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Philip Marlowe |
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Philip Marlowe is a fictional private detective created by Raymond
Chandler in a series of novels
including The Big Sleep and The
Long Goodbye. Philip Marlowe's
character is foremost within the genre of hardboiled crime fiction that originated
in the 1920s, most notably in Black Mask magazine, in which Dashiell
Hammett's Sam Spade first appeared.
The private eye is a pessimistic and cynical observer of a corrupt society,
yet the enduring appeal of Marlowe and other hardboiled detectives lies in
their tarnished idealism. Underneath the
wisecracking, hard drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly
contemplative and philosophical. He 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 bamboozled by the genre's usual femme
fatales. Dick Powell reprised his film role as Marlowe in a radio adaptation of Murder, My Sweet for Lux Radio Theatre in 1945. It was a toned-down but nevertheless successful
version of the Chandler novel. This makes Powell the first radio Marlowe. He
repeated his role in 1948, this time in a 30 minute version for Hollywood
Star Time. The same year also saw
Lux Radio Theatre feature Robert Montgomery as Marlowe in a radio dramatization of his The Lady in the Lake film. This most famous of PIs was
also the subject of three successful radio series: Philip Marlowe commenced in September of 1947 with Hollywood actor
Van Heflin in the title role -
it lasted for 13 episodes (of which 3 have survived) before Heflin had to
leave due to film commitments. The Adventures of Philip
Marlowe premiered as a weekly
series on September 26, 1948. It was well-produced, less introspective than
the books but it had a secret weapon. Gerald Mohr excelled as Marlowe, and his snappy delivery,
coupled with well-written stories and intriguing characters makes for
entertaining listening. By 1949 the show was pulling the biggest audience on
American radio, with a rating of 10.3 million listeners. In 1950, Radio and
Television Life Magazine named Gerald Mohr as the Best Male Actor on radio. Of the 119 episodes
produced, 99 have survived, one of which was repeated ("The Cloak of
Kamehameha"). Bill Conrad
replaced an unavailable Mohr in "The Anniversary". The powerful opening three
sentences: "Get this and get it straight! Crime is a
sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison or
the grave. There's no other way, but they never learn." which became the series
signature began with Episode No. 30 "The Ebony Link" In 1977, Phillip Marlowe again returned to the airwaves, this time on the
other side of the Atlantic Ocean, an offering to Chandler fans by the BBC.
Unlike the US Marlowe, the BBC productions were adaptation of the Chandler
novels. A total of six novels
were adapted by Bill Morrison
and produced by John Tydeman. At the time of production, the rights
to "Farewell, My Lovely"
were not available due to the 1975 film version, starring Robert Mitchum. Only
the other five were produced, in
the order the original books were published. Ten years later, "Farewell, My Lovely" became
available and was produced, again with John Tydeman as producer and adapted by Bill
Morrison. Marlowe, for all six
shows, was played by Ed Bishop
in this rather excellent series. In 2000 Professor Jeffrey
Richards fronted an excellent 30
minute BBC documentary about Phillip Marlowe on Radio titled "Down the
Mean Streets with Philip Marlowe". This very informative program sets
the scene for the various radio interpretations of Chandler's famous gumshoe.
Want
to check out Jeffery Richards's 30 minute BBC Radio documentary on Phillip
Marlowe? It
can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click on any
link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to that
effect). The file is about 24Mb - download time will depend on your
(broadband) speed Down
The Mean Streets With Philip Marlowe.mp3 These four MP3 CDs
contain: A. Professor Geoffrey Richards BBC Documentary - 30 minutes Down
The Mean Streets With Philip Marlowe.mp3 B. The Adventures
of Philip Marlowe (Gerald Mohr) A
total of 99 thirty minute episodes starring Gerald Mohr - this is the entire set of the Gerald Mohr run
which survives today (Bill Conrad replaced Mohr in The Anniversary) 1.
APM_1948-09-26 Red
Wind.mp3 2.
APM_1948-10-03 The
Persian Slippers.mp3 3.
APM_1948-10-10 The
Panama Hat.mp3 4.
APM_1948-10-17 Where
There's a Will.mp3 5.
APM_1948-10-24 The
Heart of Gold.mp3 6.
APM_1948-11-28 The
Hard Way Out.mp3 7.
APM_1948-12-26 The Old
Acquaintance.mp3 8.
APM_1949-01-08 The
Restless Day.mp3 9.
APM_1949-01-15 The
Black Halo.mp3 10.
APM_1949-01-22 The
Orange Dog.mp3 11.
APM_1949-01-29 The
Easy Mark.mp3 12.
APM_1949-02-05 The
Long Rope.mp3 13.
APM_1949-02-12 The
Lonesome Reunion.mp3 14.
APM_1949-03-05 The
Friend from Detroit.mp3 15.
APM_1949-03-12 The
Grim Hunters.mp3 16.
APM_1949-03-19 The
Dancing Hands.mp3 17.
APM_1949-03-26 The
Green Flame.mp3 18.
APM_1949-04-02 The
Last Laugh.mp3 19.
APM_1949-04-09 The
Name to Remember.mp3 20.
APM_1949-04-16 The
Heat Wave.mp3 21.
APM_1949-04-23 The
Cloak of Kamehameha.mp3 22.
APM_1949-04-30 The
Lady in Mink.mp3 23.
APM_1949-05-07 The
Feminine Touch.mp3 24.
APM_1949-05-14 The
Promise to Pay.mp3 25.
APM_1949-05-21 Night Tide.mp3 26.
APM_1949-05-28 The
Ebony Link.mp3 27.
APM_1949-06-04 The
Unfair Lady.mp3 28.
APM_1949-06-11 The
Pigeon's Blood.mp3 29.
APM_1949-06-18 The
Busy Body.mp3 30.
APM_1949-06-25 The Key
Man.mp3 31.
APM_1949-07-02 The
Dude from Manhattan.mp3 32.
APM_1949-07-16 The
Headless Peacock.mp3 33.
APM_1949-07-30 Mexican
Boat Ride.mp3 34.
APM_1949-08-06 The
August Lion.mp3 35.
APM_1949-08-13 The
Indian Giver.mp3 36.
APM_1949-08-20 The
Lady Killer.mp3 37.
APM_1949-08-27 The
Eager Witness.mp3 38.
APM_1949-09-03 The
Bum's Rush.mp3 39.
APM_1949-09-10 The
Rustin Hickory.mp3 40.
APM_1949-09-17 The
Baton Sinister.mp3 41.
APM_1949-09-24 The
Fatted Calf.mp3 42.
APM_1949-10-01 The
Tail of the Mermaid.mp3 43.
APM_1949-10-08 The
Open Window.mp3 44.
APM_1949-10-15 The
Stranglehold.mp3 45.
APM_1949-10-22 The
Smokeout.mp3 46.
APM_1949-10-29 The
Green Witch.mp3 47.
APM_1949-11-05 The
Fine Italian Hand.mp3 48.
APM_1949-11-26 The
Birds on the Wing.mp3 49.
APM_1949-12-03 The Kid
on the Corner.mp3 50.
APM_1949-12-10 The
Little Wishbone.mp3 51.
APM_1949-12-31 The
House that Jacqueline Built.mp3 52.
APM_1950-01-07 The
Torch Carriers.mp3 53.
APM_1950-01-14 The
Covered Bridge.mp3 54.
APM_1950-01-21 The Bid
for Freedom.mp3 55.
APM_1950-01-28 The
Hairpin Turn.mp3 56.
APM_1950-02-07 The
Long Arm.mp3 57.
APM_1950-02-14 The
Grim Echo.mp3 58.
APM_1950-02-21 The
Ladies Night.mp3 59.
APM_1950-02-28 The Big
Step.mp3 60.
APM_1950-03-07 The
Monkey's Uncle.mp3 61.
APM_1950-03-14 The
Vital Statistic.mp3 62.
APM_1950-03-21 The
Deep Shadow.mp3 63.
APM_1950-03-28 The
Sword of Cebu.mp3 64.
APM_1950-04-04 The Man
on the Roof.mp3 65.
APM_1950-04-11 The
Anniversary Gift.mp3 66.
APM_1950-04-18 The
Angry Eagle.mp3 67.
APM_1950-04-25 The
High Collared Cape.mp3 68.
APM_1950-05-02 The
Seahorse Jockey.mp3 69.
APM_1950-05-09 The
Hiding Place.mp3 70.
APM_1950-05-16 The
Cloak of Kamehameha.mp3 71.
APM_1950-05-23 The
Fox's Tail.mp3 72.
APM_1950-05-30 The
Bedside Manners.mp3 73.
APM_1950-06-06 The
Uneasy Head.mp3 74.
APM_1950-06-14 The
Face to Forget.mp3 75.
APM_1950-06-21 The
Gold Cobra.mp3 76.
APM_1950-06-28 The
Pelican's Roost.mp3 77.
APM_1950-07-05 The
Girl from Pitchfork Corners.mp3 78.
APM_1950-07-12 The
Iron Coffin.mp3 79.
APM_1950-07-19 The
Last Wish.mp3 80.
APM_1950-07-28 The Glass
Donkey.mp3 81.
APM_1950-08-04 The
Parrot's Bed.mp3 82.
APM_1950-08-11 The
Quiet Magpie.mp3 83.
APM_1950-08-18 The
Dark Tunnel.mp3 84.
APM_1950-08-25 The
Collector's Item.mp3 85.
APM_1950-09-01 The
Soft Spot.mp3 86.
APM_1950-09-08 The
Fifth Mask.mp3 87.
APM_1950-09-15 The
Final Payment.mp3 88.
APM_1950-09-22 The
White Carnation.mp3 89.
APM_1950-09-29 The Big
Book.mp3 90.
APM_1951-07-07 A
Seaside Sabbatical.mp3 91.
APM_1951-07-14 The
Dear, Dead Days.mp3 92.
APM_1951-07-21 Life
Can Be Murder.mp3 93.
APM_1951-07-28 The
Good Neighbor Policy.mp3 94.
APM_1951-08-04 The
Long Way Home.mp3 95.
APM_1951-08-18 The
Young Man's Fancy.mp3 96.
APM_1951-08-25 Heir
for G String.mp3 97.
APM_1951-09-01 Nether
Nether Land.mp3 98.
APM_1951-09-08 The
Medium was Rare.mp3 99.
APM_1951-09-15 The
Sound and the Unsound.mp3 C. Philip Marlowe (Van
Heflin) A
total of 3 thirty minute episodes starring Van Heflin - the only surviving episodes of this series: 1.
APM_1947-06-17 The Red
Wind.mp3 2.
APM_1947-07-08 King In
Yellow.mp3 3.
APM_1947-08-05 Trouble
Is My Business.mp3 D. Lux
Radio Theatre Fifty
minute movie dramatizations starring Dick Powell & Robert Montgomery, respectively recreating their film roles as
Marlowe: 1.
LT_1945-06-11 Murder
My Sweet.mp3 2.
LT_1948-02-09 The Lady
in the Lake.mp3 E. Hollywood Star
Time A
thirty minute movie dramatization starring Dick Powell recreating his film role as Marlowe: 1.
HST_1946-06-08 01
Murder, My Sweet.mp3 F. BBC
(Ed Bishop) Six 90 minute dramatizations of the
Marlowe novels starring Ed Bishop: 1.
BBCPM_1977-09-26 The
Big Sleep.mp3 2.
BBCPM_1977-10-17 The
High Window.mp3 3.
BBCPM_1977-11-07 The
Lady in the Lake.mp3 4.
BBCPM_1977-12-05 The
Little Sister.mp3 5.
BBCPM_1978-01-16 The
Long Goodbye.mp3 6.
BBCPM_1988-09-23
Farewell My Lovely.mp3 |