Inspired by Eddie Muller's thoughts on who was the best at playing Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, I came up with my own list.

1. Humphrey Bogart- (The Big Sleep-1946) Perfect as the cynical sleuth
2. Dick Powell- (Murder My Sweet-1944, Based on the novel, Farewell My Lovely) Very good at delivering a near perfect script
3. Powers Booth- (Philip Marlowe, Private Eye TV Series 1983 & 1986) Didn't look the part, and maybe carried too much mischief in his voice, but the series really tried to capture the essence of film noir, and Booth was believable.
4. Robert Mitchum- (The Big Sleep-1978 & Farewell My Lovely-1977) Both were crappy movies with a creepy 70's vibe, and Mitchum was just too old to save these stinkers.
5. George Montgomery- (The Brasher Doubloon- 1947) Looked and acted like a poor man's Clark Gable. Nothing like Marlowe. His mustache didn't work either.
6. Philip Carey- (Philip Marlowe TV Series 1959-60) Looked the part, but didn't pull off the inner turmoil of Marlowe. Too squeaky clean.
7. Robert Montgomery- (Lady in the Lake-1946) What could have been a good movie, was poorly cast, and shot from Marlowe's perspective. Which means Montgomery really had little screen time in the film. He didn't look or act the part. It should be remade, but not in the same style.
8. James Garner- (Marlowe-1969) Terrible film with a hippy influence. Garner is a fine actor, but Philip Marlowe was never meant to sport shaggy hair and sideburns.
9. Elliot Gould- (The Long Goodbye-1973) Although the film had too much early 70's influence, it was not a bad movie. But, Elliot Gould was without doubt the worst Marlowe ever. His shaggy frumpy appearance was bad enough, but he also mumbled threw the entire dialog. Totally aloof.