"Playback: Raymond Chandler in his own Words" - working title A proposal for a feature-length documentary film Producer/Director Dana Heinz Perry Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) is undoubtedly one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Evelyn Waugh described him as "the greatest living American novelist". TS Eliot and Edmund Wilson were also generous in their praise. Camus cited Chandler and Hammett as primary influences on "L'Etranger." Chandler's contribution to the oeuvre of crime fiction and film noir is unparalleled to this day. From his early pulp detective fiction published in The Black Mask to his astounding achievement in novels and film, Chandler's imagination became the paradigm of the dark underbelly of American noir. But, beyond his achievements on the page and screen, Chandler's life is an extraordinarily compelling subject. Largely unpublished until his fifties, Chandler lived the expatriate's dream and nightmare. Addled by drink, alienated as a foreigner in his own land, and in love with a wife almost 20 years his elder, Chandler exemplified the outsider's view of the dark characters found in the newly minted west coast town of Los Angeles in the 30's and 40's. To date, there is no comprehensive documentary film on his life and work. The intention of this film is to illuminate not only the profound influence of his work, but to also examine the man and the experiences that brought him to create one of the most iconic and influential characters in American fiction, Philip Marlowe. Marlowe serves as an alter-ego to Chandler, embodying the values of honour and a distinct morality in the face of evil, weakness and corruption. The style and attitude of the film is inspired by the clever wordplay and profound understanding of character by the author himself. While biographical in its detail, the documentary aspires to a higher level in its execution. Chandlerisms abound in the vocabulary of American arts and letters. Who else could turn a phrase like Chandler? His witticisms become almost a clichÈ in the lexicon of pulp fiction. The smallest detail became an opportunity for his unique turn of phrase. Though "hard-boiled" in their purpose, these phrases help to invent the cynical yet poetic world of Chandler's world weary perception of character. Even his own battles with drink created indelible images. When offered a drink in the story, "The King in Yellow", the house detective, Steve Grayce, replies " I'm an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard." But Chandler, like Marlowe, has a softer and more complicated side. He was deeply in love with his wife, Cissy. When they married, he was 35 and she was 53. On the occasion of her death in 1954, he wrote a friend. "For thirty years, ten months and four days, she was the light of my life, my whole ambition. Anything I did was just the fire for her to warm her hands at. That is all there is to say. She was the music heard faintly on the edge of sound." The style of the film will combine documentary interviews, well-composed b- roll footage and actors reading both the fiction and excerpts from Chandler's correspondence. Additionally, extensive newsreel footage and archival photos from the period mix with clips from his films. Naturally, the LA of Chandler's film work is an important character in the story. Thoughtful location scouting and shooting will create an evocative visual background of the Los Angeles that was such an important part of his storytelling. Chandler was an enthusiastic letter writer. Although little of his life prior to the age of fifty is known, he created a vast body of biographical information through his correspondence. This is a key element in the documentary. Via the letters, Chandler will essentially narrate his own journey. Drawing on the biographical information contained in his letters, a well-cast voice actor will portray Chandler's life and attitudes in the first person. This element will be the structural spine of the film. All of these elements weave together a life experience, and the lasting and influential work it created. Chandler's influence goes beyond the page or frame - it has become part of our American vernacular. The creation of a comprehensive film portrait of his life and work seems to be an appropriate tribute to the man who created a lasting novelistic and cinematic archetype in his stories and novels. "He was delighted when the (London) Daily Express ran a public opinion poll to find out who the most popular authors, movie stars and entertainers were, according to highbrow, middlebrow and lowbrow tastes. 'Marilyn Monroe and I', he wrote with obvious pleasure, 'were the only ones that made all three brows'". Frank MacShane - "The Life of Raymond Chandler" Proposed Interview List (partial): Robert Altman Lauren Bacall James Caan Michael Connelly Maureen Dowd James Ellroy Elliot Gould Danny Glover Tom Hanks Tom Hiney (Chandler biographer) Elmore Leonard Jonathan Lethem Walter Mosely Joyce Carol Oates Robert Parker Sara Paretsky Lou Reed Robert Towne