The Long Goodbye (1973)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Raymond Chandler (novel)
Leigh Brackett (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Nothing says goodbye like a bullet.

Plot:

Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Suicide | Alcoholic | Murder | Arrest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Elliott Gould	...	Philip Marlowe
Nina Van Pallandt	...	Eileen Wade (as Nina van Pallandt)
Sterling Hayden	...	Roger Wade aka Billy Joe Smith
Mark Rydell	...	Marty Augustine
Henry Gibson	...	Dr. Verringer
David Arkin	...	Harry
Jim Bouton	...	Terry Lennox
Warren Berlinger	...	Morgan
Jo Ann Brody	...	Jo Ann Eggenweiler
Stephen Coit	...	Det. Farmer (as Steve Coit)
Jack Knight	...	Mabel
Pepe Callahan	...	Pepe
Vincent Palmieri	...	Vince (as Vince Palmieri)
Pancho Córdova	...	Doctor (as Pancho Cordoba)
Enrique Lucero	...	Jefe
Rutanya Alda	...	Rutanya Sweet
Tammy Shaw	...	Dancer
Jack Riley	...	Lenny - Piano Player
Ken Sansom	...	Colony guard
Jerry Jones	...	Det. Green
John S. Davies	...	Det. Dayton
Rodney Moss	...	Supermarket clerk
Leslie Simms	...	Olive
Leslie McRae	...	Lucille
Sybil Scotford	...	Sylvia Tewksbury - Real Estate Agent
Herb Kerns	...	Herbie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlos Lucena
David Carradine	...	Dave aka Socrates - Marlowe's Cellmate (uncredited)
Johnnie Davis	...	Vocalist - Hooray for Hollywood (uncredited) (archive sound)
Danny Goldman	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Carl Gottlieb	...	Wade Party Guest (uncredited)
Tracy Harris	...	Detective (uncredited)
Ned Humphreys	...	Store Clerk (uncredited)
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Hood in Augustine's office (uncredited)
George Wyner	...	Cop at Beach (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Altman

Writing credits
Raymond Chandler		(novel "The Long Goodbye")
Leigh Brackett		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jerry Bick	....	producer
Robert Eggenweiler	....	associate producer
Elliott Kastner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Williams

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond

Film Editing by
Lou Lombardo

Costume Design by
Kent James		(costumes: men) (uncredited)
Marjorie Wahl		(costumes: women) (uncredited)

Makeup Department
Bill Miller	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Rudolph	....	second assistant director
Tommy Thompson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sidney H. Greenwood	....	property master (as Sydney Greenwood)

Sound Department
John Speak	....	sound engineer (as John V. Speak)
Dick Vorisek	....	dubbing mixer (as Richard J. Vorisek)

Stunts
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Adams	....	key grip (as Ken Adams)
Randy Glass	....	electrical gaffer
Joseph M. Wilcots	....	camera operator (as Joe Wilcots)
Earl L. Clark	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Harry Rez	....	dolly grip (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Scott Conrad	....	assistant film editor
Tony Lombardo	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Jack Sheldon	....	musician: trumpet (uncredited)

Other crew
Adell Aldrich	....	script supervisor (as Adele Bravos)
Jean D'Oncieu	....	production assistant

Thanks
Dan Blocker	....	film dedicated to

Production Companies

• E-K-Corporation
• Lions Gate Films

Distributors

• United Artists (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1973) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United Artists Films (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (worldwide) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:18 | Canada:A (Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

9000 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

E-K-Corporation

Trivia:

The "Hooray for Hollywood" music at the beginning and end of the film is a promotional trailer for an RKO film made in 1937 (Hooray for Hollywood (1937)) featuring the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The members of the orchestra are the male voices singing, and the voice saying "Be an actor, see Mr. Factor, he'll make your kisser look good" belongs to drummer Gene Krupa. The actual promo film itself is featured in the documentary Benny Goodman: Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing (1977).

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the film, Philip Marlowe opens the refrigerator to get food for his cat. There are two rows of eggs on the fridge's door, with one egg missing on the lower row. After a cut away scene, Philip reaches for some eggs, but now there are several eggs missing on the lower row.

Quotes:

[Augustine has found a $5000 bill in Marlowe's pocket]
Marty Augustine: What's that?
Philip Marlowe: A picture of James Madison.
Marty Augustine: It's a $5000 bill.
Philip Marlowe: I know.
Marty Augustine: Where'd you get this?
Philip Marlowe: A box of crackerjacks, came as a prize.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Growing Pains: The Long Goodbye (#2.21)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Hooray for Hollywood

Quirky, Atmospheric, Unique Altman Spin to Chandler!

I admit, when I first viewed "The Long Goodbye", in 1973, I didn't like the film; the signature Altman touches (rambling storyline, cartoonish characters, dialog that fades in and out) seemed ill-suited to a hard-boiled detective movie, and Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe? No WAY! Bogie had been perfect, Dick Powell, nearly as good, but "M.A.S.H.'s" 'Trapper John'? Too ethnic, too 'hip', too 'Altman'! Well, seeing it again, nearly 34 years later, I now realize I was totally wrong! The film is brilliant, a carefully-crafted color Noir, with Gould truly remarkable as a man of morals in a period (the 1970s) lacking morality. Perhaps it isn't Raymond Chandler, but I don't think he'd have minded Altman's 'spin', at all! In the first sequence of the film, Marlowe's cat wakes him to be fed; out of cat food, the detective drives to an all-night grocery, only to discover the cat's favorite brand is out of stock, so he attempts to fool the cat, emptying another brand into an empty can of 'her' food. The cat isn't fooled by the deception, however, and runs away, for good...

A simple scene, one I thought was simply Altman quirkiness, in '73...but, in fact, it neatly foreshadows the major theme of the film: betrayal by a friend, and the price. As events unfold, Marlowe would uncover treachery, a multitude of lies, and self-serving, amoral characters attempting to 'fool' him...with his resolution decisive, abrupt, and totally unexpected! The casting is first-rate. Elliott Gould, Altman's only choice as Marlowe, actually works extremely well, BECAUSE he is against 'type'. Mumbling, bemused, a cigarette eternally between his lips, he gives the detective a blue-collar integrity that plays beautifully off the snobbish Malibu 'suspects'. And what an array of characters they are! From a grandiosely 'over-the-top' alcoholic writer (Sterling Hayden, in a role intended for Dan Blocker, who passed away, before filming began), to his sophisticated, long-suffering wife (Nina Van Pallandt), to a thuggish Jewish gangster attempting to be genteel (Mark Rydell), to a smug health guru (Henry Gibson), to Marlowe's cocky childhood buddy (Jim Bouton)...everyone has an agenda, and the detective must plow through all the deception, to uncover the truth.

There are a couple of notable cameos; Arnold Schwarzenegger, in only his second film, displays his massive physique, as a silent, mustached henchman; and David Carradine plays a philosophical cell mate, after Marlowe 'cracks wise' to the cops.

The film was a failure when released; Altman blamed poor marketing, with the studio promoting it as a 'traditional' detective flick, and audiences (including me) expecting a Bogart-like Marlowe. Time has, however, allowed the movie to succeed on it's own merits, and it is, today, considered a classic.

So please give the film a second look...You may discover a new favorite, in an old film!