Lady in the Lake

Lady in the Lake is a 1947 American film noir directed by and starring Robert Montgomery alongside Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows. The film is an adaptation of the 1943 Raymond Chandler murder mystery The Lady in the Lake and represents Montgomery's directorial debut and final film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) after 18 years with the studio. Montgomery's use of point-of-view cinematography was blamed for the end of his career at MGM. As director, Montgomery's ambition was to create a cinematic version of the first-person narrative style of Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels. Aside from mirror reflections and direct addresses to the audience, Marlowe is never seen. The balance of the film is shot from his point of view, seeing only what he sees. MGM promoted the film claiming that it was the first of its kind and the most revolutionary style of film since the introduction of the talkies. The film was also unusual for having virtually no instrumental soundtrack, instead employing a wordless vocal chorus. The film did not use the 195-page screenplay adaptation that Chandler had written for MGM in 1945 but rather a 125-page version written by Steve Fisher. The script changes the novel's midsummer setting to December, frequently using cheery Christmas themes as an ironic counterpoint to grim aspects of the story. The opening credits appear on a stack of Christmas cards, the last of which reveals a handgun.