""The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "Despite some crisp dialogue in Stirling Silliphant's screenplay, Chandler's novel "The Little Sister" suffers badly from glossy settings and modish direction ... And Marlowe himself seems a thoroughly synthetic creation—although Garner has a good line in 'cool', he has none of the heavy-lidded cynicism and crumpled charm with which Bogart made the part his own."