A grizzled American private detective in England investigates a complicated case of blackmail-turned-murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a ... Read allA grizzled American private detective in England investigates a complicated case of blackmail-turned-murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a pornographer, and a gangster.A grizzled American private detective in England investigates a complicated case of blackmail-turned-murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a pornographer, and a gangster.
- Karl Lundgren
- (as Simon Turner)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJames Stewart had difficulty saying his lines on time due to hearing and possibly memory problems. Some of the cast were shocked by his aged appearance. Robert Mitchum recalled, "The picture was all about corpses, but Jimmy looked deader than any of them." Stewart actually outlived Mitchum by one day, nearly 20 years later.
- GoofsWhen Marlowe takes the gun from Camilla after she unloads it on him with multiple blank rounds, he grabs the barrel with his bare hands. That should have proved to be very painful as the barrel would be extremely hot.
EDIT: This is incorrect. Blank cartridges in a small calibre gun will not heat the barrel to any great extent. A gun barrel gets hot mainly due to the friction of the bullet going through the barrel, not from the powder in the cartridge.
- Quotes
Charlotte Sternwood: [when Marlowe declines to blackmail her] Wha-? You don't want money?
Philip Marlowe: Oh sure. All I itch for is money. I'm so greedy that for fifty pounds a day plus expenses on the day I work, I risk my future, the hatred of the cops, of Eddie Mars and his pals, I dodge bullets and put up with slaps and say "Thank you very much. If you have any further trouble please call me: I'll just put my card here on the table." I do all that for a few pounds. And maybe just a little bit to protect what little pride a sick and broken old man has in his family, so that he can believe his blood is not poisoned. That his little girls - though they may be a trifle wild - are not perverts and killers.
- ConnectionsFeatured in James Stewart, Robert Mitchum: The Two Faces of America (2017)
It came as a surprise to me that Michael Winner was the director for the film. A man I associate with expensive dinners at expensive restaurants. But after watching this, and Death Wish, I have a new-found respect for eating in style. This film is not a Peckinpah, but it still manages to be incredibly effective in it's delivery. I like the car Mitchum drives too, a Mercedes soft-top.
The video is in widescreen by the way, requiring a screen re-adjustment or it'll look silly. Great performances from all of the actors and a superbly enjoyable plot in a film that has aged very well.
Some people criticised this film for being in the English countryside and that it doesn't bear up with the film noir style. I disagree, film noir is not limited to shady city streets, as this film goes to show.
- Minority_Report
- Feb 28, 2002
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Tote schlafen besser
- Filming locations
- Knebworth House, Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England, UK(Sternwood Mansion)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £3,000,000 (estimated)