Lew Archer is a fictional character created by Ross Macdonald. Archer is a private detective working in Southern California.
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Initially, Lew Archer was similar to (if not completely a derivative of) Philip Marlowe. However, he eventually broke from that mold, though some similarities remain. Archer's principal difference is that he is much more openly sensitive and empathetic than the tough Marlowe. He also serves a different function from Marlowe. Raymond Chandler's books were studies of Marlowe's character and code of honor, while Macdonald used Archer as a lens to explore the relationships of the other characters in the novels.
Another small but subtle difference was that Marlowe prowled the city of Los Angeles during the 1940s, while Lew Archer primarily worked the suburbs in the 1950s, moving outward with the populace. Like Marlowe, Archer observes growing dichotomies in American society with visual "snapshots". In The Zebra-Striped Hearse, Archer hunts a missing girl who may be dead, possibly murdered. He questions surfers who own a hearse painted in gay zebra stripes. To the youngsters, death is remote and funny. To the world-weary detective, it's close and grim.
Lew Archer is largely a cipher, rarely described, though in The Doomsters a sheriff mocks his 6'2" and blue eyes. As old failures plague him, we learn he once "took the strap away from my old man", that he was a troubled kid and petty thief redeemed by an old cop, that he sometimes drank too much, that his ex-wife's name is Sue, and he thinks of her often. His background is most thoroughly explored in The Moving Target: he got his training with the Long Beach California Police Department, but left (Archer himself says he was "fired") after witnessing too much corruption, and during World War II, he served in military intelligence in the United States Army, again mentioned in The Doomsters.
Archer's name pays homage to Dashiell Hammett: "Miles Archer" was the name of Sam Spade's murdered partner in The Maltese Falcon.[1]
The character has been adapted for visual media several times with varying degrees of success.
Two feature films starring Paul Newman as "Lew Harper" (rumor supposes the name was changed from the original because Newman felt characters with "H" names were "lucky"):
Archer, a 1975 NBC TV series (NBC) starring Brian Keith based on the character. It was cancelled after six episodes:
Le Loup de la côte Ouest (2002, Hugo Santiago from the short story "Guilt-Edged Blonde") starring James Faulkner as Lew Millar. (Alternate Title: The Wolf of the West Coast)
Zebra Striped Hearse
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