Raymond Chandler Said...

Birthday Tribute to the Great American Noir Writer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the legendary 20th Century American novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler (born today 1888, died 1959), and creator of the fictional detective Phillip Marlowe. His was a world where life was transcribed by shadows and light. Most of Chandler’s novels have been made into films (some multiple times), and he had a hand in touchstones films as DOUBLE INDEMNITY and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN.

His Marlowe character has been portrayed by Powers Boothe, Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, and (arguably) most authoritatively by Humphrey Bogart in THE BIG SLEEP (though I prefer the earthier ending in the novel vs. the film)

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Philip Marlowe reaches me more than any of the other hard-boiled detectives in fiction. He was distinguished by Chandler’s crisp, lyrical dialogue and similes—the wit in all of Chandler’s characters. Cain, Hammett, and the rest created read-worthy heroes and villains, but Marlowe had a deeper code, like a medieval knight uprooted to serve in 20th Century Los Angeles. Marlowe knew when to offend, when to bend, when to romance, and when to be tough as nails. He could spend a day confronted by corruption and violence, then go home to play chess and listen to Shostakovich. 

I’m indebted to my former roommate Tod Booth for introducing me to the crime/noir fiction genre. Chandler didn’t invent this genre, but he certainly elevated it into a literary force that influenced many writers as well as cyberpunk, film noir, fashion, art, and music—name-checked by The Doors, Robyn Hitchcock, and others. Here’s a Chandler tribute by Michael Anderson, an L.A.-based singer-songwriter I used to pen-pal with:

#raymondchandler #phillipmarlowe #bigsleep #longgoodbye #birthday #michaelanderson