Philip Marlowe

Philip Marlowe was the creation of Raymond Chandler, and an original Trope Codifier of the Hardboiled Private Detective archetype. While his first official appearance was in the 1939 novel The Big Sleep, Chandler later adapted some of his short stories about similar detectives into longer novels.

In a World of dirty cops, femmes fatales, and a whole lot of murder, he faces the seamy underbelly of Los Angeles with nothing but a gun and his wits -- and their both pretty quick.

When he's not snarking or smoking, he enjoys a good game of chess or even some nice poetry.

Besides Chandler's works (and some other authors' take on the character as well), Marlowe has appeared in no less than 10 film adaptions, even more television and radio programs, and at least one video game.


 * The Hardboiled Private Detective -- well, one of them, at least.

Literature

 * 1939: The Big Sleep

Film

 * 1944: Murder My Sweet. Based on the novel Farewell, My Lovely. Marlowe is played by Dick Powell.
 * 1946: The Big Sleep. This is perhaps the most famous film adaption. Marlowe is played by Humphrey Bogart.
 * 1973: The Long Goodbye. Marlowe is played by Elliott Gould. Interestingly, it is not a Period Piece, but takes place in The Seventies, when it was made.
 * 1975: Farewell My Lovely. Marlowe is played by Robert Mitchum -- the only actor ever to play Marlowe in two different movies.


 * Badass Trenchcoat
 * Black and Grey Morality
 * Comic Book Time: While he did get older, he didn't age as much as the intervening years between installments should have allowed for.
 * Deadpan Snarker: And how.
 * Film Noir
 * The Forties
 * Hardboiled Detective
 * I Need a Freaking Drink
 * In Vino Veritas: While Marlowe can certainly hold his liquor, not everyone else can. A frequent tactic of his is to get people to talk to him when they're drunk.
 * Mystery Fiction
 * Nice Hat: Can't go wrong in a fedora.
 * Police Are Useless
 * Private Eye
 * Private Eye Monologue
 * Public Domain Character
 * Revolvers Are Just Better
 * Smart People Play Chess
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Street Smart