Marlowe

Bruce Lee appeared in the MGM movie Marlowe staring James Garner. It was a cameo appearance and included two scenes filmed on August 21, 1968. Lee’s friend Stirling Silliphant adapted the movie from Raymon Chandler’s book The Little Sister. This book was previously made into the 1946 film The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart. In Marlowe, James Garner starred as a private detective investigating a missing person (Life, page 249).

This was Lee’s first cameo in a Hollywood film and he played Winslow Wong a criminal enforcer who worked for the mob. Sillipant tried to help Lee break into Hollywood and wanted to include a different type of mob character (Life, page 249).

In the first scene, Lee tried to intimidate James Garner by walking into his office and kicking a hole in the wall, breaking a bookcase, and snapping a coatrack. He also impressively kicked a high ceiling light. This scene was filmed as one sequence with no cuts (Life, page 249).

“Smashing the lamp was no easy trick. That was the hardest stunt in the whole movie. I had to jump real high and didn’t have any help either – just a small running space to get my body up there. But it was spectacular, huh? Oh, the glass wasn’t real. That a typical Hollywood gimmick. Yep, it’s made of sugar.” (Life, page 250-251).

In the second scene Lee attempted to kill James Garner. Garner goaded Lee who then kicks and accidentally falls over the side of a building.

“The scene was a real gimmick. I only jumped over a three foot wall.” (Life, page 251).

In a January 4, 1969 letter to his friend William Cheung Lee wrote, “Occasionally I appear on TV and movies. The latest one is an MGM production Little Sister with James Garner that should be out in a few months.” (Letters, page 111).

Lee promoted the film to different newspapers. In an October 24, 1969 article he was quoted in the Miami News Florida Report, “The name they gave me was Winslow Wong. Well, OK, I’m Chinese. Grew up in Hong Kong. And 700 million Chinese can’t be Wong.” (Words, page 93).

In a March 4, 1969 letter to his friend Jhoon Rhee he wrote, “I might go on that publicity tour for MGM yet, though they are not too happy with the money I asked.” (Letters, page 113).

The movie was released on October 31, 1969 but was not a success. However, Lee was credited with a good performance. Roger Ebert’s said, “Somewhere about the time when the Japanese karate expert wrecks his office (in a very funny scene), we realize Marlowe has lost track of the plot, too. Marlowe becomes enjoyable only on a basic level; it’s fun to watch the action sequences. Especially when the karate expert goes over the edge.” (Life, page 256).

After Lee became famous, Marlowe was re-released in Asia. In a November 21, 1971 article in the Sunday Post-Herald of Hong Kong, Lee was quoted as saying, “They’re giving me top billing, too. I really don’t know how to explain that to Garner when I get back to Hollywood.” Lee also trained Garner in martial arts (Words, page 112, Life, page 256).

I enjoyed the movie as a whole and recommend that you watch it. Bruce Lee’s action scenes do stick out as being particularly funny and exciting.

Resources:

Marlowe, 1969, played Winslow Wong. Marlowe is a private detective in L.A. hired to find a missing brother. Bruce Lee has a small part playing a criminal martial artist. 1h 36m (IMDB).

Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly, Author, Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2019. Highly rated biography of Bruce Lee.

Words of the Dragon: Interviews, 1958-1973, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1997, 2017. Volume 1 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Interview transcripts of Bruce Lee on a variety of topics including philosophy, martial arts, and his personal life. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.

Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence, John Little, Editor, Tuttle Publishing, 1998, 2016. Volume 5 of the Bruce Lee Library, commissioned by the Bruce Lee Estate. Letters to friends, family, and business associates. Put together by John Little, Bruce Lee historian.

Amazon.com. Available as a Remastered DVD and prime video.

Marlowe owned by MGM, 1969.

AI Narration provided by elevenlabs.io. Bruce Lee quotes read by AI voice over.