The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye is a 1973 film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould as detective Philip Marlowe. It was adapted from the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name by Leigh Brackett (who earlier co-wrote the most famous film version of Chandler's The Big Sleep).

The Long Goodbye was added to the National Film Registry in 2021.

"Cop: Are you crazy? Marlowe: Yes."
 * The Alcoholic: Roger Wade
 * Ambulance Cut: Marlowe runs into the street, gets hit by a car, and we cut to the ambulance.
 * Angry Guard Dog: The Wade's dog is never violent, but it is always barking angrily whenever Marlowe is around.
 * Appeal to Worse Problems: A variation of the "starving children in Africa" argument: when the cat doesn't want to eat, he says, "What about all the tigers in India they're killing because they don't got enough to eat?"
 * Badass in a Nice Suit: Marlowe is a professional -- he's always got that suit.
 * Book Ends: The song Hooray For Hollywood plays at the beginning and the end of the film.
 * Catch Phrase: "It's OK with me."
 * Cut Himself Shaving: Marlowe notices a bruise on Eileen's cheek, and says it doesn't look like she walked into a door. She says that she didn't. She fell out of bed.
 * Cluster F-Bomb: A few.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Practically everything Marlowe says is a snark.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Faking the Dead:
 * First-Name Basis: Mrs. Wade asks Marlowe to start calling her Eileen.
 * Genre Busting: It's a neo-noir with a heavy dose of surrealism and black comedy.
 * Gratuitous Spanish: The cat door has "El Porto del Gato" written on it. Also, Augustine talks to his Mexican Mook in Spanish, even though the guy always answers in English.
 * Kick the Dog: Marty Augustine breaks a Coke bottle on his mistress's face immediately after telling her she's the most important person in his life just to prove to Marlowe that he means business. Even his hired goons think that went too far.
 * Los Angeles: The film celebrates the odd locales and characters that inhabit the city.
 * Never Suicide:
 * The Nicknamer: Roger Wade has nicknames for almost everybody.
 * Police Are Useless
 * Private Detective: Perhaps the most famous one of all time...
 * Recurring Riff: Every piece of music, even a doorbell ring, is the tune of the titular song.
 * Rhetorical Question Blunder: In the interrogation room.


 * Smoking Is Cool: Marlowe smokes cigarettes incessantly and in nearly every scene.
 * Title Theme Tune: Played throughout.
 * Vanity License Plate: Mrs. Wade's says "Lov You."
 * Vigilante Execution:
 * Writer's Block: Roger Wade suffers from this.