Pulp Fiction discussion

Raymond Chandler's protagonist Philip Marlowe is probably one of the most common of all the famous detectives in the Pulp genre and my favourite.


From Wiki;
Underneath the wisecracking, hard drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly contemplative and philosophical and enjoys chess and poetry. While he is not afraid to risk physical harm, he does not dish out violence merely to settle scores. Morally upright, he is not fooled by the genre's usual femmes fatale, such as Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep.

Philip Marlowe for is the epitome of the noir detective. Smart, drinking, fighting, always one step ahead. Can't wait to read more novels featuring him.

Initially, I was pulling for Hammett for our next read, but I'm very glad that The Big Sleep won out. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and am closing in on the finish.

All the best,

Mike

Oh, Mike...you overachiever, you!
I'm going to have to speak to your wife about giving you more things to do around the house.

I read this about year ago & loved it. I was surprised at how well everything about the novel aged. There was a lack of detail in the every day items that helped this a lot. OK, cars don't have separate starter buttons any more, but that was one of a very few. Marlow is pretty timeless, too.

Wasn't this Chandler's first book, too?

The Big Sleep is his first novel

The Big Sleep is great but i think the second novel is better story. I always say to PI,crime fans. I dig Marlowe as one of my fav PI heroes but im not as big fan of Chandler. His prose style, his word plays try too hard times and his plot,stories are not as strong as other classic PI.

I read Chandler stories only because Marlowe is the best part.

Melki wrote: "Oh, Mike...you overachiever, you!
I'm going to have to speak to your wife about giving you more things to do around the house."

It wouldn't do a bit of good. Having done the shopping, dishes, laundry, and cooking, I slip the Queen and Queen Mum a mickey with their evening meal, and Jeeves goes off duty, book in hand. Silence is golden. grin

Don't know if I've mentioned it, but being the only child, I have become the Mum's primary caregiver. The Queen and the formerly elevated Prince Consort now reside with the Mum, indefinitely.

I have stepped down from role of Consort to the humble Jeeves--make that somewhat humble. I've not lost my lawyer's ego, shall we say. However, Jeeves, wiley as he may be, knows when to say, "Yes, oh Royal Two."

Lawyering is on the back burner, but duty to family comes before the making of money. I have hung onto the cases most dear, scheduling court appearances as I am able to have the Queen with the Mum. At times it is a stretch. There's Jeeve's ability with the gentle art of understatement.

I have a read leather sign embossed with gold letters that emphatically states, "No Whining." I do not find whining acceptable, although I am capable of launching a curmudgeonly grouse, which I consider to be elevated over the puling activity of whining.

Nevertheless, I take great solace from my reading. And my goodreads friendships provide me with human contact in addition to sporadic personal visits from the outside world.

My goodreads friendships are especially valuable to me. Your sense of humor is awfully good for me. There are a few, whose privacy I will respect, with whom I regularly communicate.

My God. The art of letter writing has not been lost, I'm happy to say, even with all the "Twittering" and thumbs flying over minuscule keypads, texting in language that resembles nothing in the Queen's English.

I had posted a thanks for the Moderators on "Literary Exploration." However, I believe I may have neglected to do the same for our folks here on "Pulp Fiction."

So, as we come to the year's end, Shamus tips his Fedora to you and KL. I'm afraid you two have your hands full with this growing rabble who are a threat to sap you, pull a gat on 'ya, slip you a mickey fin, or dump you in the desert. *ahem* Pulp is quite educational. And there are those among us who have special knowledge based on personal experience. You have to watch out for the quiet ones. It's the loudmouths you never have to worry about. It's the talkers that get caught. *koff*

Thanks, Mike. I've got my trusty cattle prod ready for any ne'er do wells who try to give me the bidness.

Jim wrote: "Wasn't this Chandler's first book, too?"

Although The Big Sleep is Chandler's first novel, he had cut his chops on a large number of stories in the pulps Black Mask and Dime Detective. His detectives in those were named "Mallory," "Canaday," and other names. He switched to "Marlowe" with the publication of The Big Sleep. Some of the stories were later anthologized in the collection Trouble is my Business with Chandler changing the names of the detectives to Marlowe. Marlowe Takes on the Syndicate was published posthumously in the London Daily Mail, April 6-10, 1959, and published in the United States as The Winged Pigeon in Man Huntin 1960. The story also appeared as The Pencil, Argosy, September 1965; and Philip Marlowe's Last Case, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January 1962).

Chandler's short stories are collected, along with all seven of his novels in two volumes published by The Library of America. Any admirer of Chandler and his creation, Marlowe, needs to have those on a shelf. Raymond Chandler : Stories and Early Novels : Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Windowand Raymond Chandler : Later Novels and Other Writings : The Lady in the Lake / The Little Sister / The Long Goodbye / Playback /Double Indemnity / Selected Essays and Letters.

Philip Marlowe - he's going to be a tough one to top! I don't know who came before Marlowe but he must have influenced every detective that came after. I read the Vintage Crime paperback of The Long Goodbye - but also picked up the Library of America Mike mentions - sounds like a good one to have!

Flash Beagle wrote: "Philip Marlowe - he's going to be a tough one to top! I don't know who came before Marlowe but he must have influenced every detective that came after. I read the Vintage Crime paperback of [book..."

The Continental OP written by Hammett came before and was the model for Chandler/Marlowe and many others.

Marlowe/Spade is the model for the more heroic,golden heart PI. While The OP was less moral, more bleak in his world view.

Thanks for the tip! I hadn't heard of Continental OP, but added Red Harvest to my to-reads.

Flash Beagle wrote: "Thanks for the tip! I hadn't heard of Continental OP, but added Red Harvest to my to-reads."

Red Harvest is more famous among the non-Hammett readers than The OP. Many people know how important Red Harvest is seen as but not as many know the name of the hero.

After watching Nathan Fillion in a recent Castle episode with a lot to do with a 40's crime I wonder how he'd do as Phillip Marlowe in a big screen adaptation.

I like Fillion, but he doesn't strike me as the type. Could be me - I'll just always see him as Mal from Firefly. He was great in that. I remember the first time I saw the end of "The Great Train Robbery" episode & he was trying to return the money. (view spoiler)[Mal had taken the job of ripping off a shipment for a mobster. When he found he couldn't, he tried to return the money to one of the mobster's lackeys. No threats, just here's the money & sorry this job didn't work out. The guy told Mal he was a dead man. Without any hesitation, Mal kicks him into the spaceship engine, instantly killing him & Mal turns to the next guy & says the exact same thing to him. (hide spoiler)] That sealed both him & Firefly as 'must watch' for me.
;-)

I loved that episode of castle! I thought he did a pretty good job. But, castle is a little on the light side. I don't know about him pulling that off in a darker atmosphere. But, still i really like that show and that was my all time favorite episode.

This article is 4 years old, but I'm surprised it hasn't been posted yet. Does a pretty interesting job at not just putting Philip Marlowe into the perspective of the genre's history but also in a greater political/sociological context. http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/...

I named my late bassett hound Marlowe. Even though I liked Bogart as Marlowe, I thought Mitchum was the closes to Chandler's Marlowe. It would have been better though if Mitchum played him in his Out of The Past days and not in his late 50s

When I think detective, I think Phillip Marlowe. Is it weird that our son's first name is Marlowe? Most people don't get the connection but I'd be lying if I said my favorite detective didn't have something to do with suggesting the name to my wife.

At one point I saw an internet rumor that Clive Owen was attached to play Marlowe in a TV series. I thought that was pretty good casting.

I only read The Big Sleep, what would be my Marlowe to follow it with?

As far as movies go, I think Dick Powell was a great Marlowe in "Murder My Sweet" and Elliot Gould was a good one in The Long Goodbye, though it isn't very noirish at all.

Sadly, the movie adaption of The Big Sleep didn't do it for me, though it was good enough. Turns out, I really just don't like Bogart's way of acting and so far I have seen a couple of his movies in wich he was very mediocre, and some were ok-ish. Plotwise, a big chunk of the (view spoiler)[ Carmen plot that makes the book more edgy, sexy and psychological is missing (hide spoiler)]. So, the movie smoothes out those edges too much by removing that. The omission makes it more confusing too at that.

p.s.: I also have an edition of Killer in the Rain (I think it's 60's paperback) But I figured that would be one to read later on?

I just read 'The Big Sleep' this month for the first time...enjoyed it. Have Perchance to Dream to read as well.