Raymond Chandler on AllMovie

Though he died in 1959, Raymond Chandler remains revered and imitated by aspiring authors as one of the fathers of the modern crime story. It was he who fully developed the notion of the "hard boiled" anti-hero detective of classic film noir as personified by his best-known character Phillip Marlowe. He was raised in England and after attending Dulwhich College became a journalist until he went into the army during WWI. After the war he went back to the U.S. and started a business. Chandler began selling short-stories in the early '30s and soon gained a reputation as a successful mystery writer. His stories are noted for their fast-paced dialogue and darkly complex plots. Many of his stories, such as The Big Sleep (1946) and Farewell My Lovely (1975) have become successful films. His character Phillip Marlowe has been played by such actors as Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell, Elliot Gould, and Robert Mitchum. Chandler later began writing and mostly co-writing screenplays. One of his best known screenplays is Double Indemnity (1944).