(soft music)
- This past spring was the first that I felt tired,
and realized I was growing old.
Maybe it was the rotten weather we'd had in L. A.
Maybe it was the rotten cases I'd had, mostly chasing
a few missing husbands and then chasing their wives
once I'd found them, in order to get paid.
Or maybe it was just the plain fact
that I am tired and growing old.
The only real pleasure I'd had at all
was following Joe DiMaggio, pelting the apple
at an incredible clip for the New York Yankees.
Well, it's the middle of July now
and things are worse than they were in the spring.
In the spring, I wasn't holed up
in a dingy hotel ducking the police.
Hello, let me have Richmond 4421, please.
Lieutenant Nulty, please.
Nulty!
I'm at the Casa Marina, room 502.
Is Moose there?
Come alone.
I asked if Moose was there.
And I said come alone.
- Two more murders, that's a total of seven.
I want Marlowe brought in, do you know where he is?
Casa Marina.
He asked me to come alone.
That's not a good idea.
Now you understand why we want him brought in, don't you?
Yes, Commissioner.
Good.
Wait here.
How long should we wait?
Until you make Lieutenant.
(sirens wailing)
(knocking)
Yeah?
[Nulty] It's Snow White.
With or without the dwarfs?
[Nulty] Without.
Come on in.
Malloy with you?
Relax, will you?
You know there's nowhere he could hide,
under the bed or the closet.
- I gotta bring you in, this case has busted wide open
and you're the patsy.
I wanna tell you all about it...
It won't change anything.
Are you gonna listen or aren't you?
Sit down, will you?
Sit down!
I was working on a $25-a-day breeze,
trying to locate a 15-year-old runaway from Carmel.
An honors student, majoring in men.
She had all A's, but none of them on a report card.
She had only one other interest, dancing.
♪ It seems to me I've heard that song before ♪
♪ It's from an old familiar score ♪
♪ I know it well ♪
♪ It's funny how a theme ♪
♪ recalls a favorite dream ♪
You know, you remind me of Harry.
You're very much like Harry.
He was very much the same type, you know, strong and silent.
I used to dance with Harry like this.
You know, I may not be the most beautiful girl in the world
but you know, I could make a man as happy as anyone.
Really upset when it ended, but I got over it.
What did you say your name was?
Harry.
My parents sent you, didn't they?
I'm not going.
- Look, would you like to dance your way out,
you wanna walk out, or would you like to be carried out?
Makes no difference to me.
- Do you realize we had to give up a marvelous dinner party
and drive all the way down here from Carmel to pick you up?
- Look, can't you settle that on the way home?
Right now there's the small matter
of $25 plus $5 in expense money.
Pay the man, Charles.
And give him a tip.
I don't accept tips for finding kids.
Pets, yes.
$5 for dogs and cats, $10 for elephants.
Thank you.
Get in the car.
(grunting)
- Next time she runs away, get somebody else.
I was tryin' to stabilize below the belt when this guy
the size of the Statue of Liberty walks up to me.
What are you, a cop?
No, I'm your fairy godmother.
I started to walk away...
Private dick, huh?
When a hand I could have sat in
took hold of my shoulder.
What's your name?
Marlowe, what's yours?
- Moose Malloy. - Get down!
(guns firing)
He didn't bat an eye.
Fear wasn't built into his giant frame.
I want you to work for me.
- Hey let me guess, you want me to try to find
the two guys who were tryin' to shoot you?
I want you to find my Velma.
I ain't seen her in seven years.
She ain't wrote in six.
- Where the hell have you been for seven years?
In the can.
The Great Bend bank robbery?
Eighty grand?
I did it solo.
Ain't that somethin'?
Yeah.
I want you to find my Velma.
- Look man, six years, that's a long time not to hear.
She'll have a reason.
I'm sure she will.
Why the hell were they shootin' at you?
Maybe we ought to go to Florian's.
That's the last place my Velma worked.
What was she like, this, um...
Velma?
Cute.
Cute as lace pants.
That's somethin' to go on.
He walked me slowly across half
of L. A. until we got downtown.
Hello, Momma, how you doin'?
You the last of the good time Charlies.
(crowd talking indistinctly)
This is a colored neighborhood now,
it's been that way for a long time.
- Let's you and me go up and maybe nibble a couple.
They might know something about my Velma.
How the hell would they know anything?
It's a colored joint.
Let's you and me go on up, huh?
OK, but leave off carryin' me, will ya?
I can walk by myself, I'm all grown up now.
I go to the bathroom by myself and everything.
[Man] Uh-oh, look who's here.
A shine palace.
- 52 years old and ain't never had enough of nothin',
but used to.
What did I do this time?
- I'm looking for a white girl named Velma.
Hey, Henry.
No white boys here, brother.
Just for the colored.
I'm looking for Velma.
Velma, you says?
No Velma here.
No hooch, no girls, no nothing.
Just scram, white boy.
Just scram.
Velma used to work here.
Velma done retired.
(laughing)
[Man] Send him home, Henry.
You shouldn't laugh.
Maybe I should do this.
(woman screaming)
(glass breaking)
(Excited chatter)
- Well, looks like you just may have the lonely job
of spending that eighty grand all by yourself.
- Now, you goin' to tell me where your boss is?
Mr. Montgomery is in the back.
Big fella.
- Can I speak to you a minute, Mr. Montgomery?
What do ya got down there?
Got me a sawn-off.
That's illegal.
Besides, I don't think it'd stop him anyway.
(gun firing)
- All I wanted to know was where my Velma is.
He tried to tell me with this.
Jesus!
You've had a busy day.
It's a good thing you don't get out of the slammer
more than once every seven years.
I want you to find my Velma.
Yeah, okay, fine.
I will.
Meanwhile, uh, maybe you'd better beat it, huh, because
the cops might think that you've sprained your parole.
Maybe you got somethin' there.
I'll keep in touch.
I'm in the telephone book.
OK.
Help me find my Velma, huh?
Yeah.
Hey, ah, Malloy?
This Velma, she got a last name?
Valento. Velma Valento.
Velma Valento.
The fifty bucks felt snug against my ribs.
The joint had emptied out, so I called you, Nulty,
and had a few drinks.
Mr Montgomery didn't seem to mind.
Right here, fellas.
Big, black and dead.
35 minutes, that's not bad for a killing.
Lucky it wasn't somethin' serious.
Don't worry about it, Marlowe.
It's just another shine killing.
No space in the papers, no pictures, no nothin'.
- You're gonna get your picture in the papers,
front, sideways, back, numbers, don't you worry about it.
No sweat.
It was self-defense, Nulty.
- You told me on the phone the guy that killed him
is your client?
Yeah, that's right.
Do me a favor, Marlowe.
When he gets in touch, tell him to come over
to the station and sign a deposition.
Oh, he can write, can't he?
Oh, yeah.
He might be a little shy.
For that kind of a killing, who cares?
You explain it to him, you're a big boy now.
We gotta go through the motions, otherwise
I get in trouble with Eleanor Roosevelt.
(laughing) Eleanor Roosevelt.
- I couldn't find any Florian in the phone book
but when I got outside, I had this vague hunch
about the fleabag across the street.
I sparred with the night clerk for a couple of minutes,
'but it was like tryin' to open a sardine can
after you broke off the metal lip.
There was something about Abraham Lincoln's picture
that loosened him up.
I'm looking for anybody that knows anything about
that place across the street, Florian's?
When it was a white joint?
- There's a man, played in the band, upstairs in room 210.
Is there an elevator around here?
If it is, I ain't seen it.
Thanks.
The corridor gave me the willies.
It was the kind of place I've always
dreaded I'd wind up in, alone and broke.
(knocking)
Who is it?
My name is Philip Marlowe.
I'm a private investigator.
I'm not with the City, the State, the County or the Feds.
I'm not with any collection agency.
I'm looking for a Florian.
You used to work for him, didn't you?
Come in.
Thank you.
Please, sit down.
Thanks.
The clerk downstairs tells me you
used to have a band across the street.
Yeah, Tommy Ray and the Sunrays.
I had a couple of records.
You ever hear 'em?
What'd you play?
Trumpet.
- This, um, Florian, did he have a first name?
[Tommy] Mike.
You know where I can find him?
He's dead.
Was he married?
Could be.
Know where she lives?
What's in it for you?
[Marlowe] A job.
[Tommy] Who for?
- A fellow's tryin' to find a girl named Velma Valento.
Remember her?
She worked across the street too.
I didn't know they had names.
- This, um, Mrs. Florian have a first name?
Jessie.
- You, ah, don't know where I could find her, huh?
Couple of bucks in it.
Well, if it comes back to you,
get in touch, eh?
You never know.
So long.
Mister, mister!
Hey mister, my daddy wants you.
What for?
Are you a policeman?
No, are you a policeman?
No, I'm a baseball player.
A baseball player.
Come 'ere.
Tommy Ray told me she was listed under
her maiden name, Jessie Halstead.
Turned out she was living in a dried-out brown house
with a dried-out brown lawn in front of it.
He told me a pint of bourbon
could turn out to be my best friend.
(dog barking)
I wondered if I should add it to the expenses.
(Dance-hall music)
(knocking)
Hello, anybody home?
Mrs. Florian?
Jessie Florian?
Tommy Ray says you are.
That a fact?
You got a name?
Oh.
Marlowe.
I'm a private detective.
Can't be about Mike, he was poured
in a coffin four years ago.
I feel like a fly out here.
Come on in.
- I didn't have time to get fixed up or nothin'.
All the company I got.
- At least it doesn't give you an argument.
Yeah.
Well, Philip Marlowe, private investigator.
Come in.
Tommy Ray still living across the street from the place
with that nigger he married and that kid?
Yeah, same place.
- Just about ruined him in show business, marryin' a nigger.
He come to Mike's funeral.
What'd you want to see me about?
I'm looking for a girl.
Velma. Velma Valento.
A hot day, huh?
Funny, when I'm thirsty that's about all I can think about.
It just so happens I, ah...
Ooh!
Careful mister.
Don't want to be dropping anything this valuable.
- Why don't you step out and get us a couple of glasses?
Why don't you take a load off your feet.
Thanks.
Velma.
You know, I was in show business too.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
Did a song and dance act.
That's how I met Mike.
I used to work for him.
He had a nice place for entertainment.
I sure miss the business.
Anyway, Jessie Harry.
That was my, ah...
That was my name.
I was good.
Had an agent and everything.
Did you ever catch my act?
No, I don't believe I ever did.
(humming)
♪ I'm blue all day Monday ♪
♪ Thinkin' of you Sunday ♪
(humming)
♪ That's one day when I'm with you ♪
♪ It seems like I cried all day Tuesday ♪
♪ I died all day Wednesday ♪
♪ Oh, my, how I long for you ♪
(sniffling)
♪ And then comes Thursday ♪
I was good, honest I was.
I'm sure you were.
Better than Velma.
Maybe not as pretty, but I had a lot of pep.
You know, it's funny,
she was the only tramp that ever worked for Mike
that he didn't use like a mattress.
Oh? How come?
I guess he was afraid.
She had this boyfriend, a half-crazy hooligan.
Built like a beer truck.
Moose Malloy.
He's in the can.
Hmm, I get it.
He's out of the can and he's lookin' for her, huh?
- You, ah, wouldn't have any idea where Velma is, would you?
Mmm-mm.
But I can find out.
If I like a guy, ceiling's the limit.
How about another drink?
Sure.
This stuff dies painless with me.
Don't know what hit it.
You wouldn't happen to have a
picture of her around, would you?
Mmm-mm.
But Tommy Ray must have one.
- Tommy told me he didn't even know her name.
Why would he say something like that?
I don't know.
What was the name of that hotel again?
Crescent.
(dialing phone)
Tommy Ray, please.
Tommy! Jessie Florian.
Oh it's OK, it's OK, he's here.
It took Mrs. Florian nearly ten minutes
to convince Tommy Ray that I was kosher.
Then I went back to Ray's hotel to get a picture of Velma
that he'd held out on me.
Andrew, got that picture?
I figured there must have been about a couple of
hundred thousand girls who were as cute as lace pants
who'd passed through Hollywood in the last seven years,
and most of them had taken those pants off
at one time or another while tryin' to make the grade.
So I went to a friend of mine who ran a burlesque joint.
He gave me the name of an agent who knew most of them.
Cute little redhead.
Song and dance gal.
I never forget a face.
Nice legs, too, and generous with 'em.
But it's not a Velma.
It's a...
Linda, Linda Gilbert.
What happened to her?
Did a couple of Busby Berkeley pictures,
then she went nuts.
But I really mean nuts.
Where is she?
Camarillo.
May I?
Changing her name from Velma Valento
to Linda Gilbert didn't help her make it,
or keep her out of an insane asylum.
As soon as I saw her, I knew why she hadn't
gotten in touch with Moose for six years.
She wasn't going to get in touch with anybody
for the rest of her life.
'I'd found Velma in only two days.
DiMaggio was doing pretty good too.
He'd now hit in 33 straight games.
Nine away from the consecutive game hitting record.
Hi, Mr. Marlowe.
- You can kiss your five bucks goodbye, Georgie.
Di Maggio's going all the way.
- We'll see, he's got nine more games to go.
Each game gets tougher than the last..
I know what pressure is, Mr. Marlowe.
One time I won 19 straight.
So you better watch how you spend that five bucks.
What do you think of this guy Hitler?
What about him?
He invaded Russia.
So did Napoleon.
It's a hell of a lot easier than
hitting a 42 straight, right?
- Read all about it. Hitler invades Russia.
- I was thinking that I was out of work again,
and my bank account was still trying to
crawl under a duck when I smelled my next client.
- You're Philip Marlowe, private detective?
Check.
He smelled great.
Come on in.
- You've been recommended to me as someone who can
be trusted to say, ah, keep his mouth shut.
I'd like to discuss a matter with you.
My name's Lindsay Marriott.
Sit down.
Well, what's the problem?
It's a very slight matter.
I'm to meet a couple of men tonight
and pay them some money.
I thought I'd like to have someone with me.
Do you carry a gun?
Sometimes, yeah.
You won't need it.
I'd probably be better off going alone
but I'm not much of a hero.
And I'll be carrying a large amount of money.
Yours?
No, I'm acting for a friend.
- You just want me to go along and hold your hand?
I'm afraid I don't like your manner.
I get a lot of complaints about that.
Who recommended me to you?
I have to confess that I picked
your name out of the phone book.
- Well, why didn't you take the Triple A Detective Agency,
or any one of the couple of dozen
that come before my name?
I liked your name best.
Really, I did, it's strong.
(sighing) OK, go ahead.
Have you heard of Fei Tsui jade?
No.
It's the only really valuable kind.
A few nights ago, a friend of mine
was wearing a necklace made of it,
and she was held up.
What's it worth?
Well over a hundred thousand.
What's the plan?
Simply to go where I'm told, hand over
the package of money and receive the necklace back.
How much money?
- $15,000, that's why I decided to have you with me.
And I'm willing to pay you a hundred dollars to do it.
Now, wait a minute.
You want to go off and park in some dark petting place.
There's only one problem.
By now this thing's been very well planned.
There's not much likelihood of them roughing you up,
as long as you play ball.
But I don't think they're gonna like the idea
of your turning out to be twins,
one of us might get hurt.
Not much I can do for you, Mr Marriott.
However, I will take your $100
and I'll tag along for the ride.
I'll carry the shopping money and I'll do the driving.
That means you'll come.
- What the hell, you're goofy about my name.
Speaking of names, this friend of yours, what's her name?
I'd prefer not to mention it.
- Meet me at Beach Road and Pacific Coast Highway at eight.
[Marlowe] Check.
At eight, then.
Alright.
Hey, I like your name too.
- Hmm, been judging a flower show in here, Marlowe?
Is that the winning daffodil who just walked out?
No, I'd a hunch you'd be around, Billy,
so I had the office sprayed.
- You told me Malloy would come see me when he called.
That's right.
Now just pretend you're a detective, Nulty,
and try to figure out what happened.
You're funny.
Look, can we talk alone?
He makes me nervous.
I have the feeling I should be
slippin' him a Finn or something.
- I don't have to take that shit from you, Marlowe.
- Wait outside. - No, wait a minute...
Wait outside, come on, wait outside!
And don't steal the doorknobs.
Look, I need Malloy.
I gotta bring him in, the heat's on from upstairs.
What happens if you don't find him?
They gonna take that classy new suit?
- Why the hell do you care so much about him?
- I don't know, ever since I saw that movie King Kong, I've
been a sucker for any gorilla who falls in love with a girl.
- Marlowe, if you know where he is, I'll nail you
for aiding and abetting.
Aiding and abetting what?
You've got a dead Negro, nobody gives a shit,
so what's changed?
Nothing's changed.
- You got any idea who tried to kill Malloy?
We're working on it.
Who's in charge, Billy Rolfe?
What the hell do you mean by that?
- Malloy's girlfriend is in the booby hatch, that's what.
My nose is twitching, that's what.
An ex-con kills a colored fella in self-defense
and you just wash your hands clean.
Now all of a sudden you've developed
an itch to get your hands on him.
What is it, what's up?
Come on, Nulty, level with me.
I don't expect that crooked son of a bitch to level,
but you!
Marlowe, we're police department
and you're a private dick.
Don't get it all mixed up.
We could take your license, just remember that.
I'll tie a string around my finger.
Oh jeez, Marlowe.
Call me when he gets in touch.
- I started to think of ways I could break the news
about Velma to Moose, but none of them were any good.
I forced myself to think of my new client, Marriott.
And I knew one thing.
As soon as anyone says you didn't need a gun,
you'd better take one along that worked.
I was having some Chinese food when
a dark shadow fell over my chop suey.
You found my Velma yet?
Yeah, I found her.
Where is she?
Moose, I'm sorry,
I really am, but...
She's dead?
She might as well be.
She's in Camarillo, and she ain't coming out.
You're lying.
I wish I was.
It's somebody else.
It's Velma.
I told you it was somebody else.
I want you to find my Velma.
You mean that's not her?
No more funny stuff, huh?
Hey Moose, wait a minute.
Is there something...
I couldn't figure out why had Tommy Ray had given me
a phoney picture and I wanted to find out right away.
He ain't been here all day.
It's just not like him.
Is my daddy gonna come back?
- [Marlowe] I was on my way to bail out some rich dame's
necklace. but I couldn't get that kid's face out of my mind.
I stopped twice along the way to find out
if Tommy Ray had returned.
He hadn't.
- Here's your fee and the $15,000 we discussed.
Right.
We're to make the exchange at the
barrier at the bottom of this canyon.
OK.
You hop in the back, get down out of sight.
They may be watching all the way, you know.
This car sticks out like spats at an Iowa picnic.
Well, there's the barrier.
Aren't they here?
Shh!
Get down, keep quiet.
Looks like a try-out to see if you'll obey orders.
[Marriott] That can't be.
- I'm going to go out and take a look around.
[Marriott] No, stay here!
Don't you want to get your $100's worth?
- [Marriott] They said to stay near the car.
I'm not going far.
(waves rolling in)
[Rolfe] Why'd he come to you?
- He told me he got my name out of the telephone book.
You expect us to believe that?
We found your card on his body.
They give 'em out with bubble gum.
You said you left your car at
Beach Road and Pacific Coast Highway.
- How come we found your car at Marriott's place?
Well even Rolfe could answer that.
Obviously somebody drove it there.
- [Rolfe] What happened to the $15,000 Marriott had on him?
I bought Defense Bonds.
- All right, Marlowe, let's start again, huh?
From the beginning.
Why don't I make it easy on all of us
and tell you just what you want to hear?
This fairy hired me to exchange a necklace
for cash for a friend of his.
We drove out to the woods, I shot him, buried the $15,000,
I drove my car back to his place, walked 15 miles
back to the woods, knocked myself in the head
and then called the police.
We could book your ass right now.
You know that, don't you?
- Why don't you go ahead and do it, because if you're
looking for a confession, I'm fresh out.
Well, what do you think happened?
Suppose Marriott wanted the money and
figured me for the fall guy.
Wouldn't he act just the way he did?
- [Rolfe] Yeah, and then he killed himself.
He had an accomplice.
The accomplice was supposed to knock us out maybe
and take off with the money.
Only the accomplice double-crossed him.
He killed Marriott, he didn't have to kill me
because he figured you'd do exactly as you have
and try to fit me into the frame.
It fits the facts.
It's a theory, anyway.
- Lieutenant, the Commissioner wants to see you.
Bring him in my office.
You're in over your head this time, Marlowe.
Maybe so.
If I am, what are you going to charge me to fix it?
- I don't think I can fix this for you, Marlowe.
Even if I wanted to.
You can go now.
We're gonna find out a few more things
about Marriott before we get back to you.
And forget about Malloy.
What do you mean?
He's lammed to Mexico.
Who says?
The Commissioner.
Well, now...
I told you to lay off the case!
That's a little more like it.
Right on the line and no more
of that lammed to Mexico bullshit.
How come, Nulty?
Why?
Get outta here, Marlowe.
And remember, I warned you.
- It didn't matter that you said you were going to
look into Marriott's murder, Nulty.
I still had a job to do.
Marriott had hired me to protect him, and I'd let him down.
As far as I was concerned, I was still working for him.
Most of the fences I knew looked like they wanted to
smell my breath when I mentioned Fei Tsui jade,
but one of them sent me to a joint in Chinatown.
(speaking Chinese)
Yes?
Fei Tsui jade.
You got?
No.
I no got, I want.
Everybody want.
Who got?
Only big collector got.
Who?
Grayle.
Baxter Wilson Grayle?
He got.
Thanks.
Judge Baxter Wilson Grayle was the most powerful
political figure in Los Angeles.
He had been for over a quarter of a century.
His butler kept telling me that the judge
was unavailable, until I said I was
the last person to see Lindsay Marriott alive.
The house itself wasn't much,
it was smaller than Buckingham Palace
and probably had fewer windows than the Chrysler Building.
Mr. Marlowe.
Come this way, please.
Thank you.
Hello, Mr. Marlowe.
Hello.
Her hair was the color of gold in old paintings.
She had a full set of curves which
nobody had been able to improve on.
She was giving me the kinda look
I could feel in my hip pocket.
- This is my husband Judge Grayle, Mr. Marlowe.
Please sit down, Mr. Marlowe.
Thank you.
- Would you mix Mr. Marlowe a drink, Nelson?
Yes, ma'am.
You're not what I expected.
Oh, in what way?
- The last person to see poor Lindsay alive,
I thought would be one of his friends.
If you know what I mean.
- Well, he just asked me to tag along on an errand.
He had to ransom a Fei Tsui jade necklace
that was stolen from a friend of his.
Thank you.
[Mrs. Grayle] That'll be all, Nelson.
I'm a private detective.
I understand you collect Fei Tsui jade, Mr. Grayle?
- I have one of the finest collections in the world,
but nothing's been stolen from me.
- [Marlowe] He told me it was stolen from a woman.
I wonder what he had in mind.
We only have one necklace.
Oh, priceless?
Mmm-hm.
You don't have to bother with this, honey.
You should get some rest.
I think I will go lie down a while.
Glad to have met you, Mr. Marlowe.
Thank you, sir.
- Mr. Grayle hasn't been feeling too well for some time.
He tires easily.
Hell, I like drinking.
Was he an old friend, Mr. Marriott?
Sort of.
He accompanied me places.
Well, Lindsay had to tell me
something to get me to go along.
You're a very good-looking man
to be in this kinda business.
- Well, I hope you don't hold that against me.
Poor Lin.
He was rather a heel, but to die like that is terrible.
Did you trust him?
Yes.
[Marlowe] Why?
I don't know, I trust some people.
I trust you.
Why don't you come over here and sit beside me?
- I've been thinking about that for some time.
Ever since you first crossed your legs, to be exact.
- These damn things are always up around your neck.
Do you do this sort of thing often?
- No, I'm usually pretty busy at the monastery,
praying with the other monks.
How long did you know Marriott?
Oh, years.
I liked him.
I'd like to know who killed him.
Would you find out?
I'll pay you, of course.
A lot.
A lot?
Mmm-hm.
Marriott lived like he had a lot.
He wasn't borrowing from you, was he?
- You're a little old-fashioned, aren't you?
Your name's Phil, isn't it?
Philip, what's yours?
Helen, kiss me.
(door opening)
Who was that?
That was Mr. Grayle.
Forget him.
I'm trying to.
- He understands, what the hell can he expect?
I know, he tires easily.
I tell you, it's all right.
He's a sick man.
You'd never know it from the kind of
muscle he carries in this town.
- That kind of muscle you can use from a wheelchair.
Where can I call you?
I'm in the telephone book.
What's wrong?
There's nothing wrong.
- Oh jesus, you are old-fashioned, aren't you?
From the waist up.
After I'd parked my car and started for my office,
I realized that I'd forgotten to tune in the news.
The Yankees were in Washington for
a double-header against the Senators.
DiMaggio could tie and break the record
if he hit in both games.
I could hardly wait to get to my radio.
[Man] Howdy.
Howdy.
I thought I recognized the smile,
but I knew there was nothing I could do about it.
(thudding)
This phone kept ringing.
It was driving me nuts.
I prayed someone would answer it.
I didn't realize it was ringing inside my head.
Where you want him?
Sit him down, sit him over there.
- [Marlowe] I'd once seen a photo of Frances Amthor,
L. A.'s famous madam.
And there she was, in the flesh.
Hey, did I deliver, huh?
Go on, honey.
OK, girls.
Nice to meet you, Mr. Marlowe.
I'm so glad you could make it.
Nice to have a night out with the boys.
Please don't smoke, Mr. Marlowe.
I don't like it.
Honey, go on to your room.
I just wanna speak to Moose Malloy.
I'm only gonna ask you once.
I told you, I don't like smoke.
Who told you to get up?
I think you're a very stupid person.
You look stupid, you're in a stupid business
and you're on a stupid case.
I get it, I'm stupid.
You shouldn't have done that, Marlowe.
(cackling)
The room was full of smoke.
The smoke hung straight up in the air in thin lines.
Straight up and down like a curtain of small, clear beads.
It didn't dissolve, didn't float off, didn't move.
It was a gray web, woven by a thousand spiders.
I wondered how they'd got them to work together.
OK Marlowe, I said.
You're a tough guy, six feet of iron man.
190 pounds stripped and with your face washed.
Hard muscles and no glass jaw, you can take it.
You've been sat down twice, you've been shot full of hop
and kept under it until you're
as crazy as two waltzing mice.
Now what does all that amount to?
Routine.
Now let's see you do something
really tough, like gettin' up.
I crawled along the floor thinking,
how the hell can I get under that door?
I sensed somebody else in the room.
I wished it was part of my nightmare, but it wasn't.
It was Tommy Ray.
He'd never blow another horn.
I was torn between making myself walk
and wanting to lie down on the bed.
It was a lovely bed.
It was made of rose leaves.
It was the most beautiful bed in the world.
They'd got it from Carole Lombard.
It was too soft for her.
I was still fighting it though, still walking.
Then some footsteps I heard made up my mind for me.
I had to get back into bed, like it or not.
I decided to play dead.
I didn't have to be a hell of an actor.
Come on, hillbilly, rise and shine.
Come on, Amthor wants you.
Hey, you ain't croaked, are you?
- If I had any sense, I would've tried to get out of there.
But sometimes I'm short on sense.
All I could think of was getting my hands on Frances Amthor.
It was an old house, built as they once built them
and don't build them any more.
Fitting and proper for housing
the world's oldest profession.
(crying and moaning)
(girl laughing)
Uh-uh, no no.
That buzzer's not gonna do ya any good tonight.
I just put one of your boys to sleep.
- You've been a very sick man, sir, a very sick man.
I can't recommend you being up and around yet.
- I may look sick, but don't let that fool you.
I'm in a rare mood tonight.
I feel like dancing on the foam,
I can hear the banshees calling.
I haven't shot anybody in over a month.
Whisky?
Nah, you first.
I've run out of trust in this joint.
To your health, sir, what remains of it.
I had a nightmare.
Silly idea, I dreamt I was shot full of dope
and locked up in a room.
They knocked me on the head and took me some place
where they did that to me.
I vaguely remember somebody asking about Moose Malloy.
You were saying?
I made no remark.
What's so important about Malloy?
Why was Marriott killed?
What's the matter, cathouse got your tongue?
What the hell is it about Malloy?
Look, this is a gun.
(laughing)
When you got a gun in your hand, people are
supposed to do what you tell 'em to do.
Not when you're about ready to collapse.
(laughing)
What is it, what?
Tell me, come on.
What do you want?
Johnny's with your Doris.
Wait a minute, where do you think...
Stop!
You goddamned tramp!
(screaming)
What have you done to me!
(screaming)
- [Girl] Move it, move it, let's go, let's go!
- [Marlowe] I had only one place to go, Nulty.
And I prayed to God that I could make it.
(knocking)
Georgie!
(knocking)
Jeez!
You look like you went 10 rounds with Joe Louis.
Did DiMaggio do it?
Sure.
Thanks, Georgie.
Ha ha.
Thanks, Georgie.
So long, Mr. Marlowe.
- I went back to my office for the first time in a week,
after spending a few of the toughest minutes of my life,
telling Tommy Ray's wife that she was a widow,
and the kid that his daddy was gone forever.
But DiMaggio was still going strong, on his own record now.
Would he hit safely in every game forever?
It seemed that way.
And why not?
He was only 26 and playing baseball in the sunshine.
He heard little boys cheer, not cry.
(phone ringing)
Hello.
It's me.
I began to think you'd won the Irish sweepstakes
and took off.
Ha, what else were you thinking?
Thinking about tonight.
What about tonight?
The White Orchid.
There's gonna be a private party honoring my husband.
This is an election year.
I can't very well get out of it.
Why don't you meet me there around nine?
You're on, nine o'clock.
Bye.
(slow cabaret music)
A bourbon on the rocks and a scotch on the rocks, please.
You're right on time.
Your husband has a lot of friends.
Well, everyone in politics does.
Enemies too.
What about Brunette?
Is he friend or foe?
Friend.
He owns this club.
Do you know Laird?
Yeah.
A lot of us in the DA's office
used to think of him as a hood.
You worked with the DA?
- He thought I oughta leave the DA's office.
How did your husband meet him?
- He owns a top-rate gambling boat off-limits.
I think Baxter helped him straighten out a problem
with the water taxis to his boat.
Mr. would like to have
a word with you, Mr. Marlowe.
It's important.
Go on, Philip, I'll be back.
Nice to see you, Marlowe.
You look good.
You're cute, too.
We go back a long way.
To the time when you wanted to see me spanked.
I still do.
What for?
All I do is run towns, elect judges and mayors,
corrupt police, peddle dope, ice old ladies with pearls.
Well, you're mixing with some
pretty fancy people now, aren't you?
Well, yeah.
You're not doing so bad yourself.
You're the first guy I've seen with
Judge Grayle's wife who wasn't...
- About that guy, Marriott, did you know him well?
- She's the one who gambles, he just tagged along.
OK, what's so important?
I need a little help.
You ever do a job, no questions asked?
Oh no, there's always one question.
What's that?
How much?
Fine.
Two grand.
Two grand, what for?
I wanna talk to Moose Malloy.
Hah, I don't blame you.
He's so gay, witty and charming.
What's the matter, can't your boys find him?
No, the police can't either.
I have friends, Marlowe.
That's how I know Moose is your client.
Look, I haven't seen the guy myself
more than a couple of times.
- That's a couple of times more than anybody else.
Two thousand dollars?
It's gotta be some talk.
- If you're worried about his health, you can be there.
How nice.
As a mediator, or to stop the bleeding?
(chuckling)
Buy yourself a new suit, Marlowe.
Mrs. Grayle.
Hello, Laird.
I'll be on my boat.
- I'll see you. - Sooner the better, Marlowe.
Where to?
To my place?
What for?
You've got everything we need with you.
She was incredibly beautiful.
And she was something, Nulty, really something.
I had no intention of letting Moose get into a room
with Brunette, but there was something going on.
What the hell was it?
I thought taking the money was the best way
to keep my finger in.
(gun firing)
(tires squealing)
Two close misses.
He had to be real good to do that.
Good enough to hit, if you wanted to.
Somebody put a show on for me.
Why?
My car was being fixed when I
got the call from Mrs. Florian.
It was Sunday and I'd been hanging around the office
most of the day hoping to hear from Moose.
I asked if we could talk on the phone.
Stupid question.
How can you pour a fistful of bourbon on the phone?
Thanks.
Where you been, I've been tryin' to reach you for days.
I've been sick.
In a hospital?
Yeah, pet hospital.
Hey, take it easy on me, will you?
Your friend Tommy Ray,
he got killed.
What?! My God!
Why?
- You know, he gave me a phoney picture of Velma.
I been in touch with Velma.
How'd you find her?
Through the grapevine.
You sure it was her?
Honey, I never forget a voice.
OK, the next time you talk to her...
She won't talk to no one but Moose.
- I'd like to talk to him myself, I haven't heard
from him for over two weeks.
What'll I tell her?
(sighing) She call every day?
Mmm-hm.
Same time?
- Don't let on to the Moose that it was me tipped you off.
No, no, no.
Look, the next time he gets in touch with me,
I'll call you, give you his number.
That way she can call him direct, right?
Don't go so soon.
I've got to, honey.
Let me have a rain check.
I was followed off and on for the next couple of days,
but it didn't bother me.
I knew I was perfectly safe
as long as nobody could find the Moose.
As long as he breathed, I wouldn't stop breathing either.
Hey Georgie, keep an eye on that car.
Let me know me if you see it again.
(phone ringing)
Hello?
[Moose] This is Moose Malloy, remember?
Remember? Yeah, somewhat.
Where you been hiding?
[Moose] Where nobody found me.
Those are the best places.
Listen, Velma wants to talk to you.
[Moose] You found my Velma?
Well, almost.
She'll only talk to you.
We have to wait for her call.
[Moose] Where?
I could come to you.
[Moose] I wouldn't like that.
Well...
OK, I'll think of something.
Listen, how well do you know Laird Brunette?
[Moose] Never heard of him.
How about Baxter Wilson Grayle?
[Moose] How many people is that?
One.
[Moose] I never heard of him.
I just thought of a place.
I called Mrs. Florian, left Georgie's number,
and now it was up to Velma.
I had a million questions for Moose,
but I knew he had only one thing on his mind.
Why don't she call?
How the hell do I know?
You told me my Velma would call.
- Now wait a minute, I've been slapped, scratched,
punched, knocked unconscious, drugged and shot at
looking for your Velma, so quit tryin' to
make a milkshake out of my insides, will you?
Stop it!
(phone ringing)
Hello?
[Marlowe] It only took a second to know
who he was talking to, you could see
the seven years inside melting off him.
Hiya, babe.
(sighing) It's been a long time.
15 minutes.
I got it.
Yeah.
Here.
Pay me back when you can.
Come on, I'll drop you off.
Thanks.
See you later, Georgie.
So long, Mr. Marlowe.
It was one of those transient motels,
something between a fleabag and a dive.
I felt like seeing Velma myself, but this was
going to be a real moment for the big guy,
and three would be more than a crowd.
If ever anything didn't belong,
that car in the alley was it.
(tires squealing)
Moose, get down!
(guns firing)
Phew!
I'd hit them, but I didn't know if they were dead or alive.
But that didn't stop Moose, he was checking for his Velma.
You were set up, Moose, don't you understand?
She said she'd be here.
Who's tryin' to get to you, Moose?
What the hell's goin' on here?
Was there somebody else in the robbery?
Where's the money?
Are they tryin' to shut you up, or is it something else?
They must have my Velma somewhere.
Who, Moose, tell me, who?
He showed his appreciation in his usual gentle manner.
- Supposed to call me when he got in touch, remember?
- The Commissioner told me to lay off, remember?
- Come on, Marlowe, don't be such a wise-ass.
We got three murders we could bring you in on right now.
You recognize him?
No, why don't you ask Marlowe?
I bet you five dollars you can't find
a state they're not wanted in.
- You know, Detective Marlowe, you're a slot machine.
You'll do anything for six bits.
What'd you say his girl's name was?
Velma.
You think they got to her?
It could be.
How?
Come on.
(big band music)
Jessie?
Jesus, what a way to live.
Maybe she beat it.
This is the kind of place Jessie Florian
beats it to, Nulty.
This is all she's got.
Look at those neck bruises.
You look at 'em.
Jeez, what a way to die.
Marlowe.
Marlowe!
- This card which you found on Marriott's body.
It's the same one I gave to Jessie Florian.
Then they knew each other.
Moose got in touch with me last night.
He's worried sick about Velma,
and he wanted to talk to me about her.
You get anything out of him?
Not much.
The way I figure it, they called Mrs. Florian
right after they missed killing Moose on the street.
Who are they?
Yeah.
Whoever they are, they knew Moose would go straight
to Mrs. Florian's as soon as he got out, looking for Velma.
- So they gave her a new radio, a couple of bottles,
she came cheap.
They asked her to call as soon as Moose showed up.
Only I showed up instead.
(sighing) But she made the call anyway.
They got Tommy Ray to give me
a phoney picture to keep me busy.
They got Velma to call Moose.
I figure they might've been holding Velma
ever since Moose got out.
[Nulty] What makes you so sure?
I was there when the call came in.
You don't think anybody else's voice
would've gotten Moose to that motel?
So that was the end of Tommy Ray
and that was the end of Mrs. Florian.
I wouldn't be surprised if Velma herself
is pushing up daisies about now.
Why are you telling me all this?
Because I'm going out on that boat
and taking Malloy out with me.
I got this funny feeling I'm not coming back alive
unless I'm with the cops.
- Look, if I went on that boat I'd get busted.
At least you're honest about it.
An honest cop.
I'm supposed to bring you in!
If I let you go, and I said if, Marlowe...
I'd be sticking my neck way out.
- Thanks, Nulty, but that's not what I need.
What I need is another drink.
I need a lotta life insurance, I need a home in the country!
I need a vacation!
I'm tired, Nulty.
Everything I touch turns to shit!
I've got a hat, a coat and a gun, that's it.
Look, we've known each other for a long time, Nulty.
You've got to let me go, otherwise that kid of Tommy Ray's
is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life
for letting them kill his old man.
He will, you know.
Does Brunette know you're coming?
Not unless you tell him.
Give me five minutes to start back
to town, then do anything you want.
Hey, Nulty,
thanks.
Sure.
- [Marlowe] I had Moose meet me at a penny arcade
outside the hotel, then we went to meet Georgie,
who I'd phoned to get us a boat.
I think I found a boat for you.
I didn't tell 'em anything, Mr. Marlowe.
Where's the boat, Georgie?
Out there.
Can you get us aboard the Lido?
- You can still get a water taxi to take you up there.
Suppose I don't like taxis.
- I can get you up there for a good enough reason.
How much is the reason?
$50, $10 extra if you bleed in my boat.
$25?
See you later, Georgie.
Let's go.
Marriott dead, Mrs. Florian dead,
Tommy Ray dead, Francis Amthor dead.
Only Brunette with his $2,000 wish to see Moose was left.
The answer had to be on that boat.
Turn around, we're going on the boat.
Pull over Hank, stop the car.
Are you crazy?
Seven people are dead, Rolfe, seven!
And the police are driving away.
You're talkin' about Brunette's boat,
we gotta get word to Brunette.
Marlowe's not worth...
Not worth what?
Missing our weekly pick-up?
Who would you turn back for?
Your father, your mother, your wife, your kids?
Or is Brunette the only one worthwhile?
Look, I'm gettin' outta here.
You got a little too much religion for me all of a sudden.
Anybody else want to get out?
Don't try to warn anyone.
If you do and one of us gets out
of this, you're dead and buried.
Come on, Hank.
Turn on that siren, this is a police car.
(siren wailing)
What are you doing down here?
(grunting)
(jazz music)
(grunting)
Ahh!
You gonna take us to Brunette now?
Brunette's in San Diego.
Whoa!
- Now would you take us to Brunette's cabin?
OK, put me down, I'll take you.
Tell him to open the door.
Hey boss, it's me Nick, open up.
Boss?
Are you in there, boss?
No, I fell overboard.
It's me, Nicky!
It's important.
What's so important?
Ahh!
- Just keep the body where we can see it, Brunette.
Marlowe says you want to see me.
What did you have in mind, Brunette?
You gonna run Moose for Mayor?
Or did you wanna let him in on why those two hoods
tried to drill him after he talked to Velma?
You know where my Velma is?
Malloy, I don't know any Velma.
I'd start lyin' if I were you.
Keep away from me, Marlowe.
You'd better start talkin', fast.
OK, you can come out now, Mrs. Grayle,
you're missing all the fun.
Helen, come on out.
Come on out, Helen.
(door opening)
Hi, babe.
Long time no see.
(sighing) You're looking great, babe.
Hello, Moose.
Well, hooray.
Now it all makes sense, everything.
Velma from the gutter, whore from Amthor's.
Take away his gun, honey, and we can go.
- Don't be crazy, Moose, don't you understand?
Prostitute marries millionaire judge.
Judge knows nothing about her background,
not even that she was in on a bank robbery
and let her boyfriend take the rap for her.
- I've got the eighty thousand, Moose, just like I said.
She's lying, Moose.
She and Brunette cooked up the whole thing.
Only two other people knew who she
had married, Amthor and Marriott.
They're both dead.
Amthor told Brunette that one of her girls married a judge,
and that's all he had to hear.
Everything was hunky-dory, Moose, 'til you got out.
Take his gun, honey.
- After they'd missed killing you on the street
and then they couldn't find you.
Hold it right there, Moose.
They sent me and Marriott out on some cock-and-bull story
and they killed him because they thought he was weak
and they were afraid he'd crack.
Shut him up, Moose.
He's making it all up.
- Moose, look, even a band leader for Christ's sake,
a friend of hers who wouldn't say a bad word against her,
he got wiped out!
Don't you see, Moose, she's using everybody!
(gun firing)
Why?
OK, dragon-lady, who's next?
(knocking)
Hey, boss, are you in there?
(gun firing)
(knocking)
It's me, Nicky and the boys, we're out here!
Are you OK, boss?
You'll never get off this boat alive.
(gun firing)
Hold it, police!
Open up Marlowe, it's me, Nulty.
[Marlowe] Moose never would've hurt her.
It didn't matter to him she hadn't written in six years.
It didn't matter that she turned him in for a reward.
The big lug loved her.
And if he was still alive, it wouldn't matter to him
that she'd pumped three bullets into him.
What a world.
(knocking)
- [Nulty] Come on Marlowe, open up, it's me, Snow White.
Let him in.
You're a hero, Nulty, headlines.
This is no misdemeanor, like a colored killing.
You'll probably wind up being Commissioner.
What happened?
Let him tell you, I'm too tired.
Bagby and Smith, a couple of run-of-the-mill
pitchers, stopped DiMaggio.
Maybe they had a little extra last night,
like Nulty had tonight.
I had two grand inside my breast pocket that needed a home.
And I knew just the place.
(soft music)