Well, you've pretty much described the opening of Farewell My Lovely

(1975), with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe.



Richard Wohlfeiler





>help . . . i'm trapped in a generational bog and need help

>to extricate myself . . .  in talking about film noir to an intro

>to film class i tried to evoke recognition by alluding to

>an almost archetypal noir moment:

>

>   a single guy, perhaps wearing a trenchcoat, in a

>   crummy hotel room alone at night;   the hotel's neon

>   sign is just outside his window blinking on and off, the

>   light shining on him through the venetian blinds in the

>   window;  outside it is of course raining;    on the

>   soundtrack either a wailing saxophone and/or a voice

>   over narration talking, saying something bitter and

>   cynical on the order of  "everything seemed to be

>   swell,  until . . ."

>

>mike frank



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