In "The Big Sleep," General Sternwood interviews Philip Marlowe:
"Tell me about yourself, Mr. Marlowe. I suppose I have a right to ask?""Sure, but there's very little to tell. I'm thirty-three years old, went to college once and can still speak English if there's any demand for it. There isn't much in my trade. I worked for Mr. Wilde, the District Attorney, as an investigator once. His chief investigator, a man named Bernie Ohls, called me and told me you wanted to see me. I'm unmarried because I don't like policemen's wives."
"And a little bit of a cynic," the old man smiled. "You didn't like working for Wilde?"
"I was fired. For insubordination. I test very high on insubordination, General."
"I always did myself, sir. I'm glad to hear it."
Good point. I haven’t read those words in many years. But I’ll stand with my sense he is too wise to be much less than 40. That’s how it feels.
Now that I think about it, I made both of my detectives approximately 33, in my head. But neither one of my detectives is as wise as Philip Marlowe.
I guess 33 is just a good age for men who are smart enough to solve things, but young enough to fight.