The Big Sleep (1946)

Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail, and what might be love.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

William Faulkner (screen play), Leigh Brackett (screen play)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Philip Marlowe
Lauren Bacall	...	Vivian Rutledge
John Ridgely	...	Eddie Mars
Martha Vickers	...	Carmen Sternwood
Dorothy Malone	...	Acme Book Shop Proprietress
Peggy Knudsen	...	Mona Mars
Regis Toomey	...	Chief Inspector Bernie Ohls
Charles Waldron	...	General Sternwood
Charles D. Brown	...	Norris - the Butler
Bob Steele	...	Lash Canino
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Harry Jones
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Joe Brody

Storyline

The Big Sleep is the story of private investigator Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy general to find out and stop his youngest daughter Carmen from being blackmailed about her gambling debts. Almost immediately, Marlowe finds himself deep within a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organized crime. With the help of the General's eldest daughter Vivian, Marlowe skillfully plots to free the family from this web and trap Eddie, the main man behind much of this mischief, to meet his end at the hands of his own henchmen.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | blackmail | private detective | private eye | bookstore | 

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Taglines:

The Violence-Screen's All-Time Rocker-Shocker!

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Al borde del abismo

Filming Locations:

New York Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 116 min (pre-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Paid In Full" released in 1987 by Eric B. and Rakim used the soundbite from the scene when Marlow and Mrs. Rutledge were in Marlows' office playing a gag on the phone with the police. The soundbite that the rap duo used was "Wait a minute, you better talk to my mother".

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Goofs

When Marlowe is tied up and sitting on the floor, Vivian removes his white handkerchief from his black jacket. She then puts it back in the pocket, leaving about an inch of the handkerchief exposed. For the next minute or so, the jacket is shown but the handkerchief is missing. When Vivian unties Marlowe and in the scenes immediately following the handkerchief is in the pocket again with part of it exposed.

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Quotes

Philip Marlowe: She tried to sit on my lap while I was standing up.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are seen in silhouette, placing cigarettes in an ashtray. At the end, two cigarettes are in an ashtray.

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Alternate Versions

Originally filmed in 1944, wasn't released until two years later. Some prints derive from a slightly different early preview version with alternate footage.

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Connections

Version of Robert Montgomery Presents: The Big Sleep (1950)

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Soundtracks

I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Played when Vivian Rutledge walks into nightclub to meet Marlowe over drinks

User Reviews

Just Ignore That Discombobulated Plot

Many fans of this classic film are drawn to it because of Bogie and Bacall, who do indeed make a deft acting duo. Here, Bogie plays Philip Marlowe, the tough talking, street savvy PI, who has his roots in the crime novels of writer Raymond Chandler. Bacall plays Vivian Sternwood, the adult daughter of a wealthy man. Vivian is just as tough and cagey as Marlowe. And she has a younger sister named Carmen, who seems to have fallen in with a bad crowd. It's up to Marlowe to investigate, and to save the Sternwood family from financial ruin. "The Big Sleep" is a story of blackmail, murder, multiple motives, lies, and all manner of general mayhem.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are certainly persuasive in their roles. I also like the script's snappy dialogue. For example, in a conversation with General Sternwood, Marlowe responds: "Hmm". Sternwood follows up: "What does that mean?" To which Marlowe fires back: "It means, hmm". Marvelous.

But the film's plot is an incoherent mess. It is hard to follow, disjointed, and has obvious lapses. Further, secondary characters (Geiger, Brody, Mars, et.al.), and their interrelationships, are poorly defined. To some extent that vagueness and lack of precision are fairly common in 1940's pulp detective stories.

The best approach to "The Big Sleep" is to engulf the relationship between Marlowe and Vivian, marvel at the acting of Bogie and Bacall, enjoy the witty dialogue, and ignore the discombobulated plot.