visionary

writer ross macdonald described him as a slumming angel. for those who love to find poetry in unlikely and sometimes unsavory places, raymond chandler is your man.

so many times he was brought in as a screenwriter. 'murder my sweet', based on his book, 'farewell, my lovely' was not one of the films he worked on, but it captured chandler better than when he wrote for films himself.

one my my favorite themes in chandler's writing is alienation. in this story he illustrates really well just how disconnected people are from one another, where selfishness reigns supreme. 

in the middle of the mess is the classic private detective, at odds with himself and at odds with the police. this basic tale of recovering some stolen jewels gets deep, even surreal. 

dick powell plays the detective, claire trevor plays the femme fatale, and they are just great.

painting: rene magritte