Hollywoodland

August 6 2025

HIGH ELEVATION

Lee decides to get a little air.

This photo of James Garner and a seemingly flying Bruce Lee was made today in 1969 on the set of the movie Marlowe, which Garner headlined as Raymond Chandler’s famed private eye Phillip Marlowe, and in which Lee guested as a sort of criminal underling. If we remember correctly, Garner goads him into attempting a flying kick on a rooftop or balcony, and Lee plunges screaming to his death. Here’s how we like to imagine this photo coming to be:

Bruce Lee: “What are you, James, about six one? I could totally kick you in the face.”

James Garner: “I really don’t think so, Bruce.”

Bruce Lee: “Would you care to put your money where your doubt is?”

James Garner: “No—I don’t want to be kicked in the stomach, chest, or whatever part of me you end up hitting.”

Bruce Lee: “I’ll kick to the height of your face. I’ll do it over here. Though I confess I wouldn’t mind flattening that smug expression of yours.”

James Garner: “Fine. Five bucks.”

Bruce Lee: “Are you kidding? You’re the star of this derivative piece of detective shlock! Fifty bucks.”

James Garner: “Everyone’s a critic. Okay. Fifty.”

Bruce Lee: “Here we go. Ready? HIIEE-YAHH!”

James Garner: “Well done, Bruce. The fifty bucks should cover new pants. You split those all to hell.”

Actually, Garner knew quite well that Lee could kick him in the face, because in Marlowe he kicked the smithereens out of a light fixture that was well over six feet in the air. Lee also instructed Garner in martial arts, and to varying degrees trained other celebrities like James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Sharon Tate, Dean Martin, and 7’2” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who he also probably could have kicked in the face. His photo with Garner is one of his more famous images.

Marlowe, Bruce Lee, James Garner, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Sharon Tate, Dean Martin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Chandler

Vintage Pulp

October 1 2022

THE MARLOWE MAN

Garner's portrayal of a classic detective feels a lot like a Rockford Files test run.

Raymond Chandler’s novels have been adapted to the screen several times. One of the lesser known efforts was 1969’s Marlowe, which was based on the 1949 novel The Little Sister and starred future Rockford Files centerpiece James Garner as Chandler’s famed Philip Marlowe. You see a cool Spanish popster for the movie above, painted by Fernandez Zarza-Pérez, also known as Jano. As usual when we show you a foreign promo for a U.S. movie, it’s because the domestic promo isn’t up to the same quality. In this case the U.S. promo is almost identical, but in black and white. The choice was clear.

Since you know what to expect from a Chandler adaptation, we don’t need to go into the plot much, except to say it deals with an icepick murderer and ties into show business and blackmail. What’s more important is whether the filmmakers made good use of the original material, either by remaining true to its basic ideas or by imagining something new and better. They weren’t going for new in this case. They were providing a vehicle for the charismatic Garner and ended up with a movie that features him in the same mode he would later perfect in Rockford.

Marlowe has a few elements of note. Rita Moreno plays a burlesque dancer, and it’s one of her sexier roles. Bruce Lee makes an appearance as a thug named Winslow Wong. Garner is the star, so it isn’t a spoiler to say that Lee doesn’t stand a chance. He’s dispatched in unlikely but amusing fashion. Overall, Marlowe feels like an ambitious television movie and plays like a test run for Rockford, but it’s fun stuff. We recommend it for fans of Chandler, Moreno, Lee, Carroll O’Connor (who co-stars as a police lieutenant), and especially Garner. It premiered in the U.S. in 1969, but didn’t reach Spain until today in 1976.

Spain, Marlowe, The Rockford Files, James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O'Connor, Rita Moreno, Bruce Lee, Francisco Fernández-Zarza Pérez, Jano, Raymond Chandler, burlesque, poster art, cinema, movie review

Hollywoodland

February 21 2017

PROJECTED RESULTS

They're hoping for a Cinemiracle.

The above photo shows two hopefuls backstage about to compete for the title of Miss Cinemiracle, which was bestowed by the Los Angeles Press Photographer’s Association in a pageant held at the National Theatre. We have no idea who the two women are or what they did once taking the stage, but we do know what Cinemiracle was—a film projection system designed to compete with Cinerama. The winner of the Miss Cinemiracle title, who ended up being Merlene Marrow, gained a measure of recognition—always invaluable for those hoping to break into show business—and in return helped publicize the projection process at public appearances. You see Marrow doing exactly that below, standing next to other pageant winners and actor James Garner. Eventually, Cinerama bought the patents for Cinemiracle and brought the competing format to an end. Anyway, these images struck us and we wanted to share them. The one above was made today in 1958, and the one below was made later the same year.

Los Angeles, Los Angeles Press Photographer's Association, National Theatre, Cinemiracle, Cinerama, Merlene Marrow, James Garner, cinema

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

January 18

1967—Boston Strangler Convicted

Albert DeSalvo, the serial killer who became known as the Boston Strangler, is convicted of murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He serves initially in Bridgewater State Hospital, but he escapes and is recaptured. Afterward he is transferred to federal prison where six years later he is killed by an inmate or inmates unknown.

January 17

1950—The Great Brinks Robbery Occurs

In the U.S., eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. The skillful execution of the crime, with only a bare minimum of clues left at the scene, results in the robbery being billed as “the crime of the century.” Despite this, all the members of the gang are later arrested.

January 17

1977—Gary Gilmore Is Executed

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States. Gilmore’s story is later turned into a 1979 novel entitled The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, and the book wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature.

January 16

1942—Carole Lombard Dies in Plane Crash

American actress Carole Lombard, who was the highest paid star in Hollywood during the late 1930s, dies in the crash of TWA Flight 3, on which she was flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after headlining a war bond rally in support of America’s military efforts. She was thirty-three years old.

January 15

1919—Luxemburg and Liebknecht Are Killed

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps. Freikorps was a term applied to various paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. Members of these groups would later become prominent members of the SS.

DON GIOVANNI

Giovanni Benvenuti was one of Italy's most prolific paperback cover artists. His unique style is on display in multiple collections within our website.

WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT