Something Fresh For Detecting Ranks

The New Dick Powell Enters In Murder, My Sweet (1944)

The one to change tides for Dick Powell and sound early charge for film noir to come. Who's to judge what is noir? Detective stories like Murder, My Sweet could be argued as merely that, and not noir as it was later defined. Must a private sleuth plumb depths of down-and-out-ness to achieve noir standing? Powell really doesn't here, being upbeat and adjusted despite abuse he takes. So was Sam Spade, for that matter. One person's idea of noir tends to differ from others. It's a subjective category. What Hollywood saw at the time was indication that sleazy crime pics could draw mainstream patronage, this forecast by success of The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity. Maybe war news had toughened us all, and it was time to hoist mysteries out of tame and whodunit category. Whatever the reason, there'd be brass knuckles taking place of velvet gloves. Among best of freshened approach Murder, My Sweet is reborn thanks to HD streaming on VuDu, inky RKO sets never so flavorsome. Director Edward Dmytryk spoke in interviews of darkness standing in for sets they couldn't afford, his idea of a minus then perhaps, but very much a plus for us now that high-def can reveal richness of what Dmytryk shot.

Powell gets laughs playing with props, a trick he'd oft-employ, at one point lighting a match off the buttocks of a nude statue. Detecting was more fun before 70's nihilism and proto-noir (or is it crypto?) crept in. Philip Marlowe introduced new attitude into mysteries courtesy of language lifted from Raymond Chandler's source book. Part of what made Powell and Murder, My Sweet click was RKO's reliance on magic words they'd bought from Chandler, whereas Howard Hawks did more his own thing with later The Big Sleep. Chandler's prose was in ways not unlike wisecrack format of 30's musicals Powell had led, so witty words came natural for him. Based on what we'd hear, the Marlowe role was no radical depart for this star, whatever stubble he let grow or tie left askew.

The "New" Dick Powell, then, came mostly in terms of visual change. That's why ads emphasized a disheveled Powell, shorthand to effect that he never looked like this before. Otherwise there was assurance of a favorite not stepping too wide of insouciant image as chief skylark for Warner Bros. musicals. Powell registers least in Murder, My Sweet when most intense, this where a learning curve is evident, plus fact he wasn't all the way around it. Truer transition from crooning wiseacre to noir dweller would come with next New Powell that was Cornered, where he's scarred, bitter, and buzz-cut, adding emphasis by beating villainy to death in an ice-cold finish they wouldn't have gambled had not Murder, My Sweet rung up such endorsement of Dick Powell as loner tough guy. Gallup-polling of the title Farewell, My Lovely had revealed misunderstanding that it would be a musical, especially with Dick Powell heading marquees, so eleventh-hour change was made, this after main titles had been shot and posters printed. Re-do of these cost RKO an extra $5,000, but Gallup estimated $300K more in eventual tills, so pill was took and F,ML went out as M,MS.

RKO had done a Falcon mystery "B" based on Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely, different enough from Murder, My Sweet for most not to recognize it, despite little time between the two versions. In those days, a major studio could remake a B as an A, or vice versa, with impunity, figuring its audience for short memories or such inure to formula that they wouldn't mind yarns warmed over and re-served. Why should any well-built narrative be used but once? Different faces and more money spent could generally make old seem new. The Falcon Takes Over, adapted from Farewell, My Lovely, had been released in 1942 at negative cost of $142K and got back $308K in worldwide rentals.

Chicago First-Run Puts Big Emphasis on Powell Image Change

Murder, My Sweet spent $479K to re-do the story with meaningful cast amidst "A" trapping and earned $1.7 million worldwide, some of better money RKO took that year from an in-house production. They'd boldly sell Murder, My Sweet as a "New Kind Of Murder-Mystery," as if daring anyone to mention the Falcon predecessor.  Ad art was built almost entirely around Dick Powell as Rough, Tough, Terrific, Two-Fisted ... have your choice from ocean of adjectives. Curiosity would have bought admission into this one as they'd once-upon-time come to see/hear favorite stars debut in talkies. And maybe it was by way of adjusting audiences to newness of Dick Powell that caused the actor and Murder, My Sweet heavy Mike Mazurki to hypo key openings of the film with a fifteen-minute stage act, priceless first-hand account given by historian Don Miller in an article on Private Eyes for Focus On Film in 1975. Said Miller, who was in the audience at the RKO Palace theatre when Murder, My Sweet opened during winter 1944: "Powell made a one-day personal appearance on stage ... there he was, his old, smiling, emcee self, all charm and teeth and wavy hair, wowing the ladies in the audience and and joining in repartee with co-player Mike Mazurki for easy laughs. He topped it off with a rendition of "Don't Fence Me In." Murder, My Sweet was a switch for Powell, though RKO acknowledged his path had been broken with recent It Happened Tomorrow, this to assure that transition to Tough and Terrific wouldn't be quite so radical. As to footnote, seems I read that Powell played Philip Marlowe again on one-shot TV occasion ... does this half-hour (or is it hour) still exist?