Proof if ever it were needed that no good deed goes unpunished! "Marlowe" (Elliott Gould) is woken up in the middle of the night by his mate ("Lennox") who urgently needs driving to Tijuana. He obliges, only to find that on his return the police are waiting for him. Seems that his pal's wife has been found slain. Initially considered an accomplice, he's release when information arrives suggesting the prime suspect has committed suicide. Things take a turn for the more complex when hood "Augustine" (Mark Rydell) shows up trying to track down his missing cash that "Lennox" was supposed to be couriering and then finally, "Eileen" (Nina van Pallandt) hires him to find her dipso husband (Sterling Hayden) who has gone awol. When "Marlowe" finds the latter man, he soon begins to suspect that all three incidents are connected - and that he is being played! He now has to use all of his Poirot-esque skills to try to piece together just what is going on - whilst staying alive! Gould is on his best form in this quickly paced and well adapted version of the Raymond Chandler novel. The dialogue is often entertainingly quick-witted and he easily assumes the role of this smart-ass and hard-nosed PI. The story has plenty of twists and turns, the supporting characters are interesting rather than just fodder and the manner in which the investigation is carried out leaves us ferreting around for clues just like him! I wasn't ever really a fan of Gould, but he's good here and this is well worth a watch.