The Lady in the Lake
Encyclopedia
The Lady in the Lake is a 1943 detective novel
by Raymond Chandler
featuring, as do all his major works, the Los Angeles
private investigator
Philip Marlowe
.
, which was barely mentioned in Chandler's other wartime books.
), stating that she was divorcing him and marrying her gigolo boyfriend, Chris Lavery. But when Kingsley ran into Lavery in L.A., and asked him "where's Crystal", Lavery tells him that he hasn't seen her, wasn't with her in El Paso, doesn't know where she is, and never agreed, or wanted, to marry her.
Marlowe begins his investigations at Little Fawn Lake. Kingsley has given him a note to the caretaker of his vacation home, one Bill Chess. Chess is in an alcoholic haze, depressed over having been abandoned by his wife Muriel, at about the same time as Crystal disappeared. As Marlowe and Chess walk over the property, they discover the drowned body of Chess' wife, bloated from decomposition and almost unrecognizable except by her clothes and jewelry. Chess is immediately arrested for his wife's murder, and Marlowe, although doubtful of his guilt, returns to Los Angeles.
In L.A. he travels to the corrupt neighboring town of Bay City (modeled on Santa Monica
) to interview Chris Lavery, who appears to have some kind of guilty knowledge about Crystal but will not come clean. When departing from this interview a tough cop named Al Degarmo drives up and accuses Marlowe of harassing Lavery's neighbor, Dr. Almore. Eventually Marlowe discovers that Dr. Almore's wife had died under suspicious circumstances, that her death was hushed up by the police, and that Dr. Almore's mistress
at the time was Mildred Haviland, the former spouse
of Degarmo.
When Marlowe goes back to talk to Lavery again, he finds him murdered in his bathroom. A gun had been fired six times, two of the shots had hit him, and one was fatal. Mrs. Fallbrook, the owner of the rented house that Lavery lives in, confronts Marlowe on his way out, but Marlowe manages to scare her off without letting her discover the murder. Then he goes back to Kingsley, who offers him a fat bonus to prove Crystal didn't do it. But on the way out of Bay City he is confronted by the cops again, who force him to drink liquor and then beat him up and arrest him for drunk driving
. Marlowe manages to convince the Bay City Chief of Police that he was framed, and is turned loose.
Now Kingsley tells him that he has received a phone call from Crystal, begging for $500. Marlowe is to deliver it. When he gets to the rendezvous, Marlowe insists that Crystal answer his questions before receiving the money. Marlowe recognizes her as being "Mrs. Fallbrook", the woman he met in Lavery's house, and accuses her of being the murderer of Lavery. She pulls a gun on him and someone hits Marlowe from behind with a blackjack.
When Marlowe wakes up he is stinking with gin and Crystal is lying naked, bloody and strangled to death on the bed. Marlowe attempts to get away but is arrested by Degarmo, who wants Marlowe to help him convict Kingsley of the sex murder
of Crystal (Kingsley's wife). Marlowe lets him think he can provide the evidence against Kingsley, but they must go to Little Fawn Lake to find it.
In the final confrontation at Little Fawn Lake, Marlowe reveals that the murder victim supposed to be Crystal (in Los Angeles) was actually Mildred Haviland, AKA Muriel Chess AKA Mrs. Fallbrook; she was killed by Al Degarmo (her former husband) in a jealous rage; and that the murder victim supposed to be Muriel Chess (at Little Fawn Lake) was actually Crystal Kingsley, who was killed by Mildred Haviland for revenge and profit, assuming the identity
of her victim. Mildred also murdered Lavery. Degarmo - who strangled Mildred - attempts to flee, but is killed while trying to escape.
.
Lux Radio Theater
broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 9, 1948 with Robert Montgomery
and Audrey Totter
reprising their film roles.
The novel was adapted on BBC Radio 4
by Bill Morrison, directed by John Tydeman and broadcast on 7 November 1977 starring Ed Bishop
as Marlowe. It was adapted again for BBC Radio 4
(this time by Stephen Wyatt) and broadcast on 12 February 2011 starring Toby Stephens
as Marlowe; the production was directed by Claire Grove.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
by Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
featuring, as do all his major works, the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
.
Introduction
Notable for its removal of Marlowe from his usual Los Angeles environs for much of the book, the novel's complicated plot initially deals with the case of a missing woman in a small mountain town an hour or so from the city. The ending of the book makes a direct reference to America's involvement in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which was barely mentioned in Chandler's other wartime books.
Plot summary
Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, hires Marlowe to find his estranged wife Crystal. Although separated from his wife, Kingsley fears that Crystal - rich, pretty, spoiled and reckless - may have gotten herself into a scandal that could jeopardize his own position with the shareholders of the company he runs. The last definite place Crystal was known to have been was at a resort called Little Fawn Lake. And Kingsley had received a telegram from Crystal about two weeks before, (dateline El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
), stating that she was divorcing him and marrying her gigolo boyfriend, Chris Lavery. But when Kingsley ran into Lavery in L.A., and asked him "where's Crystal", Lavery tells him that he hasn't seen her, wasn't with her in El Paso, doesn't know where she is, and never agreed, or wanted, to marry her.
Marlowe begins his investigations at Little Fawn Lake. Kingsley has given him a note to the caretaker of his vacation home, one Bill Chess. Chess is in an alcoholic haze, depressed over having been abandoned by his wife Muriel, at about the same time as Crystal disappeared. As Marlowe and Chess walk over the property, they discover the drowned body of Chess' wife, bloated from decomposition and almost unrecognizable except by her clothes and jewelry. Chess is immediately arrested for his wife's murder, and Marlowe, although doubtful of his guilt, returns to Los Angeles.
In L.A. he travels to the corrupt neighboring town of Bay City (modeled on Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) to interview Chris Lavery, who appears to have some kind of guilty knowledge about Crystal but will not come clean. When departing from this interview a tough cop named Al Degarmo drives up and accuses Marlowe of harassing Lavery's neighbor, Dr. Almore. Eventually Marlowe discovers that Dr. Almore's wife had died under suspicious circumstances, that her death was hushed up by the police, and that Dr. Almore's mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
at the time was Mildred Haviland, the former spouse
Wife
A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
of Degarmo.
When Marlowe goes back to talk to Lavery again, he finds him murdered in his bathroom. A gun had been fired six times, two of the shots had hit him, and one was fatal. Mrs. Fallbrook, the owner of the rented house that Lavery lives in, confronts Marlowe on his way out, but Marlowe manages to scare her off without letting her discover the murder. Then he goes back to Kingsley, who offers him a fat bonus to prove Crystal didn't do it. But on the way out of Bay City he is confronted by the cops again, who force him to drink liquor and then beat him up and arrest him for drunk driving
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
. Marlowe manages to convince the Bay City Chief of Police that he was framed, and is turned loose.
Now Kingsley tells him that he has received a phone call from Crystal, begging for $500. Marlowe is to deliver it. When he gets to the rendezvous, Marlowe insists that Crystal answer his questions before receiving the money. Marlowe recognizes her as being "Mrs. Fallbrook", the woman he met in Lavery's house, and accuses her of being the murderer of Lavery. She pulls a gun on him and someone hits Marlowe from behind with a blackjack.
When Marlowe wakes up he is stinking with gin and Crystal is lying naked, bloody and strangled to death on the bed. Marlowe attempts to get away but is arrested by Degarmo, who wants Marlowe to help him convict Kingsley of the sex murder
Lust murder
A lust murder is a homicide in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Lust murder is synonymous with the paraphilic term erotophonophilia which is sexual arousal or gratification contingent on the death of a human being...
of Crystal (Kingsley's wife). Marlowe lets him think he can provide the evidence against Kingsley, but they must go to Little Fawn Lake to find it.
In the final confrontation at Little Fawn Lake, Marlowe reveals that the murder victim supposed to be Crystal (in Los Angeles) was actually Mildred Haviland, AKA Muriel Chess AKA Mrs. Fallbrook; she was killed by Al Degarmo (her former husband) in a jealous rage; and that the murder victim supposed to be Muriel Chess (at Little Fawn Lake) was actually Crystal Kingsley, who was killed by Mildred Haviland for revenge and profit, assuming the identity
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
of her victim. Mildred also murdered Lavery. Degarmo - who strangled Mildred - attempts to flee, but is killed while trying to escape.
Film, television, or theatrical adaptations
The novel was made into the film Lady in the LakeLady in the Lake
Lady in the Lake is a 1947 American film noir that marked the directorial debut of Robert Montgomery, who also stars in the film. The picture also features Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows...
.
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 9, 1948 with Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
and Audrey Totter
Audrey Totter
Audrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
reprising their film roles.
The novel was adapted on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
by Bill Morrison, directed by John Tydeman and broadcast on 7 November 1977 starring Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain.-Early life:Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns in Newfoundland...
as Marlowe. It was adapted again for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
(this time by Stephen Wyatt) and broadcast on 12 February 2011 starring Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
as Marlowe; the production was directed by Claire Grove.