A Raymond Chandler Evening

Back in 2011 I came up with a harebrained idea.  I'm not sure exactly what it was supposed to be.  Something about in the 30s there was a guy and he knew Raymond Chandler or he was Raymond Chandler--something like that.  And then there was something about meeting a guy who would be the inspiration for Philip Marlowe.

In researching this I read a bunch of Chandler stories (this huge 1100-page book of his short stories from the library) and got a biography on him.  And then lost enthusiasm for the project because it seemed like it wouldn't really work.

But I think there is still an idea there.  My current take on it would be in the 40s in LA there's some young guy we'll call Phil after Philip Marlowe.  His parents are both dead and he has some crappy job and a crappy apartment and so on but he really loves reading detective stories, especially Chandler ones.

Then one night some prized possession, like something his father gave him before he died in the war, is stolen.  Phil goes to the cops but they don't really care.  He goes to some low-rent detective, which is the best he can get.  The guy is pretty much the opposite of Marlowe and the case doesn't involve a lot of hot, rich dames or anything like that.

In the end the private detective probably just bails on Phil when the money runs out and Phil never finds the prized possession.  But maybe during the case he meets a girl that helps to ease the pain a little.  Or something.

This is one of those ideas that is definitely only in rough form right now, but maybe someday I'll figure it out.  Or probably not.

Anyway, enjoy the song that the title is pulled from.  Or don't.