Lady in the Lake

Friday, October 25 - Sunday, October 27, 2019

35mm Print!

“LADY IN THE LAKE institutes a novel method of telling the story, in which the camera itself is the protagonist, playing the lead role from the subjective viewpoint of star Robert Montgomery. Idea comes off excellently, transferring what otherwise would have been a fair whodunit into socko screen fare.

Camera thus gets bashed by the villains, hits back in turn, smokes cigarettes, makes love and, in one of the most suspenseful sequences, drives a car in a hair-raising race that ends in a crash. Paul C. Vogel does a capital job with the lensing throughout, moving the camera to simulate the action of Montgomery’s eyes as he walks up a flight of stairs, etc. Because it would be impossible under the circumstances to cut from Montgomery to another actor to whom he’s talking, the rest of the cast was forced to learn much longer takes than usual.

Steve Fisher has wrapped up the Chandler novel into a tightly-knit and rapidly-paced screenplay. Montgomery plays private detective Philip Marlowe, who’s dealt into a couple of murders when he tries to sell a story based on his experiences to a horror story mag. Audrey Totter, as the gal responsible for it all, is fine in both her tough-girl lines and as the love interest.” – Variety (1946)

Screening as part of our Autumn 2019 series, Weekend Classics: May All Your Christmases Be Noir.

  • Country USA
  • Year 1946
  • Running Time 105 minutes
  • Distributor Warner Brothers
  • Director Robert Montgomery
  • Writer Raymond Chandler (novel), Steve Fisher (screenplay)
  • Editor Gene Ruggiero
  • Cinematographer Paul Vogel
  • Cast Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.