The Big Sleep (1978)

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Raymond Chandler (novel)
Michael Winner (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1978 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Some days business is good - and some days it's murder!

Plot:

Set in England, rather than California, the story follows Raymond Chandler's book fairly closely otherwise...

Plot Keywords:

Blackmail | Investigation | Murder | Cynicism | Affair

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Philip Marlowe
Sarah Miles	...	Charlotte Sternwood
Richard Boone	...	Lash Canino
Candy Clark	...	Camilla Sternwood
Joan Collins	...	Agnes Lozelle
Edward Fox	...	Joe Brody
John Mills	...	Inspector Jim Carson
James Stewart	...	General Sternwood
Oliver Reed	...	Eddie Mars
Harry Andrews	...	Norris
Colin Blakely	...	Harry Jones
Richard Todd	...	Commander Barker
Diana Quick	...	Mona Grant
James Donald	...	Inspector Gregory
John Justin	...	Arthur Geiger
Simon Fisher-Turner	...	Karl Lundgren (as Simon Turner)
Martin Potter	...	Owen Taylor
David Savile	...	Rusty Regan
Dudley Sutton	...	Lanny
Don Henderson	...	Lou
Tom Laughlin	...	Lou
Nik Forster	...	Croupier
Joe Ritchie	...	Taxi Driver
Patrick Durkin	...	Reg
Derek Deadman	...	Customer in Bookshop
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judy Buxton	...	Cheval Club Receptionist (uncredited)
Roy Evans	...	Deliveryman (uncredited)
David Jackson	...	Inspector Willis (uncredited)
Norman Mitchell	...	Doorman at Eddie's Club (uncredited)
Barry Purchese	...	Eddie's Bodyguard (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Winner

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Raymond Chandler		novel
Michael Winner		writer

Produced by
Jerry Bick	....	producer
Lew Grade	....	executive producer
Elliott Kastner	....	producer
Bernard Williams	....	associate producer
Bernard Williams	....	line producer (as Bernie Williams)
Michael Winner	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Fielding

Cinematography by
Robert Paynter

Casting by
Maude Spector

Production Design by
Harry Pottle

Art Direction by
John Graysmark

Costume Design by
Ron Beck

Makeup Department
Stephanie Kaye	....	hair stylist
Richard Mills	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Clifton Brandon	....	production manager
David Middlemas	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Dryhurst	....	assistant director

Art Department
Terry Wells	....	stand-by property master (uncredited)
Barry Wilkinson	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Russ Hill	....	sound editor
Mike Le Mare	....	sound editor
Brian Marshall	....	sound recordist
John Poyner	....	sound editor
Hugh Strain	....	sound re-recordist
Steve Hancock	....	dubbing projectionist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Eddie Collins	....	camera focus
Keith Hamshere	....	still photographer
Ronnie Taylor	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Frederick Wilson	....	supervising editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity
Denis Holt	....	production executive
Roy Beck	....	lead stand-in (uncredited)
Matthew Binns	....	production runner (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
• Winkast Film Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Avid Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Live Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Neue Constantin Film (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Elfra Film (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Moon Light (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Singapore:M18 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Germany:16 | Australia:M | France:U | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Avery Hill Park and Winter Gardens, Avery Hill Park, Bexley Road, Greenwich, London, England, UK

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Takes place in the then contemporary 1970s in Britain, even though Farewell, My Lovely (1975) took place in 1940s Los Angeles.

Goofs:

Continuity: Karl Lundgren shot Joe Brody four times , then two shots at Philip Marlowe just outside of Joe Brodys flat and then continue to shoot while running away. Thats too many shot for a standard 6 shot revolver.

Quotes:

Philip Marlowe:So many guns lately; so few brains.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bad Penny (1978)

Soundtrack:

Won't Somebody Dance With Me

Big Mistake, The (1978)

Chandler's novel is pushed ahead by about 40 years. His Philip Marlowe is aged about 30 years. The location is changed by the combined breadth of the United States and the Atlantic Ocean. It should come as no surprise that this doesn't work at all. The scandal from which Marlowe shields the old man was so much more significant in the period in which the book was set. (Who, for example, really would be heart-broken or even especially shocked to learn in 1978 that his daughter had been photographed in the nude? Granted, that the secrets get darker, but the point is that so much is diluted.) Mitchum is a very, very fine actor, and when he was, say, 30 to 40 years old he would have been a good choice to play Marlowe; but an important aspect of Marlowe is exactly that he is so weary of spirit while still a relatively young man; we expect the old to feel old. And...a film noir in the English country-side? I don't think so!