Philip Marlowe - Murder is a Grave Affair

episode 23

USA 1960
produced by
Gene Wang, Mark Goodson (executive), Bill Todman (executive)
directed by Paul Stewart
starring Philip Carey, Gene Nelson, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Connie Hines, Malcolm Atterbury, Jack Weston, William Schallert, Dean Harens, Dale Ishimoto, Maxine Cooper, Robert Williams
written by Gene Wang, based on characters created by Raymond Chandler, music by Richard Markowitz

TV-series
Philip Marlowe, Philip Marlowe (Philip Carey)

review by
Mike Haberfelner

Lydia (Connie Hines), a starlet in Hollywood, is found dead, and while the police thinks it to be an accident, her father (Malcolm Atterbury) seems to think she was murdered, and hires Philip Marlowe (Philip Carey) to find the killer - and Marlowe soon stumbles upon her lover, director Larry (Gene Nelson), who had just dumped her, and his wife Marian (Betsy Jones-Moreland), who loathed him, and over Larry's other girlfriend and secretary (Maxine Cooper), as well as over Lydia's neighbour Artie (Jack Weston) - enough suspects to make Marlowe believe it really could have been murder and convince his cop friend Lt Harris (William Schallert) to have the body exhumed for an obduction - only Lydia is no longer in her grave.

But at the same time, Larry shows up dead, shot in the head. So, Marlowe has Lydia's grave opened again, and wouldn't you know it, this time her body is where it's supposed to be - and the obduction proves Lydia's death really was an accident. This all leads Marlowe to one suspect, Artie, who soon enough admits to having stolen the corpse to make her death look like murder, and then put it back because this was the last place - he thought - anyone would look for it.

But: Artie cannot be the killer of Larry, because at the time of the crime he was actually with Lt Harris and Marlowe - and what better alibi could he have? So finally, Marlowe closes in on Larry's wife Marian, and doesn't let her go until she makes a mistake ...

As a TV crimedrama from 1960, Murder is a Grave Affair is actually rather ok - but don't expect it to be like anything like Raymond Chandler has ever written or like the classic Philip Marlowe-adaptations Murder My Sweet and The Big Sleep from the 1940s, as this one totally lacks the cynicism and also the style. It's merely ok crime-TV, nothing more ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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