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Various cities: Various publishers, 1942-1951. A collection of one sheet posters, half sheet poster, insert posters, lobby cards, and still photographs, 31 pieces in all, documenting the entirety of Raymond Chandler’s brief but sensational 11-film contribution to cinema between 1942 and 1951, every film released during his lifetime.
Represented are all the crime and film noir adaptations of the Philip Marlowe novels ("The Falcon Takes Over," "Time to Kill," "Murder, My Sweet," "The Big Sleep," "Lady in the Lake," and "The Brasher Doubloon"), as well as Chandler's only original screenplay ("The Blue Dahlia") and the three dramas for which he worked as a screenwriter adapting a novel ("The Unseen," "Wait Until Tomorrow," and "Strangers on a Train").
In chronological order, the collection includes:
"Time to Kill" (1942) - 1 lobby card. The first film adaptation of Chandler's second novel, "Farewell, My Lovely."
"The Falcon Takes Over" (1942) - Insert poster. The first film adaptation of Chandler's third novel, "The High Window."
"Murder, My Sweet" (1944) - Insert poster. The second--and definitive--adaptation of "Farewell, My Lovely," and the first to identify the protagonist under Chandler's intended name, Philip Marlowe.
"Double Indemnity" (1944) - Complete set of 8 lobby cards. Chandler's first work as a screenwriter, a classic adpatation of James M. Cain's novella of the same name. A cornerstone of American film noir.
"And Now Tomorrow" (1944) - Half sheet. Chandler's second adaptation as a screenwriter and only straight drama, based on the novel by Rachel Field.
"The Unseen" (1945) - One sheet. Chandler' third adaptation as a screenwriter, based on the Ethel Lina White thriller, "Midnight House" (published in the US as "Her Heart in Her Throat").
"The Big Sleep" (1946) - One sheet. The first adaptation of Chandler’s first novel (the book that introduced Marlowe to the world), directed by Howard Hawks and starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, with a screenplay by William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett. A cornerstone of American film noir.
"The Blue Dahlia" (1946) - 5 lobby cards. Chandler's only original screenplay, considered by many to be his "missing crime novel," a non-Marlowe noir about a soldier who comes home from the war to find his life radically rearranged.
"Lady in the Lake" (1947) - Half sheet (Style A), 8 x 10 inch still photograph, and a complete lobby card set. The first adaptation of Chandler's fourth novel, an unusual and ambitious film noir directed by and starring Robert Montgomery, wherein the entire film is literally seen from Philip Marlowe's perspective. Included with the lobby cards are key images showing how we only see Marlowe (played by Montgomery) in reflections and mirrors.
"The Brasher Doubloon" (1947) - Insert poster. The second--and definitive--adaptation of Chandler's third novel, "The High Window." Perhaps the most unusual and atmospheric of the classic noir adaptations of Chandler, directed by John Brahm.
"Strangers on a Train" (1951) - Lobby card. Chandler’s classic adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s first novel (published the same year), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. An important intersection of three very different masters of the thriller genre, and yet another cornerstone film noir. The image on this key lobby card shows characters Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, with Bruno holding the gold lighter that will ultimately prove to be his undoing.
All items in Very Good to Near Fine condition. One sheet posters for "The Unseen" and "The Big Sleep" have undergone a small amount of professional restoration and are linen-backed. [Book #123517]
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