So, Christmas noir?  The opening of a lively chorus caroling and holiday cheering over Christmas cards displaying the credits evokes holiday spirit, except there’s always just the slightest manic edge to their liveliness creating a noir frisson.  Then the chorus ends in a startled drop as the last card slips away to reveal a gun.  Click here for a Silver/Ursini commentary on the opening.

You have holiday parties, mistletoe, presents that give away true intentions, mixed with a disappearing adulterous wife, her charmingly sleazy actor boyfriend, her sophisticated and two-faced husband, a high-class gold digger of an assistant publisher, a brutal and probably crooked cop, and a high strung mystery woman.  Leon Ames is at his most smarmy-charming as the husband, Audrey Totter is tart as a Granny Smith as the assistant, Lloyd Nolan is at his menacing and slightly psychotic best as the cop, and Jane Meadows is positively manic.  I needed a sedative after five minutes of her.  Bob Montgomery’s Philip Marlowe wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t my favorite.  He was smart and wary, but he was also a little too full of himself – especially when putting down Audrey Totter’s publishing executive.  Lloyd Nolan wasn’t the only one who wanted to slap him around.  And speaking of Lloyd, the character he plays here went a long way to inspiring one of the characters in the sequel to Bait and Switch,   Letter from a Dead Man.

I just love the great Chandler names:  Muriel Chess, Adrienne Fromsett, Derace Kingsby, Mildred Havilland, Chris Lavery, and Det. Degarmot – they just roll off your tongue.  But they’re real names, too, with the quirkiness you find on class rosters or employment lists.  Spolier Alert for people who speak French:  The actress playing Crystal Kingsby is listed as Elay Mort (Elle est morte.)

The plot’s a convoluted, dashing sleigh ride but it’s worth the trip.  Have fun!

Here’s a link to a trailer for the film.

If I have time, I’ll try to review some other Christmas or Holiday noir, like Coverup, Lady on a Train, Repeat Performance, or The Thin Man Goes Home.  Otherwise, there’s always next Christmas – with any luck!

collection of Lady in the Lake title cards: http://annyas.com/screenshots/updates/lady-in-the-lake-1947-title-sequence/

poster:  https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/movieposters/1969/p1969_p_v8_aa.jpg&imgrefurl=http://google.com/search%3Ftbm%3Disch%26q%3DLady%2520in%2520the%2520Lake&h=1440&w=960&tbnid=QS6aVEtEp-I23M:&vet=1&tbnh=186&tbnw=124&docid=E4FjWx9Gi_vlZM&itg=1&usg=__KVBoURWNv4fAKtZKjVPaG8cgtzY=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja3L3RgInRAhVojlQKHXOOBc8Q_B0IcjAK&ei=imhcWNrvLuic0gLznJb4DA