One of the landmark film noir movies, it stars William Powell as detective Philip Marlowe who gets involved in a case involving murder and a jewel heist. It's the dark side of humanity played out in shadows of the night. The dialogue is tough and sardonic, though it takes a bit getting used to hearing it coming out of Powell's baby face. When the women hug him and try to sweet-talk him, he cringes his face and rolls his eyes, but it's hard to believe him completely. Powell is conked on the head early on in the movie, and he spends most of the picture walking around in a semi-dazed state: it's as if the world has suddenly lost its moorings and is drifting in some surrealistic space and time. The scene where he's drugged and hallucinates is particularly nightmarish. The movie helped define the film noir genre and put the gritty hardboiled detective on center stage. And Clair Trevor as Velma is near perfection. Definitely worth a watch.