mirror-reflections, the star appears (as in that other great latter day film noir, China Town) battered and bruised and not at all flattering. The plot is suitably twisted and confusing - just like the novels. And the concept of timing the whole dark affair against the backdrop of the Christmas holidays only emphasises the bleakness of the subject matter. Incidentally the idea of continuing the opening titles' jolly Christmas carol chorus in darker, more disturbing tones throughout the soundtrack is fascinating and I think unique. Audrey Totter (whatever happened to her?) makes a very sexy femme fatale. And as she plays most of her lines to camera we are seduced just as protagonist Marlowe. On top of that, her gowns are absolutely magnificent examples of forties chic. Lloyd Nolan deserves special mention as a superb heavy. What a wonderful example of Hollywood film noir.
- steve-raybould
- Apr 1, 2004
- Permalink
- How long is Lady in the Lake?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,026,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content