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Information
- Year
- 1946
- Runtime
- 105 min.
- Director
- Robert Montgomery
- Genres
- Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Film-Noir
- Rating *
- 6.6
- Votes *
- 3,252
- Checks
- 950
- Favs
- 20
- Dislikes
- 22
- Favs/checks
- 2.1% (1:48)
- Favs/dislikes
- 1:1
Top comments
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Siskoid
Lady in the Lake is a Philip Marlowe mystery with an unusual technical conceit - it's almost entirely presented from the protagonist's perspective, as if he were the camera. It's interesting enough, effective at creating uncertainty about other characters' motives and certainly a good showcase for Audrey Totter who plays opposite; and it has thematic underpinnings besides (the detective as author), but they're not as strong as I want them to be when trying to justify such an extreme choice. Because the conceit, as clever as it sometimes is, does cause problems. The most tangible one is that because we seldom see Marlowe's face (a mirror here and there), and star/director Robert Montgomery's delivery is so deadpan (he has mastered the noir patter of Raymond Chandler's world), you can't really get a handle on his character, and so his romance with Totter lacks feeling. We need to see his expressions to believe in his emotional states, and we don't, so we don't. Sadly, what makes Lady in the Lake worth the watch is also the thing that ultimately makes it less than satisfying. 5 years 7 months ago -
AndrewB
5 years 9 months agoquote:Why be a private detective at all?
Why eat, you only get hungry again! -
sean.rohead
I can certainly understand why filming movies this way never really caught on 1 month 3 weeks ago
Friends
Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!In 2 official lists
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This movie ranks #38 in TSPDT's 100 Essential Noir Films
TSPDT's 100 Essential No…
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This movie ranks #38 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
38