Philip Marlowe, the quintessential L.A. private eye, searches for an ex-con’s girlfriend, but, as always, winds up swimming in deceit and double-crosses, all of it washing up at a lavish Malibu beach house. A brilliant studio-lot evocation of Raymond Chandler’s favorite corrupt city, featuring former hoofer Dick Powell in a career-transforming turn as Marlowe, and tempting Claire Trevor as the fabulous femme fatale, a role that re-vamped her career and set the template for so many vixens to come. Featuring a vivid supporting cast, Murder, My Sweet earns plenty of votes as the best adaptation ever of a Chandler novel.