The Long Goodbye

film by Altman [1973]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

The Long Goodbye is a 1973 American neo-noir crime film directed by Robert Altman, based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler. The film stars Elliott Gould as the iconic private detective Philip Marlowe.12

The story follows Marlowe as he becomes entangled in a complex and dangerous investigation involving murder, infidelity, and a wealthy family's secrets. Altman's adaptation deconstructs the traditional hard-boiled detective archetype, presenting Marlowe as an antihero who struggles to navigate a corrupt and morally ambiguous Los Angeles. The film is noted for its distinctive visual style, which incorporates elements of film noir with a contemporary setting and Altman's signature use of overlapping dialogue and a relaxed narrative pace.23

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

6 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Robert Altman
M*A*S*H and the 1970s
With the The Long Goodbye (1973) Altman reworked another classic genre. This time he deconstructed the iconic hard-boiled private eye at the centre of so much film noir. Gould provided an aggressively antiheroic, ignoble portrayal of Philip Marlowe, the protagonist in the 1953 novel by Raymond Chandler…
Read More
With the The Long Goodbye (1973) Altman reworked another classic genre. This time he deconstructed the iconic hard-boiled private eye at the centre of so much film noir. Gould provided an aggressively antiheroic, ignoble portrayal of Philip Marlowe, the protagonist in the 1953 novel by Raymond Chandler…
Read More

film noir
The legacy of film noir
…Part II (1974); Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973); Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974); Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981); and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980).
Read More
…Part II (1974); Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973); Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974); Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981); and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980).
Read More

Mark Rydell
…other movies, including Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973); Sydney Pollack’s Havana (1990), in which he played gangster Meyer Lansky; and Woody Allen’s Hollywood Ending (2002). He later appeared in the comedy Chicanery (2017).
Read More
…other movies, including Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973); Sydney Pollack’s Havana (1990), in which he played gangster Meyer Lansky; and Woody Allen’s Hollywood Ending (2002). He later appeared in the comedy Chicanery (2017).
Read More