Murder, My Sweet must be seen through the lens of the film-noir genre as it classically portrays the style, mood and feeling of this detective genre that came to be loved in the 1940s and 50s. The main character, Marlowe is created to be smarter and quicker than everyone else, always a step ahead because as the private detective in the story he represents us as the audience. We are the ones that must figure out “who done it” and thus we become the main character, the voice of reason, the interrogator and we won’t stop, just like Marlowe until we get our man or in this case our woman.
Marlowe guides us through the story as he is the protagonist but also the narrator of the film. By narrating, Marlowe becomes a connection from the literary world of crime novels to the movie screen. His voice is ours as we slip into our overcoat, hat and grab a pack of smokes to hit the streets for clues. Film-noir makes us as much a part of the picture as anyone as the mystery elements are made to engage us with the story and to interact in order to find clues that are being dropped. So, when Marlowe becomes confused or doesn’t have all of the information or when he is knocked out, which happens often in this film, we also lose information and begin to search for what actually happened. Thus the narrator is created to keep us off the trail as well because if we discover who killed Marriott early enough there is no story to tell.
Dmytryk also creates a menacing tone with the characters of Moose Malloy and Amthor. These are classic antagonists in the film-noir genre. They are there to make us feel that at any moment we are going to have to fight for our lives and that is exactly what happens when Marlowe is drugged by Amthor and Manhandled by Malloy. But what makes it intriguing is when Marlowe is able to outwit Malloy and turn him onto his side. It shows us as the audience that it doesn’t just take brawn to win a fight. All of these elements add the spice to this film that allow it to take on a life that isn’t just seen on screen, but one that is also felt within each person who takes part in the story as a private eye audience member.
