One of the most popular detectives of the Film Noir era is back. This time, his shoes are ably filled by Dick Powell.

Powell plays hard-boiled detective Phillip Marlowe in “Murder, My Sweet,” based on Raymond Chandler’s novel “Farewell, My Lovely.” In addition to being considered one of the landmark Film Noir movies, the film is also regarded as the most faithful adaptation of any Phillip Marlowe novel. Many critics consider it the best Phillip Marlowe movie ever.

The movie opens with Marlowe being interrogated by the police. His eyes are covered by a thick bandage as he narrates his story, and moments later, the viewer is transported into a flashback, a staple in noir movies.

A giant brute of a man, Moose Malloy (played excellently by Mike Mazurki), enters Marlowe’s office and aggressively demands that Marlowe take up his case and search for a missing woman, Velma Valento. Malloy tells Marlowe that he and Velma were an item until he was forced to do time in the slammer.

At Malloy’s bidding, Marlowe accompanies him to a bar where Velma used to work. The trip proves unproductive and, in fact, a bad idea, as Malloy questions and roughs up a bartender and helps himself to a bottle of wine.

The following day, Marlowe visits the bar’s former owner’s widow and attempts to gain more information on Velma. He entices the woman with a bottle of liquor. She proceeds to tell Marlowe that Velma is dead. Marlowe finds and steals a photo of Velma from the woman. After he leaves her house, Marlowe hides and spies on the woman. He notices the woman make a call to someone, obviously to convey that someone was asking questions about Velma.

The following day, a mysterious man named Marriott pays Marlowe a visit. Marriott wants to hire Marlowe for a strange task: Marlowe should accompany Marriott as a bodyguard while he retrieves a jade necklace from a thief. Marriott alleges that this thief stole the necklace from his friend, a mysterious rich lady named Helen Grayle.

The trip ends with Marriott’s murder. Marlowe is knocked out cold by an unknown assailant or assailants. Marlowe reports the murder to the police and then plunges into the investigation. He meets the late Marriott’s friend, the mysterious Ann Helen Grayle. Helen is the trophy wife of an elderly rich jade collector, Leuwen Grayle. He also meets Leuwen’s daughter, who hates Helen. His search for the truth leads to an encounter with Amthor, a dangerous fake psychic and friend of Helen’s. Is there a connection between Velma’s disappearance and Marriott’s death? Does Marlowe find Velma? The movie ends in a shocking, unpredictable, and violent climax as Marlowe discovers the truth.

Unlike “The Brasher Doubloon,” the Marlowe movie I reviewed earlier, this movie is well-made with great performances from the main and supporting characters. It makes its mark as a classic noir movie. I highly recommend it.

Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor. Ann Shirley, Mike Mazurki

Director: Edward Dymtryk