How do I get in to see the manager?
Thank you.
Hello?
Who the hell are you?
Orrin Quest's mother.
Wants her little boy back.
Cop??
PHILIP MARLOWE Private Investigator
Hmm. I'm unhappy.
Get out more. Dance in the streets. Take a cop to lunch.
I got friends.
You got a master key?
Hello.
Let me speak to the doctor.
Klausen.
Doctor?
The key.
I run a legit hotel here -Come on, the key!
All these private rooms. - You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
Excuse me, the manager said that Orrin Quest was here.
The manager said that Orrin Quest was in here!
Talkie that way, ain't he?
He's still registered.
So what am I doing' here?
You ask the question.
Close the lid.
I got a permit for the gun.
Let me see it.
Let me see it!
Quest left ten days ago.
I was across the hall, in 215.
This is a better room. So I switched. You satisfied?
I'll sleep like a lamb.
You're Hicks, right?
The register - Grant. W. Hicks. 215.
Did Quest leave any forwarding address?
These kids, you know. They freak out, disappear.
You narco squad?
Thanks.
For not spitting on it!
Going up?
The little one, darling. Don't want another big roller.
Oh my God! - Anything for me, Chuck?
She's back. The one from Kansas.
Hi. - Well?
Hold it.
Well?
What happened? I've been waiting hours and hours.
All shadow no substance.
Not even a trace?
No satisfaction, no charge.
Dr. Lagardie's Office.
I'd like to speak to the doctor, please.
Can I tell him who's calling?
Tell him it's about Mr. Klausen.
Will you hold? - Yes, I'll hold.
No wonder you haven't found my brother.
You've been working on other cases.
That's me, just buried alive in success.
The luxurious appointments, executive secretary
the electronic devices?
Drink?
I don't like you, Mr. Marlowe.
The minute I walked into this grubby little office...
I knew I should never have hired you.
Well, there's your retainer. All $ 55.
Now some people would keep it. But I just get a little shaky
running around with that much loose money in my pocket.
You didn't even really try to find Orrin!
Doctor Lagardie. - Doc?
Just this morning a Mr. Havin Klausen tried to talk to you...
... He got cut off?
Havin Klausen?
I'm afraid I don't know a Havin Klausen.
Then you have nothing to fear, Doc.
Unless it was your ice pick.
Who is this?
Hicks. Grant Hicks.
A former tenant of Mr. Klausen's rooming house.
I was just checking out when he tried to call you.
That was before someone mistook him for an ice block.
You might want to know before someone wanted
... why Klausen tried call you.
But Doc?
Don't get me wrong, this is no shakedown.
I'm just a cat looking for a connection.
You know.
Please feel free to consult me.
Anytime.
Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Do you mind?
Filthy habit.
My father used to smoke a pipe.
Momma never let him smoke in the house.
The last two years, after he had the stroke, he used to sit on the porch...
... with an empty pipe in his mouth.
Probably didn't like that, either.
We owed a lot of money.
We couldn't afford useless things like tobacco.
Well, stick your $50 back and forget we ever met.
Hey, the town's full of detectives.
Fine.
I used up my vacation time looking for him.
And most of my money, too.
And I have to go back home Saturday!
I'm sure something happened! I can feel it, Mr. Marlowe!
I found a boarding house. He slept there ten days ago.
Now, you go home, Miss Quest.
Sooner or later he will shuck his sandals, cut his hair. .
Ten years you won't know him from anyone else in Kansas.
Marlowe. - Grant Hicks, Marlowe.
You in the market for a quick $100?
How quick?
Fifteen minutes quick enough?
- Is that panel to panel pay?
Marlowe, I'm in the Alvarado hotel.
- Just five minutes from your place.
- A couple of minutes of your time and you're home free.
Maybe - I'm in Room 22.
But hurry, huh?
It's two minutes with you where your story breaks down.
Look, I'll give you something to hold and $100.
Tomorrow, next day, give it back.
Strictly legit. Nothing hot.
Look. Got to hang up.
I'm counting on you, Marlowe. Get over here right now.
$50 is all I've got.
I guess not enough to keep you interested, right?
It's not the money that bothers me. It's ice picks.
If you won't take my money, what will you take?
A simple goodbye.
Does it bother you if a girl makes the first overture?
I've got a low threshold of boredom. It usually helps.
Does it mean that you want me too?
It means, that I keep thinking of your old man...
sitting out on a porch... with an empty pipe.
Goodbye, Miss Quest.
But if you don't help me find Orrin, who will?
The department of missing persons or the FBI...
Mr. Marlowe!
Excuse me, room 22? Who's registered, please?
Around here the concession for transom peeking
Has been given to Oliver J. Hady.
That little concession ought to bring a fortune at auction.
Past the stairs on your left.
Hady??
So?
I want to get a line on one of your customers.
What name?
Could be Naster for all I know. Room 22.
So? - He wants to see me.
Don't let me keep you.
Would you mind holding your finger there on this thing?
Ollie, a man in my business has enemies. You know that.
Anybody calls me to come over, wants something done
... and neglects to give me his name.
You think I'm wrong to think of that?
It could be a way to get me into a room and... zap!
Party checks out and your left with me on the floor in 22.
Wouldn't want a case of rigor in your hotel, would you Ollie?
Give me the box.
Will you hold this a minute?
Checked in 5:47. One local phone call. No Room Service.
Dr. G. W. Hamilton, El Centro.
What did he look like?
That's right, I stay out there with a Brownie when they register.
Don't move.
A 45 I wouldn't argue, but a 32 I can get in a couple of words.
I've said them all.
Please. Don't forget you're a lady.
I like the perfume.
What is it?
BENSON's Camera Shop
Whoever did this is a performer.
Cut the spinal cord first try.
They developed the technique in Brooklyn.
You don't say.
Sonny Steelgrave's Boys were specialists.
You're aren't trying to connect Steelgrave with this?
Pretty fragile, isn't it? - Yes
Anyway, he definitely wasn't the last of the big spenders.
Fourteen dollars and change, Seven master keys...
Maybe he thought he'd clean out the hotel.
Eddie, do any of these keys fit this dump?
You can unlock our doors with your little finger.
Well, he knew somebody was after him.
Spotted them getting close.
Calls Marlowe and offers him $100 to safe keep something.
Is that your story, Marlowe?
That's it.
Only he hasn't got $100 on him.
Maybe he was figuring on getting you to gamble along.
Eddie, could the desk give us a rundown on any visitors?
You don't have to pass the desk to go in or out.
No wonder he stayed in here.
That, and all the atmosphere.
I guess that just about does it for the first run-through.
Oh not quite.
What do you know.
Maliway Mushtom.
Used to be a runner for Ace Devore.
How you been, Maliway?
Going to miss you at the morning line-up.
Well, that takes the pressure off.
This punk won't be a 24 hour a day job.
How did you know about that wig?
I'm a trained detective.
That's your exit line, Marlowe. Follow it out.
And don't leave town, you hear me?
Go on, Hady, You too.
What's bugging you? - The 150.
Don't get funny in the wrong place.
Oliver, when I checked him he had $164.
Now there's only 14 left. - So?
So where were you while I was calling the Lieutenant?
Are you accusing me? - Just checking for crimes.
Fifty-fifty?
Okay, here you go. I'll remember you!
Ollie!
I don't want the money. I want something else.
What? - The girl.
Went out of here by these stairs. She had to pass you.
She'd have been running, you'd have been following.
What makes you so wonderful? - I'm a trained detective.
All right. I followed her and she got the car.
How do I know that this isn't a number you already had?
Just take my word for it. - What kind of car?
Jaguar convertible, XKE, yellow.
Describe the girl.
You want a lot for your bread. - Grant Hicks's bread.
Wide felt black hat with a black patent leather band.
Dark glasses.
Black coat and black patent leather buttons and trimming.
White gloves.
Height 5'6"-5'6-1/2". Built like a model.
Don't waste it.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Okay, relax a bit.
Hi. How are you. Hello.
Thank you. You're right, you're right.
Can you get me the name and address with this license?
Sure, I'll be through in half an hour.
Julie, tonight I couldn't lead a kindergarten marching band.
What if I lead, you follow?
Good night, girls.
And then we apply the colour along the part.
And notice how I help it with my thumb.
See?
Good morning, Chuck. - Hold it a minute, girls.
Good morning, Philip. - Good morning, all.
Special delivery for you. Alvarado Hotel. Really, Philip.
Hey... - Do you like?
Yeah!
Another day another dollar. Let me go.
Benson Camera Shop.
Good morning, this is Grant Hicks.
Order ready on claim A1654? - Hold on sir.
Marlowe. - I figured it would be a girl.
Why? - Mr. Hicks?
Why? - Yes, I'm Hicks.
Your order's ready, sir. - Who's Mr. Hicks?
It's something I've been working on.
Why'd you say it had to be a girl?
Are you kidding?
I'm sorry, I'm on another line.
Should I call you back? - I need the information now.
Sir, are you speaking to me? - Yes, I will be in before noon.
That'll be fine. - I have to be back by one.
How's 12? - I can't make it.
You can't make it. We close at six.
No, I will be there to pick them up before noon.
How? - I'll be here.
Goodbye.
Don't hang up yet! Hello? - Honey,
I'm sorry, I can't make it for lunch, but who's the girl?
Mavis Wald.
The Mavis Wald?
My luck.
What's the address?
2720 Nelson Avenue. I hope they pitch you off the balcony.
Goodbye.
Your change, Mr. Hicks.
I'll tell you what we'll do. Keep the change...
... and mail the photos to me at this address.
Alright Mr. Hicks.
It's Marlowe. - Alright, Mr. Marlowe.
I have some stills for Ms. Wald.
You can leave them with me. - No, not these.
I'll phone, wait a minute.
It's the ones we shot at the Alvarado Hotel last night.
Okay.
Yes, ma'am.
Sir, you can go right up.
Penthouse.
Hi. - Mavis Wald?
She's busy making panic calls.
You really shook her. What's up?
I am the father of her triplets.
Do you have a name?
It wouldn't do anything for you.
Sugar? - Yes, please.
I am Dolores, with an "o".
Dolores Gonzales.
Is that Spanish for pain?
You've picked a nice place to suffer.
You jumped to that conclusion, but it's Mavis's pad, not mine.
Which makes you?
Something you don't see every day.
An old friend.
My friend asked me to keep you occupied.
Are you hard to occupy? - As hard to get. as a haircut.
Has anybody ever told you that you have a sensuous under lip?
Everybody mentions it.
Do nice uncomplicated girls turn you on?
I come all unglued.
Are you looking for something?
I just don't want to see Mavis get hurt.
Now who are you?
His name is Philip Marlowe.
Private Detective.
Well, I hope everybody's happy.
Goodbye.
Philip Marlowe.
What can I buy you with? - The money helps.
How much? - Say... $ 100.
$ 100 is money to you? - Make it $200 and I'll retire.
I work for my money.
What am I buying?
I do not think you killed him.
Help to have some reason not to tell the police you were there.
Am I supposed to have killed somebody?
You're going to find this hard to believe, but I came up
with the idea that you might need some help.
I figured you went to the room to make a payoff.
You went there alone and took a chance on being recognized.
That made me think you could be in a king-sized jam.
I said a king-sized jam as a cue.
You're good, Ms. Wald...
You could act your way out of a safe deposit box.
Good day.
You're out of work again, Philip.
Car.
A man with a limited vocabulary you do make your point.
Car.
They tell me there was a disturbance upstairs.
In Miss Wald's apartment.
They tell you wrong.
We were bombing craps.
Where are the pictures?
Who makes your ice picks, Mr. Steelgrave?
Too bad.
Does your mother know what you do for a living...
Mr. Marlowe?
Yes.
What can I do for you?
Good grief! What are you boys up to?
Just renovating, Chuck.
Yes? It's about time.
Come on girls, back to work!
Don't stand looking back to work.
You won't need that.
The word is you are a cool cat.
The word is wrong, I go all to pieces over nothing.
That coat rack has been my family for years.
Would you like it if your coat rack was disassembled?
I've come to make a proposition.
May I reach for my pocket??
It would give me pleasure to do you do something foolish.
$ 500.
For that you can kick the ceiling.
It's yours.
For what?
You are not looking for anybody and can't find anybody.
You do not have time to work for anybody.
You have not heard anything or seen anything.
And what do I for an encore? - Nothing.
Keep on doing nothing for a reasonable time...
and I'll come back and place another 500 on your desk.
Side by side.
And for whom am I doing this? - Winslow Wong, ...
... that is I.
I like a man who uses good grammar. You impress me.
... Whom sent you?
A man who would rather spill money than blood.
But...
also a man who would spill blood if he had no choice.
Take this back to your leader, Mr. Wong.
Tell him you met the last of a dying Dynasty...
... King of the fools. Unassailably virtuous...
... invariably broke.
Okay.
Come on, everybody. Break it up. Let me in there.
Termites, Lieutenant.
Want to come in, sit down?
We'd better go for a walk.
Why?
Because I say we'd better take a walk. Right?
Well, let's take a walk.
This, uhh? - Be my guest, Lieutenant.
Alright.
Ever read the Bay City paper?
All that rape and homicide?
There's an article in there about a party named Klausen.
Ice pick case, Marlowe.
That's two in a row. A trend, maybe?
What did you hear from that hotel cop, Hady?
We lack rapport.
Okay, let's get off Hady and concentrate on you.
Hicks was dead when you got there, right?
Well, as we trained detectives say, he was terminal.
So he could hardly have taken one of your visiting cards?
Stop trying to scare me. - No, tell me about this.
You found my card on Hicks' body? - That's your card isn't it?
Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator.
We missed it the first time.
I gave him one of my cards to Hady.
We went upstairs while I called you, he searched the body.
You figure that he could have...
... taken the money and put my card on Hicks' body...
... while my back was turned?
Well, it's a possibility.
Would you know Sonny Steelgrave if you saw him?
Yes, why?
Was he dark, late 30s...
... slick, something for the girls?
Still punching around with that ice pick theory?
Trying to tie Steelgrave into with Klausen and Hicks?
Does he get out in public much? - No, not much.
Where does he go? - He owns The Dancers.
Steelgrave sometimes takes little chicken broads up there.
Marlowe. - Yes, Mr. Marlowe, this way.
Mr. Marlowe... - What is this?
Compliments of Mr. Steelgrave.
Thank you.
Friends in high places. Who is it? He rich?
He is. Even his tax bracket is elevated.
Delicious.
Might say baroque.
To a late breakfast. - I'll drink to that.
All my friends are going to Lake Tropsure.
I see a trial balloon. I'll make the coffee.
Mr. Marlowe, phone call please. - Thank you.
Did you tell anyone we were here? - No.
Well, that makes two of us.
It's just a way to get you alone.
I didn't come here for the cherry jubilee.
Okay. But take care of yourself.
Winslow, you suckered me out here, you devil.
Take the money Marlowe. - Not a chance.
You can't refuse me this time. - You watch me closely.
Can you remember the alternative, Mr. Marlowe?
You're a paper tiger, Winslow.
You can't do anything in your boss's restaurant.
Mr. Marlowe, I have my instructions.
That's what I'm counting on, Winslow.
What are you going to do, break another coat rack?
You're very effective, but I've seen dogs do better on television.
You're light on your feet, Winslow.
Are you just a little gay?
I didn't come to seduce you. -Good...
Can I come in?
I had to walk miles the other night.
All steps in the right direction? - I've never suspected anybody.
There's someone here.
Coffee?
No thanks, I have a taxi with the meter running.
I've heard from Orrin.
He decided to rejoin the establishment? - He's staying with a doctor.
Your mother ought to be happy.
A Dr. Vincent Lagardie.
Okay, so he's staying with a Dr. Lagardie.
The mob is after him.
They're are all busy making movies!
Please, we have to go there right now to help.
He's afraid to leave.
After all, I did pay you! - I gave it back.
I offered it to you again.
And a lot more.
You'd never have forgiven me.
You don't know me, but when a man rejects a woman...
... he owes her something.
An old Kansas proverb? - Philip, I'm frantic!
Philip? - They're going to kill him.
I have the address right here. - I already have the address.
You have a taxi waiting outside and the meter is running.
Philip, you don't know me.
But then that's your loss.
What was that?
Sort of glad she did that.
I noticed your left jab was a little slow.
She reminded me of somebody. - Don't we all?
Want to have some breakfast?
All I see is two people.
Hardly disastrous to Miss Wald's reputation.
Nothing for the sponsors or the network to be concerned about.
Then why are you talking to me?
I still enjoy talking to the man in the street.
Then you won't mind if I show these to Homicide.
Why should they be interested?
I don't think we'll be doing business, Mr. Crowell.
But thanks for taking my call. - Wait a minute.
What might happen if you show those pictures to the police?
I'd have to connect it with something they are working on.
Something that happened a couple nights ago...
... one of the cheap sin spots in town.
The Alvarado Hotel.
I'd connect it up through the girl.
Miss Wald?
Won't talk to me.
That's why I'm talking to you.
She told me about it.
She told me you tried to force her into hiring you...
... on the grounds that she had been close to the murder scene.
Did she say how close?
She didn't say.
What? - The 11:30
Yes, thank you.
You amuse the hell out of me, Marlowe. You really do.
Trying to use me as a shovel to dig yourself out of a jam.
The jam I am in is nothing compared...
... to what the star of your show would be in...
... if I hadn't done the thing that got me into it.
What are you doing in the next hour?
Recounting my trumps.
Well, let's count them together.
We got to where you were thinking of going downtown with those pictures.
What then? - We didn't get that far.
We only got as far as her calling you.
Did she tell you she also called the man in the pictures.
She neglected to mention it.
He and some of his soldiers were waiting outside when I left.
Do you know who he is?
Don't you?
You're making me more unhappy by the minute, Mr. Marlowe.
Hold it back there, please!
I can't do anything until I get back from London.
You were saying?
Her boy friend tried to buy me first, then bury me.
I resent both overtures.
Where does it stand right now?
You tell me.
She was great, wasn't she?
On the film?
But he must answer.
Fine.
Why don't you answer the phone? - The show is out there.
Yes. - good?
Where are you?
Well the darling of millions has got herself and the rest of us...
... who put her where she is in one hell of a mess.
If it were any actress it would be bad enough, ...
... but in this series? The part she plays?
Did you ever see the show? - No, I haven't.
It's the top rated sitcom in the country.
A situation comedy.
Can you imagine what would happen if it got out that our poor little Mary...
... was shacking up with public enemy number one?
Everything's set, Mr. Crowell!
You don't really want the cops to have those pictures, do you?
No, Marlowe, that's the last thing I... .
Little Mavis Wald. The public would chew her to pieces.
Not to mention the sponsor and network.
The federal gangster's girl.
The number one gangster, no less.
What do you want? - Same thing I wanted from the start.
What she wouldn't give me: the right to work in her best interests.
By suppressing evidence.
If it was evidence. The police can't determine that...
... without smearing. Maybe I can.
They don't have time to worry about reputations.
You do.
Come on. Why are you doing this?
Steelgrave's boys spoiled the coat in my best suit.
Where would I be if I didn't put a stop to things like that?
What is your price?
$ 100 a day and expenses.
And a letter employing me to investigate blackmail of one of your stars.
that a man in my spot dreads over
all other mistakes.
I will find myself doing business with somebody I can trust.
and I'm going to be too damned smart to trust him.
Take this letter to Mr. Philip Marlowe.
" Dear Mr. Marlowe.
This agency employs you to investigate...
on behalf of one its television personalities, a certain matter...
... the particulars of which you have been given verbally.
You fee is to be $ 100 day plus expenses...
... plus a deposit of $ 500.
Sincerely, etc... . "
My driver will take you to the office.
I'm just going to have to trust you, Marlowe.
I hate making mistakes.
Alright, lunch everybody.
40 minutes for the crew.
time for the rest of you.
first shot after lunch will be Miss Wald.
Please be back punctually.
Who let you in? - Mr Crowell.
I do not want you to work for me.
I go to ridiculous extremes to get clients.
Even collect rare photos.
You like a drink? - No, thank you.
Alright, so you know.
It could happen to any red-blooded girl.
Do you love him? - You mean will I give him up?
Something like that.
Do not know if I could, or that I want to.
Anyway, what good will that do now?
Who took the pictures? - I don't know.
Who's trying to blackmail you? - I don't know.
Could you be persuaded to give those negatives to me?
Mr. Crowell hired me to decide what's in your best interests.
I know what's in my best interests.
Fold that letter up and forget this job. Go away, Mr. Marlowe.
You can't win them all! - Did Steelgrave have Hicks killed?
You remember Hicks?
He was stretched out on the bed in the Alvarado hotel.
Sonny did not know there was a picture of us...
... not until you came to my place and I called him.
Leaves the blackmailer, and whoever else is in this with him.
You don't think he will let you off the easy way, do you?
You aren't going to follow my advice? - In one ear and out the other.
What?
You're on, Miss Wald. - Thank you.
Thank you very much for coming by.
You know, Miss Wald, ... - Excuse me.
You could make life easier for all of us by laying your cards on the table.
Goodbye, Mr. Marlowe.
I'll be in touch.
Yes?
I'll be right there.
Stay with it.
Hello. - Hello, I'm Dr. Lagardie.
How do you do. I'm looking for a Mr. Quest.
Orrin Quest.
Who? - Quest.
" Q " as in quintessential, ...
... "U" as in uninhibited, ...
... "E" as in extrasensory...
... " S " as in subliminal, ...
... and " T" as in Truth.
We chatted on the phone. About a Mr. Klausen.
Please, come along.
There is no Orrin Quest among our patients.
You don't know him at all?
The name is completely unfamiliar to me.
Sit down. - Thank you.
That's funny. His sister says he was here.
Hiding out.
From what?
You tell me.
I could be wrong, but smelling all that pot smoke in Klausen's place...
... and his calling you, I jumped to conclusions.
I told you I don't know a Havin Klausen, or an Orrin Quest.
I think you're wasting your time.
You don't mind if I call you a liar, doctor?
I should I call the police and have them run you out.
But my field is special children. Unusual children.
Sometimes it�s better to let them bang on the walls and scream their heads off.
Until they�re prepared for reason. Scream away, Mr. Marlowe.
A fellow named Klausen and a grifter named Hicks...
both killed... by the same man, ...
... but not necessarily for the same reason.
Hicks because he muscled in on somebody else�s shtick.
And Klausen because he was a babbling junkie.
Not exactly a master of the zipped lip. Any good so far?
What is all this to do with me?
Question: what was the shtick?
Answer: Some photographs.
A good man could make a fortune...
... out of these particular photographs.
Question: Who took the photographs?
Presumption: Orrin Quest, the boy I'm looking for.
And why this particular subject...
without their knowing they were being photographed?
Time to take a flier. Let's say Quest knew the girl...
. . let's even say the girl was his sister.
Pretty well screamed out by now?
Not quite.
These ice pick jobs.
They say the Steelgrave gang was taught the technique
by a young intern in Brooklyn.
And it worked...
What happened...
to a bright young medic like that?
Did he come west when they did?
Did he come to...
open a clinic... for kids...
well... to cover illegal activities?
Don't worry, it's not lethal.
I need a little more time.
Not much, just to clear things up.
What's the matter? - Have you got a band aid?
Ooh, you'd better take that off. - In here?
Oh honey. First aid, rubbing alcohol, band aids...
You should get a tetanus shot. That looks deep.
Where I can find Mavis?
Mavis?? - She's not at her place.
And why should I turn you over to her?
Because underneath those pasties there's a size 40 heart.
I thought you liked Mavis.
I do like her but why should she get all the goodies?
She's a star. Give me that.
If you believe that Mavis and I studied at Lee Strasbourg...
Thank you, nurse. You're wanted in the premmies.
Will you come back tonight?
Am I under oath? - Sure.
Probably not.
They'll be shooting late at the studio.
Very well.
Thank you, Doctor. - My pleasure.
Thank you, nurse. - Any time. Call me.
Honey, that is a no-no.
Okay, kids, that's fine.
Give me a minute, huh? How long did...
Miss Wald...
Your brother... - Don't you have anything else to do?
He took the pictures of you and Steelgrave, right?
He's dead.
Someone shot him a couple of hours ago.
You're making that up.
I have to tell Orfamay too. You want to come along?
All set, Miss Wald?
Where is Steelgrave tonight?
Don't try to blame him.
I talked to him on the phone more than an hour ago.
. . in his place at Mount Wilson.
That's one thing about Steelgrave.
He's never around when the shooting starts.
Maybe that's because he knows when it will start.
Please Miss Wald.
Orfamay Quest?
Checked out. - To where, did she say?
She asked for a train schedule to Kansas.
If that's any help... - Every little bit helps. Thank you.
Any time.
Are you going to leave without saying goodbye?
After all we've meant to each other? - I told you I leave Saturday.
But it's only Friday.
I ran out of money.
And out of friends.
I'm going home. My train leaves in an hour.
And I can do without your company.
Here, I'll help you. - No, thank you.
Orfamay.
Orfamay!
What do you want?
I thought we could go up to my place and have a drink.
I'll give you a shoulder to cry on. Oh!
Miss!
Hot chocolate, please. - Coffee.
I'm sick of this stupid city
It's can be a meat grinder.
How come you're being so nice to me all of a sudden?
I get an attack of the nices every now and then.
You're getting ready to tell me something nasty, isn't it?
Yes.
About Orrin, isn't it?
Yes.
They killed him, didn't they?
Yes.
When? - Tonight at Lagardie clinic.
You could have saved him had you gone there when I told you!
But you had that girl in your place!
You couldn't bother to save a fellow human being.
Not when it might interfere with your animal pleasures!
He was alive when I got there with an ice pick in his hand.
Doesn't that tell you anything?
Are you accusing my brother?
You know about those ice pick murders?
Why shouldn't I, they're all over the papers.
When do the tears start to flow for your long-lost brother?
Officer, I believe this man knows about a murder.
This a joke?
My brother's been killed and he was there.
Is she putting me on?
I was just about to call Homicide.
Oh, you were, were you?
I hope they lock you up forever.
License 643 295.
Okay, Lieutenant, it's all yours. - Alright.
Now you just start to talk.
Let it flow. You know what I mean.
Want me to make a statement? - Yes, full statement.
A voluntary and without coercion.
Everything you know, alright?
Then ask. If you don't like the answers book me.
And if you book me I get to make a phone call.
Wait. Don't tell me that you've been strictly legal in this...
Case?? - Yes
No.
I suppose you have a client to protect?
Maybe. - He did. She dropped...
Ask the questions, please. - What happened at Klausen's place?
I went out there looking for her brother.
His sister told me she got a call from him at the Lagardie clinic...
... and I went out there.
Care to see my back? - Wait a minute.
Why would he try to pick you? You were his pal, come to save him.
I was just something between him and the light. Something that moved.
Maybe he thought I was the person who shot him.
A man in his condition acts from instinct.
He does not invent new techniques.
So I believe Orrin Quest killed both Klausen and Hicks.
What about Lagardie? You got anything on him?
We checked on him.
He could have killed me and he didn't, so he probably hasn't killed anybody.
But finding an ice pick in his place, made me think of Steelgrave.
That's pretty wild, Marlowe. That's tenacious, you know.
Would I do myself any good if I went out and tried to tighten it up?
I won't leave town.
Thanks.
I don't want to run this into the ground
One more little favour? - Yes, what?
Orfamay Quest.
Could you arrange to keep her around town for a day or two?
On what grounds?
Well, I don't know...
Tell her you've decided to draw and quarter me and you want her to whip the horses.
She won't be able to pass that up.
Is the party over?
Trying to break a lease, right?
Speak softly, please.
Sorry.
Tough day at the office?
Tough day? An average day in a detective's life.
I've been, ...
stabbed... ...
mugged... and generally snookered.
I ache all over.
My office qualifies for urban renewal...
the cops... envy my successes, ...
they're trying to take my license away, ...
... I'd say that's an average day.
I'm almost afraid to ask why you're here.
I'm almost afraid to tell you.
Mavis??
She tried to call you, couldn't find you, and she got me.
I'll wait a minute.
I think you can service her.
All my clients have troubles.
That's why they come to me.
Why do you bother with them?
Why don't you get out of it?
Stock options.
Pension plan.
What kind of trouble is Mavis in?
I don't know. I was on stage when called.
The message was: get Philip Marlowe. I need him now.
You do a lot of fetching and carrying for Mavis, don't you?
Why not? We go waaay back.
What are friends for?
Something like that.
The Steelgrave place. - Yes
She's not alone in there.
He's there too.
It's not like Steelgrave to leave the gate unlatched.
Where are all his troops?
Now and then he likes to be alone.
Speaking from experience?
Once upon a time he was mine.
Until Mavis took him.
You know?
I'm great between the lines.
I only suffer. Every winner has to be a loser, right?
Be careful in there.
I'll wait.
No, go on home, Dolores.
Miss Wald...
I got word you tried to call me.
Mavis??
Come on!
Hear, drink it.
Come on.
More.
Where's yours?
Someone has to drive.
You're rather nice for what you are.
Well, it could be the brandy, the altitude, or shock...
... You're stalling for time.
For someone to get here or get away from here.
Where is Steelgrave?
I liked him.
I liked him a lot.
Going to wrap it in a handkerchief?
Where'd you leave him?
Behind that chair.
In the corner.
Well it's been one hell of a day. - What did you expect?
He killed my brother. - Your brother was pushing too hard.
But to kill him?
Did you tell Steelgrave that it was your brother blackmailing you?
Of course I didn't.
Somebody did.
He did not care about those pictures except for your sake.
He was only trying to protect you.
Well, he certainly proved that.
Yes, he did in his own way.
The same way he came after me when he thought I was pressing.
It will cost a lot to fix this.
I'm not worth it.
Tell me why you had the gun with you.
The gun? - Don't stop to think.
Tell me: did you mean to kill him! - Why not?
I thought I meant something to him. I guess I was vain.
Fool.
Go home, Miss Wald. - What?
Go on home. - You say!
You're my client. Do as you're told.
Go on! Get out! -I'm going, okay?
Homicide, please.
Yes, this baby's been working.
What is the story, Marlowe?
A girl came to my office to tell me that a client of mine was in danger.
Drove me up here, dropped me off and went home.
The girl's name?
Dolores Gonzales. - Your client?
Another party altogether. - Your client's name?
Not yet, Lieutenant.
Your rules, right?
You here when he got it?
No. - Who was?
He was. - Who else?
I won't lie, I don't know who was here when he got it.
Who was here when you got here?
He was.
Alright, Fred, put the cuffs on this guy.
Behind.
Alright, Marlowe.
Let's go.
If I didn't have enough trouble, I have to worry about you too.
Do you know how I spend my days?
Turning over dirty underwear.
And my nights?
Spent snooping rotten teeth. - Alright.
I go up a dark stairway after some gun punk with a skin full of horse
Maybe tomorrow I don't get up the stairs.
Or I get a confession from some guy...
they swear I beat it out of the bastard.
Nothing I do is right. Never. Not once.
If I make one mistake, ...
I'm back in uniform, out in the streets with the hookers yelling at me.
I taking tire chains away from tough kids. But that's not enough...
... I have you. I got to have me a shark with a private license...
... suppressing information.
Concealing evidence, framing set-ups that wouldn't fool a baby. impossible to believe.
You wouldn't mind if I call you a cheap double-crossing keyhole peeper!
You want me to mind? - I'd love it. I'd love it.
Okay, then I mind.
Your license is dead as of now! - When the commissioner says it's dead!
Let's get one thing straight! -I'm doing this my way!
I'm waiting for this bird to crack wise. He hasn't cracked wise yet.
The price of practice!
Not as fast. - Come on...
Not so good tonight are you lieutenant? -Shut the hell up!
Lieutenant, calm down. - I don't need any excuse...
I'll take care of this comedian.
The new type of third degree. The police beat the hell out of each other...
... the suspect cracks up from the agony of watching.
It never fails.
You knew I hit, Fred. - Nobody hit me, Christy.
Nobody I can remember, Fred...
Tell this character to get out of here. He's on short rope.
Tell him to get his ass home. Directly home!
Tell him I'll be in touch with him. Very close touch.
Get out of here, baby.
Get out now. - How? I don't have transportation.
Try hitchhiking and don't press your luck.
What?
Who do you suppose will clean up this mess?
Where are they?
Looking for something?
You know what I'm looking for.
The pictures.
Now that your brother is dead...
Grab the pictures and blackmail your own sister.
Well I burned the pictures and negatives, and they made a lovely flame.
You what?
Give me your purse, little sister.
Don't come any closer to me.
Get away from me!
Drops it Mavis!
It's my purse!
It's mine, Mavis!
It's mine!
- Sonny gave you that money, didn't he?
I don't know any Sonny.
The smell of lilacs in his place that night was a little girl smell.
You went up there to tell where Orrin was hiding.
How much did he pay you to tell?
About an even $ 1,000.
Well, it was Orrin's own fault.
He took the pictures of you with that gangster.
And he promised me some of the money.
And I didn't hear from him any more. So I came to find him.
Sister, you got our brother killed! - Mavis, that's not true.
I warned Orrin.
I said that if you don't take care of me
I'll tell Mr. Steelgrave where you are.
He said he had lost the pictures.
And I didn't believe him.
So I took a taxi and went to see Mr. Steelgrave.
You know how expensive that is?
Then I talked to Philip to go by the clinic and protect Orrin...
... even though he didn't deserve it!
It's not my fault your boys got there before Philip!
He was our brother? -Don't you go blaming me!
You had no business going off and leaving us!
Orfamay, when did I forget about you or Mom?
Or even poor Orrin?
And I always came to see you whenever...
Oh, sure...
Always ask and no guilt feelings...
pardoned now!
I tried to take the blame for you after you shot Sonny.
After I what? - I kept the gun in my apartment...
... and after you came to see me it was gone.
Well I didn't take it.
I hope your mother will be very happy.
Anyway, Who can prove it?
What can prove it? You?
Who are you? - Nobody.
That's right a nobody! A cheap nobody!
I said it first.
$ 50 means bye to you.
You! You!
You! Get away from me!
I hate you, Mavis!
I hate you!
Come on... -Let go of me!
Now stay there!
Kansas is due east.
Come here.
I tried to make things better for her.
I used to tell her how pretty she was.
You really thought that your little sister killed Steelgrave?
So you went out on stage and played the big guilty.
Trying to cover for her.
Those little 32s kick out a lot of graphite.
Last night your hand was a pure snow white.
But if Orfamay didn't kill him...
... then who did?
Forget it, Mavis, forget it.
You've got plenty of time.
You've got old bullfighters to meet, jets to fly...
Magazine covers to pose for...
Do it, make it work for you.
Thank you very much, Philip Marlowe.
Reservations. No, she's not here today.
Hi, Joe. Dolores is expecting me. - Go right in.
Our night? - All ours.
There's one piece still missing.
Lagardie.
It would help if he used to be your husband.
Back in Brooklyn, a young doctor with the mob, ...
a wife like you, a man like Steelgrave?
It makes a tidy package.
The streets are paved with forgotten husbands.
You must have loved him a lot.
My husband? - Steelgrave.
It had to be someone who knew both Steelgrave and Mavis.
Who could come and go in her apartment as they pleased.
Who had access to the gun Steelgrave gave her.
It comes up you.
Like I said, Mavis is a nice girl, but...
... Why should she get hold of him?
You went to a lot of trouble.
And there is nothing you can do about it. Is there?
... unless you want to destroy her.
And you wouldn't do that, would you?
You'd dream of those great big eyes of hers!
Police department, please.
Police department. Sergeant Parrish.
Hello, hello.