Ever tried to trick a cat? It doesn't work. They know. That’s how Robert Altman’s 1973 masterpiece begins—not with a high-speed chase or a smoky office, but with a guy named Philip Marlowe trying to convince his finicky ginger cat that a knock-off brand of "Courry Brand" cat food is actually the good stuff.
Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye isn’t the Marlowe you think you know.
If you grew up on Humphrey Bogart’s version of the character in The Big Sleep, Gould’s performance is going to feel like a glitch in the Matrix. He’s disheveled. He mumbles. He has this nervous, twitchy energy that feels more like a guy looking for a lost remote than a legendary private eye. But that’s exactly why the movie is a stone-cold classic.
The "Rip Van Marlowe" Problem
When Robert Altman took on the project, he didn’t want to make a period piece. He wanted to drop a 1950s man into the hazy, neon-soaked, health-obsessed landscape of 1970s Los Angeles. He and Gould even had a nickname for the character: "Rip Van Marlowe."
Think about it. Marlowe wakes up after a 20-year nap and finds himself in a world where his neighbors are topless hippies practicing yoga, and people actually care about what's in their hash brownies. He’s still wearing the suit. He’s still driving a 1948 Lincoln Continental.
He’s an anachronism.
Honestly, the world has moved on, but Marlowe is stuck in a moral code that doesn't exist anymore. He’s loyal to a fault. When his friend Terry Lennox (played by former MLB pitcher Jim Bouton) shows up in the middle of the night asking for a ride to the Mexican border, Marlowe doesn't ask questions. He just goes.
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That’s his "old school" virtue. And in this movie, it’s exactly what gets him destroyed.
Why Elliott Gould Was the Ultimate Risk
Casting Gould was a massive gamble. At the time, he was basically blackballed in Hollywood after a disaster on the set of a movie called A Glimpse of Tiger. Producers wanted Lee Marvin or Robert Mitchum—tough guys. Rugged guys.
Altman fought for Gould. He saw something in Gould's "every-schnook" quality that fit the vibe of a man who is constantly being stepped on by a world that finds him irrelevant.
- The Mumbling: Gould spent half the movie talking to himself. It wasn't always in the script. It was a choice to show Marlowe’s isolation.
- The Chain-Smoking: In a 70s LA that was starting to get obsessed with "wellness," Marlowe is a walking chimney. He even lights matches on his own fingernails.
- The "It’s Okay With Me" Catchphrase: No matter how bad things get—getting arrested, getting punched, getting lied to—he just shrugs and says, "It's okay with me."
It isn't okay, though. That’s the lie he tells himself to survive.
Subverting the Noir Playbook
The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she co-wrote the original The Big Sleep screenplay for Bogart back in the 40s. She also wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back.
She knew the rules of noir better than anyone. And here, she helps Altman light those rules on fire.
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The cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond is "flashed"—meaning the film was exposed to light before being developed. It gives the whole movie a washed-out, pastel look. It’s the opposite of the high-contrast shadows of classic noir. It looks like a faded postcard from a vacation you never wanted to take.
Then there’s the music. John Williams (yes, that John Williams) and Johnny Mercer wrote a title theme that is the only song in the movie. You hear it as a jazz track, a funeral dirge, a supermarket muzak version, even a doorbell chime. It’s a literal "long goodbye" that never stops playing.
That Controversial Ending (Spoilers Ahead)
In Raymond Chandler’s novel, the ending is bittersweet. In the movie? It’s a gut-punch.
Marlowe realizes that Terry Lennox—the "friend" he risked everything for—actually did kill his wife. Terry didn't just use Marlowe; he laughed at him. He saw Marlowe as a "born loser."
In the book, Marlowe lets him walk away. In the 1973 film, Marlowe pulls out a gun and shoots him dead in Mexico.
It’s a shocking departure. Fans of the book hated it. Critics at the time were baffled. But looking back from 2026, it makes perfect sense. It’s the moment Rip Van Marlowe finally wakes up. He realizes that being a "noble knight" in a corrupt world is a suicide mission.
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He kills the past so he can finally leave it behind.
Why You Should Care Today
Most modern crime movies—think The Big Lebowski or Inherent Vice—owe everything to Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye. The idea of the "slacker detective" or the "bumbling investigator" started here.
It’s a movie about the death of American innocence. It’s about how the system doesn't just beat you; it ignores you.
If you're looking for a tight, logical mystery, this isn't it. The plot is a mess on purpose. Characters show up and disappear. The mystery is almost secondary to the atmosphere. It’s a vibe.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Watch
- Watch the camera: It never stops moving. Altman used a constant slow zoom or pan to make you feel like a voyeur.
- Look for Arnold Schwarzenegger: He has a tiny, wordless cameo as a shirtless henchman in a gangster’s office. It was one of his first roles.
- Listen to the lyrics: Every time the theme song plays, the lyrics change slightly or the context shifts to reflect Marlowe's current state of mind.
If you haven't seen it, grab a bag of pretzels and find a copy. It’s messy, it’s cynical, and it’s arguably the coolest movie of the 1970s.
To really appreciate the evolution of the genre, pair this with a re-watch of The Big Sleep. You'll see the exact moment the "Hardboiled Private Eye" died and was replaced by a guy just trying to find some cat food at 3:00 AM.
Watch The Long Goodbye on a rainy Tuesday night when you're feeling a bit out of sync with the world. It hits differently then.