The picture was directed by Michael Winner and stars Robert Mitchum in his second film portrayal of the detective Philip Marlowe (following Farewell, My Lovely three years earlier).

The cast includes Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Joan Collins and Oliver Reed, and features James Stewart as General Sternwood.

He also discovers Camilla at the scene of Geiger's murder, where she has posed for nude photographs, and safely takes her home to a grateful Charlotte.

Returning to the crime scene, Marlowe is interrupted by gambler Eddie Mars, who owns the house where Geiger's body was found.

However, on the night when Marlowe shows up for their meeting, Harry is poisoned by Lash Canino, a hit man working for Eddie Mars.

[5][6] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, and wrote that "despite all the great costumes and sets and London locations they’re given to work with, the actors don’t seem engaged".

[7] Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as "senselessly gaudy" and "overloaded with big names, and in this case the net effect of an all-star cast is to make an already confusing mystery even harder to follow".

[8] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4, and wrote, "All of the zigs and zags of the original story are in the remake; what's missing is the enthusiasm.

"[12] John Pym of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that the location and time change had "destroyed the crucial geographical and temporal context of Chandler's novel; almost every aspect of the narrative now seems ludicrously out of place".