I came across Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye on broadcast TV today. I've seen it a few times over the years and was inspired to read the Raymond Chandler novel, and the movie was a big improvement over the book. The movie had an infinitely better ending.
I've only read a couple of Raymond Chandler books. They were a bit racist in places, and I've heard it pointed out that Philip Marlowe has a tendency to leap to wild conclusions on very little information, which I kind of liked. Ross Macdonald complained that Chandler hated everyone but old men and boys and that his books didn't have a real plot.
The thing that stood out in my mind was one of the cops, a detective. He had a terrible comb-over. He wasn't the least bit cool-looking. Watching it again, he was less Dick Van Patten-like than I remembered. But he kept addressing people as "baby", and if anyone threatened him in any way, he would say, "Get in line, baby!"
With Jack Riley from The Bob Newhart Show in a small role, and Henry Gibson as a crooked doctor.
Oh, and Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Haden and Marc Rydell. With Arnold Schwarzenegger in a non-speaking role.
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