Robert Mitchum provides both narration and acting in this fairly subdued take on Raymond Chandler’s novel. He portrays the world-weary private investigator making a living from family troubles and marital affairs. Following an attempt on his life, "Marlowe" is hired by the taciturn "Moose" (Jack O'Halloran) to locate his missing girlfriend, "Velma." However, as his investigation progresses, he finds himself in a difficult situation. She has moved on with her life and into a higher social standing, wanting no part of being found or having her past revealed to her new husband. Along the way, he also gets caught up in some other schemes involving "Marriott" (Anthony Zerbe), who offers him a substantial $15,000 to assist in a questionable blackmail operation. Predictably, that doesn't go as planned and with the number of casualties increasing, he realizes the two cases are dangerously intertwined. It’s unfortunate for “Jessie” (Sylvia Miles, who is memorable but not given enough to do) who used to associate with the missing "Velma" and would have been better off staying out of things. Meanwhile, his stressed-out police contact "Nulty" (John Ireland) faces growing pressure to resolve this mess, even if it means sacrificing "Marlowe" to those in power. As these various plotlines converge, it becomes fairly clear who stands to lose the most and is orchestrating the violence. The story itself isn't bad, and Mitchum performs adequately in these roles as a hardened, cynical, drinking man, but Charlotte Rampling doesn’t quite convince and Zerbe feels entirely flat while the film’s tempo simply never picks up—despite there being ample material in the book to hold our interest. It seems like it might have been a more effective thriller forty years prior, in black and white, with a greater sense of seediness and dirt. As it stands now, there's something overly clean and talkative about it all. It’s perfectly acceptable viewing but not particularly remarkable.

Source on TMDB