Philip Marlow, Private Eye premiered in 1983 On HBO – it’s first self-produced  series (Byrne, Thornton). HBO hit one out of the ball park with this one. Though the series only lasted for two seasons (1983, 1986) and eleven episodes (Thornton), it brought noir to the screen with a wallop as powerful as a PI’s fist to the jaw. Powers Boothe played Marlowe as big and tough, but by no means stupid. His eyes, his expression telegraphed what this guy was thinking even more powerfully than even Chandler’s words on the page. Boothe’s Marlowe is world-wary (not a misspelling) but not exactly cynical. He knows the score of a world where all authorities are either inept or corrupt, be they doctors, police, politicians, or studio executives. This Marlowe meets his share of femme fatales but also gals who are smart, human, sometimes just trying to survive and not be crushed in a man’s world where women are, at best, treated like trophies to be disposed of  when something shinier catches a guy’s fancy. Kathryn Leigh Scott makes several appearances in Season One as Annie Riordan, a former police captain’s daughter, who pulls Marlow’s fat from the fire or helps him give the run around to a crook or crooked authority. No blushing virgin but no floozy either, she’s just a shade less world weary than Marlowe and could hold her own with classic smart-talking gals like Ella Raines, Joan Bennett, or Lauren Bacall – without being brittle or brassy. Billy Kearns plays Marlowe’s police contact “Violets Magee” – not as corrupt as his compadres on the force, and not awfully “ept,” either. The plots of these Chandler short stories recreated in 50 minute episodes provide satisfying twists and turns, powered by interesting characters developed by the writers with intriguing complexity.
The costumes, lighting, cars, and other props are totally late 1930s. Though filmed in  color, sepia and shadows are contrasted with brief settings of California-style sunlight and bright colors to create an atmosphere reflecting the shadiness and corruption lurking beneath shiny surfaces. The music is that moody jazz that 1980s films used to evoke the melancholy cynicism of the 1930s and ’40s, though that style of music is more native to the 1950s. What the hell; it still works here.
 Stars on the way up or down make guest appearance, like: Helen Shaver, Maury Chakin, Robin Givens, Al Waxman, Kate Reid, Melody Anderson, and Gail Hunnicutt, All in all, with Powers Boothe’s brooding Marlowe managing not to sink entirely into the mire of his corrupt surroundings; managing to stave off the muck from swallowing up some others, but only sometimes; all amidst the shadows of corruption, despair, and venality, to the tune of some blues saxes, this series is a satisfying noir experience.
Back Panel Notes Philip Marlowe Private Eye. Paragon Production for Home Box Office. Goldhill Entertainment, 2005. DVD.
Images: Covers Philip Marlowe Private Eye. Paragon Production for Home Box Office. Goldhill Entertainment, 2005. DVD. Use of these images is not for commercial purposes but purely as part of a fan page. No infringement is intended.
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Sharon Healy-Yang 