Murder, my sweet (1944)

In many noir films, the connection to German expressionism is very clear. Murder, My Sweet revives the shadowy & seedy landscapes of a Doktor Mabuse. Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, private investigator, is the classical hard-boiled cop whom the world of Vice and Crime try to win over. The femme fatale is not lacking. She is blond, she is stern - she gets any man she sets her eyes on. For all its delicate twists and turns, Murder, my sweet is nothing out of the ordinary. It is a good noir film with some eerie moments (just the type of wackiness every noir film should contain). The dialogue is crisp and no-nonsense. – And the air of paranoia and doom looms heavy, just as it should.