Well well, here we have a noir film that really has to be one of the most divisive in the genre, it would seem that some feel it's closer in texture to what Raymond Chandler wrote, and that the portrayal of Phillip Marlowe by Dick Powell is spot on in its execution.
Many others disagree completely though...
Now since I haven't read any of the novels Chandler wrote I have no frame of reference there, but having watched The Big Sleep this past week I feel the push me pull you polar opposite feelings this film creates.