There’s a fine line between cinematic innovation and gimmickry. Unfortunately, Lady Of The Lake lands on the wrong side of the line.

The gimmick in question is using a first person camera to tell the story. Robert Montgomery as Philip Marlowe is only seen when a mirror is involved.

This POV technique was used to better effect in Dark Passage whose director Delmer Daves had the good sense to only use it for part of the movie. Montgomery, who also directed Lady Of The Lake, was all in. The technique has never been used for an entire movie again. Why? It doesn’t work.

Instead of following a rather confusing Raymond Chandler story, viewers are fixated on the first person camera narration. Watching Audrey Totter play to the camera and not off her leading man is a bit unnerving. The POV gimmick wastes a fine performance by Totter.

Lady Of The Lake  poses another question: Why was Audrey Totter never a cool Hitchcock blond? Hitchcock had a fetish for women in suits. Nobody looked better in a suit than Audrey Totter.

I’m not sure whether to call that a femme fatale face or merely stern. Audrey Totter’s character is one tough cookie and is the best thing about the movie.

I’m skipping a plot synopsis because the movie makes sporadic sense at best. Lady Of The Lake is based on Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same title. Chandler’s forte was language and imagery, not plot construction: Just ask the many critics who are still confused by the plot of a better Chandler movie, The Big Sleep. While we’re on the subject of the novel:

The fundamental problem with Lady Of The Lake is that it’s lesser Chandler. And Robert Montgomery is a lesser Marlowe. The wisecracks and witticisms aren’t sharp and punchy as they are when delivered by Dick Powell, Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum. Montgomery isn’t bad, but his performance is hindered by the narrative device he chose as director.

There are many things to like about this failed experiment. Noted character actors Lloyd Nolan, Leon Ames, and Tom Tully acquit themselves well in the movie. The cinematography by Paul Vogel is suitably shadowy, but the movie doesn’t work because of choices made by director/star Robert Montgomery.

I usually praise cinematic innovation and risk taking. It often pays off. It did not in Lady Of The Lake. It’s distracting and detracts from the flow of the film.

It’s time to take the plunge and grade this movie.

Grading Time: I give Lady Of The Lake 2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of C. If nothing else, it’s worth seeing for Audrey Totter.

Let’s goose this post up  and take a gander at the posters.

We begin with a long sheet side by side of the US and Japanese posters:

The quad poster tried to sell the POV misfire:

Let’s follow the second lining movie snacks to the lobby. I could use some Milk Duds after writing about this dud of a movie.

As usual, the lobby cards for this black and white movie are in color, a fact that confuses me still.

We return to the land of black and white with the trailer:

The last word goes to Eddie Muller with his Noir Alley intro and outro.