Long Goodbye, The (1973)

Raymond Chandler’s cynically idealistic hero, Philip Marlowe, has been played by everyone from Humphrey Bogart to James Garner–but no one gives him the kind of weirdly affect-less spin that Elliott Gould does in this terrific Robert Altman reimagining of Chandler’s penultimate novel. Altman recasts Marlowe as an early ’70s L.A. habitué, who gets involved in a couple of cases at once. The most interesting involves a suicidal writer (Sterling Hayden in a larger-than-life performance) whom Marlowe is supposed to keep away from malevolent New-Ageish guru Henry Gibson. A variety of wonderfully odd characters pop up, played by everyone from model Nina Van Pallandt to director Mark Rydell to ex-baseballer Jim Bouton. And yes, that is Arnold Schwarzenegger (in only his second movie) popping up as (what else?) a muscleman.

1973, colour, 112 minutes