Marlowe - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Marlowe



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
If your brain can conjure up the name of a hard-boiled detective, you’re likely going to come up with the name Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe. Both of whom have been immortalized in film and radio over the years due to the popularity of their novels. Marlowe (not to be confused with the Liam Neeson 2022 film of the same name; both star Phillip Marlowe, but both take inspiration from different books and have different plots) is a fun little gumshoe film that adds a 1960s flair to the character, after Humphrey Bogart carried the mantle in The Big Sleep. Starring James Garner and featuring a sporty and almost James Bond lite tone, the film is a fun little jaunt that hits all the high points of a detective story, but does suffer just a little bit from being a bit TOO 1960s in nature.

Acting as the sixth or seventh film starring Phillip Marlowe, this little jaunt comes after decades of Bogart, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Montgomery carrying the title until now. Needless to say, up until this point, Phillip Marlowe was not exactly an unknown name. Rather, he was treated almost like James Bond was in the 1940s and 50s, but by the 1960s, the typical gumshoe story was getting boring. Audiences wanted bigger, better, more 007 and less “this dame walked in, and I knew I was in trouble”. They wanted hotter, sexier, and hunkier stars that could schmooze the ladies as well as track down a lead. Thus, James Garner, with his square jaw, cleft chin, and hulking physique, fit the role quite nicely.

Our story is your typical murder mystery. Phillip Marlowe, P.I., stumbles upon a murder investigation where someone is stuck with an ice pick. Not a few days later, he’s beleaguered by all sorts of miscreants trying to get him off the case. He’s got a Kung Fu killer after him (played by Bruce Lee, just two years before his breakout feature film role), several very good-looking women who seem to have their own motivations, and a client desperately searching for her brother that just may have more to do with his murder investigation than he thought.

Simply put, Marlowe is a straightforward detective story with some fun action. James Garner is pretty good as the titular character, but he almost seems a bit too nice and warm for the role. Gone is the hard-boiled look for the P.I., and instead we get a more The Rockford Files type of detective. But he’s charming and slick, something his Raymond Chandler-based character really wasn’t up until this point. Which is a long way to say that Garner does a good job at the role, but deviates enough from the way he had been portrayed for years to the point where he almost became a different character. I’m guessing the James Bond films of that decade influenced the powers that be, giving him a slicker and sexier veneer to appeal to the time period. Again, not the end of the world, but it is a strange feeling if you’re familiar with previous iterations of the character on film or radio.




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA




Video:

According to the tech info from Arrow, Marlowe was restored by Arrow Films in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 based on a 35mm camera negative for the 4K 16bit source via Warner’s MPI. Then it was graded and graded for 2K resolution at Duplitech.

Like usual, the Blu-ray from Arrow looks fantastic, with a very fine layer of film grain and a ton of fine details that I have never even REMOTELY seen on the decades-old DVD. Like many films of the 1960s, facial tones tend to look bronzed and ever so slightly ruddy with a red push. Nothing wild, but that bronzed 1960s tone comes through in spades here. Fine details are exemplary, with some mild optical soft shots here and there due to lighting or the techniques used at the time. There’s a slight purple push in a few dark scene shots, but overall this is an excellent transfer.







Audio:

Marlowe’s 1.0 Mono LPCM mix is exactly what one would expect for a film of this type and time period. It’s a simple mix with a strong focus on the dialog, with Peter Matz’s impeccable orchestral score adding weight and presence to the rest of the track. Ambient sounds from the burlesque club, or the blast of a .32 caliber pocket gun, add some pop and pizazz, but overall this is a very straightforward and low-key mono mix. Good dialog, strong score presence, and a moderate amount of activity for ambient and discrete effects usage. Not going to blow your doors off, but more than capable, and I couldn’t find any mastering flaws at all.










Extras:

• $100 a Day (Plus Expenses)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery

Final Score: ​

As a huge fan of hard-boiled detective films and a HUGE fan of the Phillip Marlowe radio dramas of the 40s and 50s, this is a softer take on the character. He’s less harsh, not as brutal, and the dark and gritty nature of Raymond Chandler’s 1949 novel that it is based on. But that being said, it’s still a fun detective romp with a classic “It was a dark and stormy night, until this dame walked in” vibe to it. Just as a heads up, skip the 2022 film of the same name, and watch this instead. It’s at least fun.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: James Garner, Carroll O'Connor, Bruce Lee, Rita Moreno, Jackie Coogan
Directed by: Paul Bogart
Written by: Stirling Silliphant, Raymond Chandler (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: LPCM 1.0 Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow Studios
Rated: PG
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 9th, 2026

Recommendation: Fun Watch