All 12 Philip Marlowe movies and TV shows, ranked
Movie and TV list: Raymond Chandler’s iconic private eye has taken on a variety of guises through the years, leading to varying quality of films and TV shows.
Television
‘Pale Horse’ (2020) a pale imitation of the source novel
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): Sarah Phelps’ grim run on the British TV adaptations ends with a whimper in a rejiggered story.
Game, set, match: ‘Towards Zero’ (2025) is a Christie-adaptation winner
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): This three-episode BritBox miniseries simmers in relationship drama like a Westmacott novel.
Glover heads up TV’s alterna-Marlowes in ‘Red Wind’ (1995)
Sleuthing Sunday (TV reviews): “Fallen Angels” also adapts Chandler’s “I’ll Be Waiting.” Plus: A look at other small-screen Marlowes.
‘Widow’s Bay’ Season 1 is traditional horror with a smirk
TV review: One of the minds behind “Parks and Recreation” delivers the “Twin Peaks” for the 2020s and stays barely on the scary side of the horror-comedy line.
‘Trial of the Incredible Hulk’ (1989) paints the courtroom green
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): The Hulk meets Daredevil in the second of three TV films that followed the hit series.
‘Poodle Springs’ (1998) keeps the plot, changes Marlowe character
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): Caan’s gumshoe is a workaholic approaching retirement age more so than someone navigating a work-marriage balance.
‘Cape Fear’ gets both soapier and more violent in miniseries
First episode impressions (TV review): The third adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s novel is poised to go into even darker corners than before.
Boothe powers through ‘Philip Marlowe, Private Eye’ (1983, 1986)
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): The quality drops between the two seasons of HBO’s first original dramatic series.
McKenna-Bruce shines as Bundle in ‘Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials’
TV review: Soaking up the vibe from 100 years ago is the main hook of this Christie adaptation, though the mystery eventually kicks into gear.