The Coens might have been inspired by this film when they made The Big Lebowski. Fans of that film might want to check out The Long Goodbye. After all, both films feature a laid back protagonist who hilariously breezes through tricky situations. Though Marlowe might be a little more motivated than Lebowski.
shareThe beginning scene of The Big Lebowski was taken straight out of The Long Goodbye with Marlowe finding cat food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1epEtB0lVo
lol, you saci bastard.
sharei can see it.
shareTBL was inspired by the novels of Raymond Chandler, so they could have borrowed from this film.
shareThe Coens rarely admit other film influences, but there are so many little pieces and character traits in Maude, Jackie Treehorn, the SoCal subculture, etc., to not see how obvious it is.
Cutter's Way, with Jeff Bridges and John Heard, is another film that breathed influences into TBL.