kc1328 Review of Lady in the Lake

Lady in the Lake (1946)

A great film noir, worth watching just for the first person POV experiment

[7/10 · 11 January 2014]

This Movie should fit anyone's film noir definition: crooked cops, dames you cant trust, dark all interior or night scenes, protagonist as hardboiled as the bad guys, a twisted whodunit you almost forget about, who cares who did it although it still surprises in the end. The plot happens right over Christmas which often creeps into the story but Christmas is just a nuisance / inconvenience in this film noir. The first-person POV does have its hokey, awkward moments but other scenes such as the car accident and the very end make up for it. There are many films including modern films like being John Malkovich that might have first-person scenes, this is one of very few entirely shot this way, worth watching for this alone. But this film is more than a novelty, it stands on its own, the movie is two hours long, it almost feels like two movies, it reaches a certain point right at the one hour mark that feels like its going to wrap up but then goes sideways, the plot certainly did work, the time flies, you don't notice the length, always a good sign. Robert Montgomery was a believable Marlowe and the snappy wise cracking dialogue between Marlowe and Audrey Totter (Adrienne Fromsett) added up to a fun chemistry although I was having a hard time buying the usual transition to love interest. The first person technique helped Montgomery, he pulled of the dialogue but is not the greatest actor, hearing but not seeing him worked to Montgomery's advantage. Totter for the most part worked, perhaps a little melodramatic at times but undoubtedly her staring directly at the camera accentuated perhaps even created this feeling. The supporting actors were outstanding: Audrey Meadows had only two scenes, the first was captivating because we cant see her face, the second she stole to create an electric end. Lloyd Nolan as the corrupt cop totally carried his part in the plot, he was friendly enough at first but hit the just right notes as a corrupt cop. His turn at the car accident and then at the end combined with the first person technique created the two most unforgettable scenes in the movie. Even Lila Leeds had a small barely more than a walk-on role but she caught your attention, it looked like one of those "get you noticed" roles that leads to bigger and better things but alas it appears not, she went on to a series of uncredited and grind house movies.