Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles documentary

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 - March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Raymond Chandler documentary
1988
This documentary was already on YT, but broken up into 3 videos. Now it's all in one place.

[@immaterialimmaterial5195]

Excellent film. Richard Widkmark = the perfect narrator for this!

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I've got several of Mr. Chandler's novels, all 5 of Dashiell Hammett's novels, and 5 of the Charlie Chan novels. What a wonderful time for detective novelists.

[@davidhull1481]

Thanks for this “slice of life” about Chandler’s milieu and where he drew his inspiration from. I can’t help but comment that this is the “good old days” so many people look back on with fondness, conveniently forgetting the bad stuff.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

Isn't that the truth?

[@douglassun8456]

The wounds inflicted by the Great Depression are all over the hard-boiled detective genre and film noir.

[@erebus79]

No one looks back at the depression years as "the good old days". You're just one of those modern day apologists that pretend that the decline of California in the last 30 years isn't real. Dishonest to the core.

[@amjoshuaf]

Big thumbs up for this. I search KZbin every once and a while for a documentary on Chandler.

[@QueenBee-gx4rp]

He was the best!

[@ocoeepicture]

what's the best one you've come across?

[@MrResearcher122]

excellent on background for Chandler's work-and Elroy.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

Dashiell Hammett was a great detective story writer, too. Wonderful stories....

[@pikalinderman3207]

I heard about Raymond Chandler years ago in Lit class but only just recently read one of his stories (The Big Sleep). Really great story. Love PI Marlowe, he is so sassy! It was so good I wanted to learn more about Raymond Chandler and his time. Really enjoyed this video.

[@anthonyt219]

Wish I kept my copy. I had a class too about big sleep

[@bernardhayes4459]

I was trying to figure out who the narrator was as I watched this wonderful documentary. I love Richard Widmarks voice

[@ddburdette]

I had no idea who the narrator might be until I saw the ending credits. Good job.

[@SeptemberApril-io1hi]

Wonderfully narrated by Richard Widmark

[@jeanf8998]

Had a crush on him when I was 12.❤Widmark that is!

[@SeptemberApril-io1hi]

Oh! Me too!

[@syourke3]

“It was a good. So good, I couldn’t hold it”. Classic Chandler!

[@None-zc5vg]

Chandler corresponded with the publisher Hamish Hamilton and some of the correspondence was salvaged for the book "Raymond Chandler Speaking".

[@gnolan4281]

Thank you for this excellent tutorial. Bogie & pals were great, Dshiell Hammett, LA Confidential and Chinatown ring truer than ever. Noir is beginning to fall into place in my cluttered mind.

[@ericthered760]

1937 - the same time frame that the film "Chinatown" supposedly takes place. Action in the movie fits right in with Chandler's reality.

[@nuascannan]

Yeah

[@justiceforall6412]

One of our greatest writers. RIP Raymond

[@douglassun8456]

One of the great American prose stylists, often underrated because he didn't work in a highbrow type of fiction.

[@justiceforall6412]

@@douglassun8456 I quite agree. What I found sad was he wasn't prolific. It didn't take me long to read everything he wrote

[@themysteriousdomainmoviepalace]

It appesrs that LA hasn't changed.

[@steveculbert4039]

I like the succinctness here. THE BIG SLEEP was the only complete screenplay Faulkner wrote.

[@jacquestaulard3088]

Great piece of work, thanks for finding it and offering it to us

[@thecandyman9308]

Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[@remmymafia3889]

To me, LA crime is unique from other big American city's. The Black Dahlia is in a class by itself, as are the Manson murders.

[@MrEdWeirdoShow]

Wonderful short doc, and I don't mean a small physician. Great how Widmark went into narration mode, which made his voice sound more like Robert Stack. I kept waiting for a plug about watching Unsolved Mysteries.

[@andrewpert3681]

This man is quite brilliant i really see the characters in his books with his fantastic writing and clever use of language and slang.

[@liammcooper]

This channel's a goldmine

[@chevyyyyyyy]

Very good, compelling storytelling.

[@j.j.hunsecker3009]

This is well done, thank you.

[@stevenlovell3300]

Growing up in studio city Ray Chandler lived right behind me on Laurel Terrace Drive

[@richardcassidy9536]

While I enjoyed the crime history of early Los Angeles, was disappointed there wasn't more on Chandler the man. For instance his wife, considerably older than Chandler had money and supported Chandler. Then the interesting conflict with Billy Wilder when they worked together on a screenplay. Chandler's late fame and heavy drinking.

[@TheSaltydog07]

Wilder gave him a two-second cameo in "Double Indemnity." He's sitting outside of Barton Keyes' (Edward G. Robinson) office about 16 minutes into the film.

[@michaeldebellis4202]

@@TheSaltydog07OMG, didn’t know that, have to watch the movie again, thanks for that! That was nice of Wilder because Chandler was not all that easy to work with. He just didn’t fit into Hollywood.

[@michaeldebellis4202]

I agree. So much of Chandler’s work is autobiographical. More details would have been great. Did his wife really support him though? I thought he did pretty well when he worked in the oil industry and while it took him a while to make good money as a writer he was pretty successful (at least making enough to live on) fairly early on. Even if his wife did support him and though she was older, I think they really loved each other. From what I recall he went into a deep depression after her death and ended up drinking even more. My God, the amount he could drink and still work. He was drunk most of the time he wrote for Hollywood because he couldn’t tolerate it sober. What would put me under the table for the night were lunch drinks for him. Like 2 cocktails before lunch, wine with lunch, then 2 or more after.

[@davidhull1481]

There are plenty of sources for biographical information about Chandler. This documentary was about his milieu and where he drew his inspiration from.

[@earlwesleykoteen7035]

​@@davidhull1481Which do you recommend?

[@zeekwolfe6251]

I love Los Angeles. It is the cultural center of the United States. LA crime and entertainment topics are genres inspiring endless books, television programs and movies. I recently stood on the roof of the Movie Museum at Fairfax and Wilshire, just steps from the La Brea tar pits. What a view...Griffith Observatory, Hollywood sign, Los Feliz district site of the La Bianca Manson murders etc., etc. The museum grounds were filled with tourists.

[@zeekwolfe6251]

@@davidlean1060 NYC is an interesting place to visit with famous streets, landmarks, scary subway rides, and great places to eat, all part of a 'dynamic' experience. Your point is somewhat well taken, but keep in mind that the world public views SoCal and Los Angeles as essentially one in the same. A recent episode of BOSCH, shown world wide, has Harry Bosch, LAPD detective, tossing a criminal out of an airplane into the Salton Sea. Next scene...back in LA. On Britbox I recently saw a scene set in the Highlands where a young lady is struggling against a strong wind. She says, via the script, '...wind reminds me of the LA Santa Anas...' Hmm, Santa Anas are hot winds. NYC is filled with places of great cultural value, the MET, art museums, even the Juiliard School, but American hoi polloi are not high-brow. They appreciate cobb salads, french-dip sandwiches, skate boards and thousands of other things (and ideas) originating in Southern California and Los Angeles. Las Vegas is 250 miles from LA, but the two cities are often linked together in the same breath, you might say. They are the seat of modern American culture, NYC less so. Chicago could never be part of this discussion. I do not live in Los Angeles.

[@charlessmyth]

It helped that the fiction was so close to the reality that inspired the fiction :-)

[@bluecollarlit]

I'm loving this. Thank you.

[@lemat8558]

really fascinating!

[@user-lr4sg2ms7i]

Enjoyed this doc on the history of corruption in LA in the 30's. I thought I was going to see a doc specifically on Raymond Chandler. Turned out to not be the case. But, it's all good.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

Richard Widmark was a fascinating actor, usually the clever villain, and any movie was sure to be great if he appeared as a character actor. Wonderful narrator...no surprise.

[@Charlie-jo5yq]

I love his work. Frank Gruber and Dick Francis are wonderful writers too. Great stuff.

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Very interesting and well done!

[@LABoyko]

"It was a different city then than it is today." 🤣

[@gavinmarks2302]

What a great video, it was more about the underworld and corrupt politicians than Chandler himself. I really enjoyed it non the less and I learned a few new facts about the underworld and politics at that time in LA so thanks for a great video!!!!

[@alankirkby465]

Raymond Chandler, once lived on Mount Nod Road, Streatham, London, S.W.16. England.UK. when a very young man. Raymond, at that time was a pupil at Dulwich College, London. Peace to all.

[@redstrat1234]

Fascinating.

[@rogerwilliams5366]

Excellent!!!

[@davidcunningham2074]

harry raymond's life should be made into a movie.

[@harrisbobroff9813]

Thanks

[@nicolaclayton5915]

Really good.

[@goreilly2005]

Excellent

[@xyzllii]

Very interesting...from Ireland.

[@Poemsapennyeach]

This is about crime...not Chandler.

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

For now, it's as close as we can get. The best one on Chandler is by E! Mysteries & Scandals (S3 E4, 2000), but YT took it down.

[@stephenbingham2589]

@@AuthorDocumentaries This video is not really about Chandler at all. Title is a misnomer.

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

@@stephenbingham2589 I'll try and find that E! Mysteries one to replace it with

[@ocoeepicture]

@@AuthorDocumentaries have u found it?

[@dirkbogarde44]

Nice use of the music from Hammett.

[@hereforit2347]

His old address, 4616 Greenwood Pl., is still there. Although now it’s surrounded by huge, ugly, block-shaped, apartment buildings.

[@scottbottomley6376]

Tony Conero is a great story as well built the Stardust Hotel in LV

[@bayareaartist999]

great voiceover by richard widmark.

[@sir.goredigger584]

Is it possible if you can try to find and upload a documentary on the great noir writer James Ellroy.

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

I believe there are three on him. American Dog (2006) and Feast of Death (2001) are on youtube, but he's got another one from 1993 called Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction. I'll see if I can locate it.

[@519djw6]

*It's unfortunate that the film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely" had to be re-titled to "Murder, My Sweet." The reason for this was that Dick Powell had previously been associated with light and frothy musicals, and audiences of the 1940's may have turned away, assuming that it was just another brainless and bubbly song-and-dance concoction in the style of Busby Berkeley.*

[@helenwelton1760]

Sounds like this was narrated by Richard Widmark

[@alanaadams7440]

Yup

[@hankworden3850]

I think it's spelled Skidmark.

[@johnchristophersutton9706]

It is

[@leegramling1533]

The more things change the more they stay the same.

[@porcoddiogesubastardo9669]

Music is dope

[@monolabmusicstudio2373]

Chandler didn't like crooks, but he also didn't like the cops either. Most of them are given a negative portrayal.

[@cheryl9389]

Chandler...father of the early detective genre...los Angeles...the city of angels...and now we know why...murder and corruption

[@SCB-dd4io]

If he were alive today and writing about LA he would be censored

[@Linda-pw8gx]

His apt on greenwood place was the setting for tv show melrose place. It was also where. Rosemary LA Bianca’s daughter Suzanne laberge lived when her mother was killed. Small world

[@blackdogfive]

sadly power in the wrong type still and will always cause a level of corruption, either through desperation, greed or personality type. This is why everyone says government action takes so long, we hope it is cause due diligence is being done.

[@Section5_CdnIntelService]

Even in the depths of the Great Depression there was a small cabal of millionaires who managed to profit from the hardships of the majority of citizens.

[@None-zc5vg]

The Depression was a manufactured one.

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

So is our current economy. The elites always win.

[@MJLUCEY-sd1mq]

The Wrecks.

[@yelloworangered]

Except for the part about corrupt city hall and police which were outside my ken, the introduction sounded an awful lot like the Los Angeles that I live in during the 1990s.

[@mickeyray3793]

This is the city. My name's Friday. I'm a cop.😮😊

[@noneofurbusiness5223]

LA is just as corrupt today. Gimme a break.

[@archlich4489]

Comeuppance makes for a spinning yarn. #truth

[@JamesBond-uz2dm]

hot diamonds , cold hard cash clean getaways , dirty coppers stand up guys , low down rats two-timihg dames , only one way out What's your angle sister ?

[@thomassaehler9038]

Amazing that gambling was illegal....so stupid

[@jasoncornell1579]

Whoever they had to mean business dead men are heavier than broken hearts

[@stevensica89]

Why is L.A. such a great town for film noir? So much better than my hometown of NYC as a noir setting.

[@glenyoung1809]

The weather for one, the contrast of a bright, sunny day in Los Angeles with wide open streets and the "glitter" of Hollywood's image of glamour and wealth back then. Compared to the somewhat dingy and claustrophobic streets of NYC, especially the canyons of Manhattan and the poorer neighbourhoods in the 5 boroughs. You expected crime in 30s and 40s NYC by looks alone, but not in LA. There is an excellent film noir feature which takes place in NYC, The Naked City(1948) in which the city is exactly the right setting for it.

[@stevensica89]

@@glenyoung1809 I have seen that movie a few times, and it even gave rise to a popular tv series in the early 1960s. I do not consider it a film noir, but instead a standard police/crime melodrama with noir elements [primarily photography].

[@2msvalkyrie529]

L A Confidential ...? Gives a pretty good picture of how it was..

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Better still ? The Big Heat.....Glenn Ford .

[@nycgweed]

Sounds like California today 🎉

[@MrEdWeirdoShow]

The suckers could gamble to their heart's content just because a crooked riverboat situation was set up? Then all lawmakers had to do was expand the watery "limits" too many miles in any direction to allow that to happen. Duh.

[@justthink5854]

lol. it's worse now

[@davidparris7167]

Raymond Chandler appears only as a minor character in his own life story. Extremely disappointing effort and in the end a complete waste of time. Verdict: Could have done better, a whole lot better.

[@janii4]

This is a video about Los Angeles during the time Chandler was there. This channel does have a bio of Chandler if you are interested.

[@davidparris7167]

@@janii4 O.....K !!

[@histubeness]

Good show, but no excuse for throwing perfectly good furniture, tables, items etc. off boats, and trashing the ocean like that for stupid photo op. Should have brought that stuff back to shore to be re-used.

[@chucksmash1]

Very well said..! I was a little surprised, seeing them throw furniture and trash into the ocean so casually.

[@ocsugar]

I'll take the police and city of the 1930s and 1940s over what we have today.

[@doreekaplan2589]

My L.A. was the 1950s. Life was great then as 3rd generation native born Angelinos. Caucasians were 80 % of the city. Today its 30% and dropping. Mom lived there as an 18 year old beauty from Texas in the mid 1940s. When she left decades later from Brentwood she said no one spoke English in public.

[@remmymafia3889]

Don't forget maybe the most effective big city law enforcement in the history of this country, William Parker's Los Angeles Police Dept. Back when they let 'men' keep bad men in line, and in the process, were allowed to be a little bad, to get that tough job done. There was no out of control shit like there is now, with what passes as law enforcement as a 'non-deterrent'. The ACLU has ruined this country. Fact.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

And your point is....?

[@matthewschwartz6607]

This isn’t much of a documentary.

[@anthonyt219]

Yeah it barely talks about his Chandlers life as a writer

[@matthewschwartz6607]

@@anthonyt219 - Wasn’t he also supposed to be a bad alcoholic?

[@SuperShecky]

It's as if you didn't read the title of the video. @@anthonyt219

[@ruthc8407]

Can we recall Biden?

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

Blotting out Trump would accomplish a blessing for the world!

[@boba2783]

Excellent