Lady In The Lake Movie And Book Comparison

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The Lady in the Lake
The Lady in the Lake was a novel written in 1943 by Raymond Chandler, four years later, the film adaption was created, called Lady in the Lake, and directed by Robert Montgomery. Both the film and the novel, focused on the same protagonist, Philip Marlowe. Marlowe was hired as a private investigator, to track down the missing wife of Mr. Kingsby, a well-known businessman. The film adaption had many similarities to the novel, including the basic plotline, but also contained large differences that changed the story, consisting of characters, such as the character of Adrienne Fromsett, and story events. In Lady in the Lake and The Lady in the Lake, Chandler and Montgomery shared the same plotline of detective Philip …show more content…

Lady in the Lake is dark and cynical, making this a film noir, however, Marlowe isn’t an “antihero”, but a “private eye hero”, he is one of the few detectives who actually care about their clients and does what is best, leading away from the film noir meaning. The film was created to have the directing and acting similar to the novel; both novel and film were created so the audience would view everything and everyone through the eyes of the protagonist, detective Philip Marlowe, allowing the readers and viewers to identify with the hero. Since the film is shot with a subjective camera, we rarely see Marlow, except for in mirrors, but we can hear what he is saying, and the way he views everything. When Marlowe is slapped, the camera moves as if it was hit too, and when Fromsett goes in to kiss him, the viewers experience it as well. The acting by Montgomery made the character of Marlowe different from the novel. The film consistently has Marlowe being rude and snapping at everybody, rather than only acting that way when completely necessary. Marlowe was more laid back throughout the novel, rather than aggressive like he was in the film. The novel portrays him as more likeable and loyal, but not perfect, allowing us to identify with him even more. There were many major differences but minor changes as well. Such as the novel being set midsummer, while the film was set during Christmas. Both were set in Los Angeles, and a small town not too far

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