- I can appreciate why director Robert Montgomery might have thought that filming Lady in the Lake in first-person was a good idea. After all, part of Philip Marlowe's appeal stems from his constant stream of wisecracking narration, and how better to hear it than while seeing exactly what the private detective himself sees? One of the film's taglines carried this idea even further: "YOU and ROBERT MONTGOMERY solve a murder mystery together!" Not that the audience actually stood much of a chance of completely untangling the film's labyrinthine plot -- they're called potboilers for a reason. Anyway, everyone can agree that a first-person version of a Raymond Chandler novel sounds interesting enough on paper, at least.
- But then, half an hour into the film and long after the novelty has worn off, you realize that a first-person perspective just makes everything really boring. There are no interesting camera angles to be found, and film's shot lengths are necessarily also its scene lengths. Occasionally, there are some amusing visual moments, as when Marlowe's eyes stray toward beautiful women, his view is obscured by cigarette smoke, or fistfights launch a punch right at the audience. Otherwise, though, shooting the film from Marlowe's perspective must have required an incredible amount of directorial effort while delivering relatively little in the way of returns.
- Hampering Lady in the Lake further is the fact that Montgomery can't hold a candle to fellow Marlowes Humphrey Bogart and Dick Powell. Montgomery is not a terrible actor per se, but his attempts to convey the detective's world-weary sardonicism just sound like he's being mean. The supporting cast fares slightly better with Audrey Totter as the editorial brains behind a publishing company and Lloyd Nolan as an enjoyably corrupt cop. Jayne Meadows is also very good as the missing wife of a wealthy man (Leon Ames). Other actors (Richard Simmons, Tom Tully) do their best with the material, but unfortunately the film's style delivers on one character's promise "to slash the emotion right out of that story."
- I don't even speak French, but I find it funny that the film credits Ellay Mort as Mrs. Kingsby.
