The Long Goodbye

Robert Altman’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye (1953) relocates Philip Marlowe from the hard-boiled world of classic noir into the hazy, disillusioned atmosphere of 1970s Los Angeles. Elliott Gould’s shambling, chain-smoking detective is less a tough private eye than a confused outsider, wandering through a city where loyalty, morality, and even reality seem to have eroded. 

Private detective Philip Marlowe (Gould) is asked by his old buddy Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) for a ride to Mexico. He obliges, and when he gets back to Los Angeles is questioned by police about the death of Terry's wife. Marlowe remains a suspect until it's reported that Terry has committed suicide in Mexico. Marlowe doesn't buy it but takes a new case from a beautiful blond, Eileen Wade (Nina van Pallandt), who coincidentally has a past with Terry.