Raymond Chandler documentary

"But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man." -- [from The Simple Art of Murder]

First person great style humor brilliant sidebars one of the great English prose writers. Among my favorite authors.

Raymond Chandler was certainly one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century, so it's a shame that this bio of him was lifted from the scummy "Mysteries and Scandals" series, hosted by A. J. Benza. Chandler deserves better than this. Moreover, Tom Hiney's "biography" of the writer was filled with unproven innuendo. (At one point, Hiney even hints that Chandler was a cross-dresser! ) If you want a better picture of this novelist, I heartily recommend "The Life of Raymond Chandler" and "Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler," both edited by Frank MacShane. I really wanted to give this video a "Like," but it is too filled with spurious gossip about an author who deserves something much better!

He is the standard to which all film noir mystery writers have to be judged. I love The book and movie The Big Sleep .!

I just finished The Long Embrace, an excellent biography of Chandler and his wife, Cissy.

I miss this series.

Former San Diego Union newspaper columnist Neil Morgan was the young reporter who drove Chandler to the Sanatarium after he broke down in the bathtub with the gun. My late uncle was the physician at the old Scripps Hospital (across from the Bishop's School on Prospect where it was open from 1922 to 1963; 14 patient rooms with ocean views, 1 operating room, and 1 xray room) who took care of him during his last days and pronounced him dead.

Farewell My Lovely with Dick Powell was titled Murder My Sweet.... Farewell my Lovely and Chinatown both made in the 70s were stellar....RIP Raymond

Thanks for sharing! I must say I love your channel

His portrait of L.A. is still true.

excellent, thank you very much

Great one, thanks :)

Excellent author

From 15 yrs old Chandler is my favourite detective and psychological author. 🇺🇦

Up the street from Sun Gold Point where his house was on that tight corner, a few blocks to La Jolla Boulevard, across on the east side of the street, was the long-gone Plaza Bar. Built in the local Spanish revival style of the Upper/Lower Hermosa neighborhood, it was where in 1947 the first margarita was poured in the US. The bar's owner had made a trip to a socialite's party in Acapulco where they served them and he liked it a lot. (The first Margarita as far as anyone knows, was in a bar south of Ensenda in 1935 that a little known Hollywood actress had liked to drink as she could not tolerate other booze her friends were enjoying and at that time was made with lemon juice). The Plaza' s bartender tweaked the recipe a little and used lime juice instead and added salt to the rim. Chandler drank there (along with the old Whaling Bar (1947-2012) at the La Valencia Hotel on Prospect Street) until his death. As the St. James Methodist Churched owned the land the Plaza bar was sitting on, they eventually razed it and the parish center stands there now.

The greatest pulp writer ever made

A quote attribute to him..."La Jolla, where old people live...... with their parents.." It is soooo true.

Listening to the narrator, gossip columnist AJ Benza, pretending to be hard-bitten Marlowe, is like having battery acid poured in one's ears.

This is not as interesting as the other videos I've watched from your channel, but Raymond Chandler is fascinating. A.J. seems more a personality than a reporter.

This is from E: Mysteries and Scandals. NOT a Biography or Documentary!