Five films from the 1940s that have inspired me- Part 2.

In this series of blogs I reveal five films that have influenced me and my style of writing.  There are so many great films to choose from that I have selected five from the 1940s.  My first was The Big Sleep, written by Raymond Chandler, with the film starring the wonderful Humphrey Bogart and lovely Lauren Bacall.  Here is my second choice, another classic Raymond Chandler crime novel and this time the film features a different Marlowe but an equally great actor who gives a perfect performance,  Dick Powell.




Farewell My Lovely (called Murder My Sweet in the USA) (1944)

This is an adaptation of another Raymond Chandler novel featuring Philip Marlowe. A classic film noir directed by Edward Dmytryk starring Dick Powell, the wonderful Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley.  The film was released in the UK under the title Farewell, My Lovely, the same as the 1940 Chandler novel, but it was renamed for the American market to prevent film goers from mistaking it for a musical for which Dick Powell was already famous.

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by petty crook, Moose Malloy, recently released from prison to find his girlfriend, Velma, who according to Moose is ‘cute as lace pants’.  What looks a simple case on the surface quickly becomes complicated and Marlowe’s enquiries lead to a tangled web of deceit involving bribery, perjury and theft.

Readers of my crime novels know that I also like complex plots, with lots of twists and turns. Things are never what they seem in my crime novels. Trust no one, believe nothing is the motto of DI Andy Horton who currently features in twelve police procedurals.

It could equally be said of Art Marvik, my former Royal Marine Commando now working undercover for the UK's National Intelligence Marine Squad. Like Marlowe a private detective, Marvik  works outside the law, although unlike Marlowe he is attached to it and like Marlowe he finds himself in all sorts of tricky and dangerous situations..

There are some fantastic lines in Farewell My Lovely (Murder My Sweet).  One of my favourites is, 'A black hole opened up and I dived in.'

I recently re-read the book and enjoyed it tremendously.