An Alta Journal fan from Denver shared her enthusiastic agreement and some suggestions of her own in response to David L. Ulin’s review of a Robert Altman classic. Got something to say? We’d love to hear from you. Email letters@altaonline.com. Please include your name, city, state, and phone number so we can contact you. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.
CAN’T PICK JUST ONE
While I don’t have a “favorite” (how could one fail to love Edward G. Robinson, henpecked closet artist exploited by his new love, Joan Bennett, and her lover, Dan Duryea, in Scarlet Street?), I highly recommend the contrast between two versions of The Big Sleep: the Howard Hawks 1946 version with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall versus the 1978 remake with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.
In the Bogart version, Marlowe instinctively knows which way to jump, sensing without being able to explain what’s under all the surface fuss. Mitchum’s Marlowe is figuring it out—you can see his mental cogs turning as he applies logic to the puzzle.
I like both films because they highlight how an actor taking a role can change the flavor of the story.
Then there’s Dark Passage, a Bogart and Bacall movie that is either layered far deeper than it appears (is the whole thing a dream?) or a truly terrible movie heavy with coincidences and scenery chewing.
The Long Goodbye is a superb noir, sun included!
NC Weil
Denver, Colorado•
