United States

Nothing says goodbye like a bullet... ask PHILIP MARLOWE
Elliott Gould brilliantly follows, among others, Humphrey Bogart and James Garner to play the screen's most famous private detective Philip Marlowe and gives one of his best performances in this very enjoyable thriller which The New York Times called 'A tough, funny, hugely entertaining movie... an original work, complex without being obscure". The witty and sophisticated screenplay by Leigh Brackett, based on the classic novel by Raymond Chandler, involves Gould in a gripping case of murder, blackmail and double-crosses, climaxing in a tense and highly unexpected surprise ending. Gould's fine Marlowe is the focal point of the mystery and action, but strong support comes from Nina van Pallandt (in her screen debut), Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell and Henry Gibson and, noted The Hollywood Reporter, "There isn't a mediocre performance in the movie". The ingenious and sustained direction is by Robert Altman who displays great flair and ingenuity in combing the suspense and the comedy in an unmissable movie described by the Sunday People as "A fine whodunit" and by The Guardian as "Bold and often beautifully made... a marvellously off-beat and eccentric thriller".