The Big Sleep

Plot synopsis:
(Because the film has a very complicated plot and features many characters, the events will be told mostly in chronological order to render the plot clearer, rather than strictly adhering to the order we see in the film.)General Sternwood has two daughters: the elder one is Vivian (Lauren Bacall) and the younger one is Carmen, who is a carefree, childish and problematic young woman.General Sternwood has a man named Sean Regan working for him. With the help of Sean, the general has made a man named Joe Brody leave Carmen alone, by giving him 5.000 Dollars.Carmen loves Sean but Sean loves the wife of a man named Eddie Mars, so he refuses Carmens advances. One day, Carmen kills Sean when she is drunk because of her unrequited love. Eddie hides Seans body. He then makes up the story that Sean and his wife have run away together and nobody sees Sean after that day. To support this story, he actually makes his own wife go away and start living in a remote place. Even the general doesnt know Seans whereabouts and wonders why he has left all of a sudden. Eddie then proceeds to blackmail Vivian for Carmens murder. As a way of eliciting money from Vivian, Eddie makes her win big money at his gambling house with cheats, and then he takes all the money from her.Carmens troublesome adventures are not over, though. A man named Arthur Gwynn Geiger blackmails General Sternwood to take the gambling debts of Carmen. The general hires Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) to get rid of Geigers blackmail. Vivian talks to Marlowe, thinking that her father has actually hired him to find Sean Regan. Afraid that Carmen may get into trouble, she tries to take words from Marlowes mouth about his inquiry. But she learns that her father has not actually hired Marlowe about Sean.Marlowe goes to Geigers so-called antique books shop and sees a woman named Agnes, who makes it impossible for him to talk to Geiger. Then Marlowe waits at the bookshop across the street until the evening and follows Geiger and his right arm Carol Lundgren to Geigers house. Before Marlowe gets in the house, however, important things happen. Owen Taylor, driver for the Sternwoods, is in love with Carmen. He goes to Geigers house with her and kills Geiger for her. A secret camera, however, takes Carmens photo just at the moment of the murder. Owen then takes the film from the hidden camera, gets in the car and goes away. Joe Brody, also present that night, follows Owen, takes the film from him to blackmail Carmen, (and most probably) kills Owen and pushes his car in the water.When Marlowe gets in Geigers house, he sees Carmen with the dead body of Gaiger lying on the ground. Marlowe takes Carmen home and tells Vivian to say that Carmen has been home all night if asked by anyone. When he goes back to Geigers house, he sees that his dead body has been taken away.Later, Owens dead body is found in the car in the water. He has been killed before falling into the water. Marlowe learns from Vivian that Owen was interested in Carmen. Vivian then tells Marlowe that somebody is blackmailing her for Carmens photo taken at the night of Geigers murder. The blackmailer, who wants 5.000 Dollars, is actually Agnes. It is Joe Brody that makes her blackmail Vivian. Vivian tells Marlowe that she can take the money from Eddie.When Marlowe meets with Carmen once again at Geigers house, she tells him that it was Joe who took her photo that night. Eddie comes along and tries to scare Marlowe out of his inquiries.Later, Marlowe finds Joe Brody and questions him about Geiger. Agnes and Vivian are also at his house. Carmen comes along with a gun and threatens to kill Joe if he doesnt give her the photo. Carmen takes the photo and she leaves with Vivian. Then the doorbell rings again and somebody kills Joe, then escapes. Marlowe catches the man, who turns out to be Carol (Geigers right arm), who thinks that it was Joe who killed Geiger. Marlowe and Carol then go to Geigers house. Marlowe calls his friend Bernie, who comes and takes Carol away for his murder.Marlowe meets Vivian, who gives him money to close the case, but Marlowe sees behind this and does not want to quit his inquiries. He has to solve the Sean Regan issue.A man named Harry Jones tries to sell Marlowe the name of the place where Sean can be found. The money is to be given to Agnes, who has seduced Harry before. Later, one of Eddies men, Canino, kills Harry, because the information he has given to Marlowe will reveal Eddies secret about Sean.Marlowe meets with Agnes. She tells him that she and Joe have seen Eddies wife and Canino together and followed them. She gives Marlowe the address for 200 Dollars.Marlowe goes to that address and is knocked unconscious by two men. When he wakes up, he is tied and Eddies wife is there. Marlowe learns the truth about Sean Regan: He did not run away with Eddies wife, he was already dead and it is only Eddies wife who is hiding away. The wife tries to defend Eddie, saying that it wasnt him who killed Sean. Marlowe tells her that Eddie is a blackmailer and she goes away. Vivian unties Marlowe and he kills Canino.Marlowe calls Eddie to meet with him at his house. Eddie comes with a lot of men but he enters the house alone. Marlowe confronts him with a gun and makes him confess his bad deeds. He drives him out of the house and Eddies men outside, thinking that the one getting out of the house is Marlowe, shoot Eddie. The men leave, thinking they have done their duty.Marlowe calls Bernie again and tells him that it was Eddie who killed Sean Regan. By saying this, he actually saves Carmen from arrestment. But he tells Vivian that she should take Carmen away from here and should try to reform her. Vivian understand that this means a separation between herself and Marlowe, who are by now very much interested in each other. The film ends vaguely about the future of the two lovers.

Tags: cult, mystery, murder, plot twist

Review:
There is a certain truth to this: like the Raymond Chandler novel on which it is based, the plot is extremely complicated, and it requires the viewer to mentally track an unexpected number of characters--including two characters that never appear on screen, a pivotal character who doesn't actually have any lines, and a character who is frequently mentioned but doesn't appear until near the film's conclusion.
Philip Marlowe would be played by a great many actors, but none of them ever bested Humphrey Bogart, who splendidly captures the feel of Chandler's original creation; with the role of Vivien Sternwood Lauren Bacall gives what might be the finest performance of her screen career; and the chemistry between the two is everything you've ever heard.
The pay's too small." - "She tried to sit in my lap while I was standing up."  Bogie and Bacall get two of the best exchanges; they have a horse-racing discussion where racy double-entendres are dripping like savory sauce off of every word, and they also get a truly hilarious telephone conversation where Marlowe convinces Vivien not to call the police.But THE BIG SLEEP has a harder side that is also effective.
The movie is too unpredictable to generate much suspense (you can't dread something you don't know is going to happen), but the ending is one of the most intense, nailbiting scenes you'll ever see.The 1940s were not a great era for film music, which makes Max Steiner's brooding score all the more impressive.
With this movie a new kind of cinematic hero was created, the existential PI, a seemingly ordinary looking guy gifted with street smarts and easy courage, admired by men, and adored by women.Hawks fashioned this, part of the Bogart legend, with a noire script penned by William Faulkner, et al., adapted from Raymond Chandler's first novel, that sparkled with spiffy lines, intriguing characters, danger and a not entirely serious attention to plot detail.
Hawks surrounded Bogey with admiring dames, beginning with the sexy Martha Vickers who tries to jump into his lap while he's still standing (as Marlowe tells General Sternwood), and ending with the incomparable Lauren Bacall, looking beguiling, beautiful and mysteriously seductive.
In the book Marlowe seems to prefer whiskey to women.Most of the sharp dialogue comes right from Chandler's novel, including Bogart's grinning line, 'Such a lot of guns around town, and so few brains.' Interesting is the little joke on Bogart in the opening scene.
In the novel, Chandler's hero is greeted by the purring Carmen with the words, 'Tall, aren't you?' Well, the one thing Bogey ain't is tall, and so in the movie Carmen says, 'You're not very tall, are you?' Bogart comes back with, 'I try to be.' In the novel, Marlowe says, 'I didn't mean to be.'By the way, the film features Bacall singing a forties tune and looking mighty good doing it.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!).
"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.
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..
Seems as though a family chauffeur has gone missing a while back and the family is concerned on a number of levels.The plot glides into the question of the missing chauffeur and Bogart meets all kinds of interesting characters before all the mysteries are solved.The Big Sleep proved that the teaming on screen of Bogey and Bacall was no flash in the pan success that they had in Two Have and Have Not. They are surrounded with a great cast of players.
As he digs deeper Marlowe finds only corruption and deceit but also starts to fall for the General's eldest daughter, Vivian Rutledge.Despite the fact that this film is overly complicated at times, it still stands out as a classic bit of noir, even if aspects other than the plot are what really makes it as good as it is.
The support cast includes tough turns from Cook, Heydt and Ridgely all of whom convince as tough guys but not to the point where they threaten to eclipse the shining star of Bogart.Overall this is a classic film despite the fact that the plot is too difficult at times and doesn't always hang together.
The Big Sleep (1946)Even hardened film noir and Humphrey Bogart fans admit that this is one confusing movie.
It is, in fact, one of the great films of one of the screens greatest actors (for my personal top 10 actors list, click here), and most talented directors.It was directed by Howard Hawks fresh off of the successful pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall in To Have and Have Not. The two star here again and it is easy to see why they made another two films together.
Marlowe connects the dots and is evolved by a complex network of blackmails and deaths while Vivian and he fall in love with each other."The Big Sleep" is a splendid film-noir, actually one of the best I have ever seen, directed by Howard Hawks with a magnificent story of blackmail and deaths and stunning performances.
Considered as a classic example of the film noir style, Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" is famous not only for the complexity of its convoluted plot, but for the high quality of its dialogs as well as the legendary coupling of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
This review of "The Big Sleep" is based on the 1946 final version, as personally I find it superior to the less convoluted original (but definitely less fun) cut.In "The Big Sleep", private detective Philip Marlowe (Bogart) makes a visit to Gen. Sternwood (Charles Waldron), an old handicapped man who has a mission for him.
But this death will only be the beginning.Based on Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name, "The Big Sleep" is definitely one wild ride to a dark world filled with gangsters, femme fatals, pornographers and drug addicts; in simple words, the epitome of Film Noir stories with the character of Philip Marlow as one of the genre's biggest icon.
It is in this series of dialogs where the magic of "The Big Sleep" is, as the focus on the relationship between the couple drives the movie and makes the complex ambiguity of the plot feel more accessible and enjoyable.As usual, Howard Hawks' direction is direct and straightforward, letting the dialogs to drive the movie but at the same keeping true to the Noir style of its hard boiled source novel.
Visually, the film is a textbook of how to make a movie in the Noir style, with the excellent cinematography by Sidney Hickox being a highlight of the movie, and the subtle yet appropriate score by Max Steiner creating the proper atmosphere of decadence that runs through the film as Marlowe gets deeper and deeper inside this dark world.Being that the screenplay makes the characters the main focus, the performances by the cast are essential for the film.
Bogart's portrayal of Raymond Chandler's best-known character, Phillip Marlowe, easily ranks as one of the icons of the Film Noir genre, in a legendary performance only equaled by Lauren Bacall's Vivan Sternwood.
It may seem at first that Hawks doesn't care too much for the plot (and on a second thought, maybe he really didn't), but in the end this overtly complex puzzle reflects what Marlowe himself is experiencing, and in many ways makes the audience to identify with the detective and his work trying to solve the mystery of who is blackmailing who.
Private detective Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to keep an eye on his youngest daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers) who has fallen into bad company.She has also got a mysterious and attractive sister called Vivian (Lauren Bacall).Soon there is some romance in the air and his life in danger.Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946) does a fine job combining thriller with romantic feelings.The film is based on Raymond Chandler's novel from 1939).Humphrey Bogart does his detective role once again with style.He and Lauren Bacall had married each other the previous year.You can sense that in the amount of chemistry they share in their mutual scenes.Take them in the car for instance.They certainly were made for each other.John Ridgely plays Eddie Mars in the movie and he does a very nice job.And so does Peggy Knudsen as Mona Mars.Dorothy Malone is very pretty as Acme Bookstore proprietress.I enjoyed the scene between her and Bogie in the bookstore.Elisha Cook Jr. I remember from The Maltese Falcon and he does terrific job also here as Harry Jones.This really is a fine movie, a film-noir classic.Anybody who decides not to watch it because it's too old...It's your loss.
Although the movie includes impeccable dialogue and incredible acting by Bogart (Marlowe) and Bacall (Vivian Reagan) with a strong supporting cast, the scenes move so quickly it may take several watches to figure what is happening.
It could have helped me work out the complicated, mussy plot of 'The Big Sleep' better.But WHO CARES about plot when you have a super-stylish noir boasting shady, fascinating characters, Bogart and Bacall, a brilliant screenplay and a whole lot of humour.
Howard Hawks directed classic featuring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe, Lauren Bacall.
I've seen The Big Sleep a number of times over the years; it's a terrific movie with witty dialogue, a classic Bogie performance, and an unlikely number of hot women throwing themselves at the middle-aged detective.
The great flaw of the film is the story, which by the end is a jumbled, confused mess.I just watched the earlier version of the movie, before Lauren Bacall's agent begged the producer to add and re-shoot scenes because he was afraid the critics would trash her for her performance as they had in her previous film - or at ignore her in favor of Martha Tilton's flashy performance as the kid sister - and he wanted to see a replay of the magic of her first movie with Bogart, To Have and Have Not.The original version of the movie would, like the final version, have been a classic 40s detective movie with a great performance from Bogart and Howard Hawk's crackling direction.
The great thing about him was that he didn't seem like your typical heroic figure and that puts him right at home in the seedy environment of film noir where everybody seems kind of crooked, even the police.Though he played kind of heroic figures there was always a sinister quality to him and this is played out beautifully in this movie where he seems to be most comfortable with the villains rather than the more straight-laced characters.The plot of The Big Sleep is so complicated that you are often thinking that you are being put on.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in this great Film-noir, with a magnificent direction by Howard Hawks!.
"The Big Sleep" is based on a novel by the greatest writer of the century, the lead role was given to the greatest and coolest actor of all-time and the director was one of the creators of noir films (remember "Scarface", 1932), together with John Huston and his "The Maltese Falcon".
With movies like "The Big Sleep" and "The Maltese Falcon", among others, private detective = Humphrey Bogart.
It really did.I mean, (with the hilarious way that all of the babes were literally falling into Bogart's arms, over and over again, and with so many of the bad guys being bumped off, left, right and centre, for no apparent reason) I certainly couldn't take this crime film's tale of drama at face value for even a minute.I clearly saw The Big Sleep as being played strictly for laughs.
Humphrey Bogart is Philip Marlowe, a private investigator called in to solve a blackmail case, and that's all you need to know because you just need to observe as Marlowe lurches from scene to scene, deeper and deeper into a convoluted mire that triumphs as each scene unfolds.One of the greatest detective films ever made, directed by a genius, starring another, and as dialogue goes it has few peers.
In this early Black and White the studio script written by equally famous William Faulkner, we have our hero Phillip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) contracted by rich, retired but concerned General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to find his daughter Carmen's (Martha Vickers) missing boyfriend.
"The Big Sleep" begins with a plot setup that will bob and weave freely over its two hours: a millionaire is being blackmailed, and private eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is called in to get to the bottom of it.
Ultimately, the best reasons to watch "The Big Sleep" have nothing to do with the plot--Bogart is well-cast as the quick-witted Marlowe, and Lauren Bacall (who was married to Bogart at the time) makes a fitting--albeit ice-cold--femme fatale, and Hawks skillfully directs a screenplay that seems confusing for its own sake.
Bogart's Marlowe is a far more realistic, less glamorized, version of the private eye: Ex-DA investigator; knowledgeable about things that only cops know; a lone wolf with his own code of morality; and the desire to do the right thing barely hidden under a veneer of cynicism and world weariness.Also, even though only 3 years elapsed between the making of the "Falcon" and "The Big Sleep," Bogie aged dramatically in those three years.This movie truly has it all: vintage 40's noir; the Bogart-Bacall mystique; superb supporting performers; an engrossing mystery populated with intriguing characters; and a marvelous capturing of the feel of old L.A.This one should be firmly ensconced in everyone's all time Top 10..
The truth is that Carman not Eddie Mars was responsible for Regan's murder when he left her for Eddie's wife Mora which drove the very mentally and emotionally unstable Carman to go off the deep end and murder him.P.S The remake of "The Big Sleep" in 1978 with Robert Mitchum playing Philip Marlow had a lot more cohesive plot and didn't confuse those watching the movie like the 1946 version did.
"The Big Sleep", a great film from great director Howard Hawks is  complicated but good enough to be entertaining without understanding the plot.
This is one of the best movies Bogart ever did in the film-noir genre and in my opinion is a very close second-best Bogart-Bacall picture, the first one being "Key Largo".What was one of the best parts of this movie is that Howard Hawks shifts you over from one bad-guy to another making you believe he's the killer or the blackmailer but upon hearing the man's story, you can only be sure that he might be guilty of one act but not of another.Philip Marlowe (Bogart) is summoned by colonel Sternwood to investigate on a certain unknown person who has been blackmailing him and the whole story suddenly becomes a murder investigation.
i thought the movie would NEVER end.BIG SLEEP was actually better when Bacall was offscreen, and when other performers were the central focus of a scene rather than Bogart.
Good noire private eye film that does not concentrate on plot but more on a fantasy/artistic style of presentation via escapist flow and very comic book like dialgue.It's power is in it's serious presentation and snappy dialogue fans of the genre will truly enjoy.Also,the lead actors did a great job giving life to their characters.To be a masterpiece,this film could have had a better screenply though.Do not try too hard to understand the mystery.The art here is in the ATMOSPHERE which later (same genre) movies immitated.If not a fan of this genre,you will still be entertained if you are a big fan of the lead actors.......
Each character tends to his goal in the universal mysteries and permanent plots.Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe is the element that makes this movie a lot better.
Despite its widely regarded convoluted plot, The Big Sleep ranks among the best film noirs of all-time.Private detective Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is summoned to the Sternwood mansion.
A scene that explains the plot towards the end with two characters, the police commissioner and the district attorney, was removed completely from the final version of the film.Prior to The Big Sleep, Howard Hawks directed To Have and Not Have in 1944, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in her film debut.
Many of Martha Vickers' scenes were removed to boost Bacall's performance.The Big Sleep is a film noir well worth seeing.
A-list newlyweds Bogart and Bacall play detective Phillip Marlowe and mysterious lady 'Vivian Sternwood Rutledge' in this excellent adaption of Raymond Chandler's eponymous book.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in "The Big Sleep," a 1946 film which also features Martha Vickers, Regis Toomey, John Ridgeley, and Elisha Cook, Jr. Briskly directed by Howard Hawks, this film has more characters and more plots going on than can ever be described here.
But you have to think when watching the Big Sleep.The best part is Philip Marlowe, played by the legendary Humphrey Bogart.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not).
"The Big Sleep" is a classic film noir that centres on P.I. Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart).
I was able to follow it without any problems but you've been advised to pay close attention.In the end, "The Big Sleep" makes for an entertaining film noir with some excellent work from Humphrey Bogart.