The Long Goodbye is a detective film featuring Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, and this version was less than impressive. It was released in 1973 under the direction of Robert Altman. Leigh Brackett adapted the screenplay from the original Chandler novel. Elliot Gould stars as the iconic L.A. private eye. Other cast members include Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, David Arkin, and Henry Gibson. There is an unexpected and uncredited appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger as a henchman.

Marlowe gets a visit from an old friend who he ends up giving a ride to Mexio. Upon his return, he is greeted by police officers who arrest him as a possible accomplice to a murder. The friend who visited him seems to have killed his wife. News is sent that the friend committed suicide. Once Marlowe is released, he is then hired to find a wayward husband who is rather eccentric in the vein of Ernest Hemingway. Marlowe then is also having to contend with some gangsters that the dead friend had apparently swindled. Marlowe finds that little is how it seems.

Gould is a fine actor, but I struggled with his interpretation of Marlowe. He does not come across as tough as I had seen Marlowe presented before. There are a lot of times where characters talk over each other which makes it hard to follow. There is a very long introduction in which Marlowe just goes grocery shopping for his cat. I found this film to be a bit boring, which is disappointing to say about a Philip Marlowe movie.

The ending was pretty good, but it took too long for me to really care about the resolution.

I thought Mark Rydell kind of stood out as the ruthless Augustine. He was one of those charming psychos that could react violently with startling suddenness.

I am not exactly sure how Altman stayed to the source material, but it sure felt like a lot of liberties were taken. I sure didn’t find Gould’s depiction of Philip Marlowe to be all that familiar. Obviously, he is no Humphrey Bogart.

Anyway, the film fell a little below average as a viewing experience. There are worse movies out there, but this particular adaptation is not something where I would call a must-see.