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The Big Sleep (1946)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
31 August 1946 (USA) moreTagline:
The type of man she hated . . . was the type she wanted ! morePlot:
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. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
1 win moreNewsDesk:
(6 articles)
The Long Goodbye: Elliott Gould Remembers Robert Altman (From The Hollywood Interview. 10 May 2009, 2:01 PM, PDT)
Jeff Dowd: The Hollywood Interview
(From The Hollywood Interview. 17 April 2009, 11:03 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Just Ignore That Discombobulated Plot moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Humphrey Bogart | ... | Philip Marlowe | |
| Lauren Bacall | ... | Vivian Sternwood Rutledge | |
| John Ridgely | ... | Eddie Mars | |
| Martha Vickers | ... | Carmen Sternwood | |
| Dorothy Malone | ... | Acme Bookstore proprietress | |
| Peggy Knudsen | ... | Mona Mars | |
| Regis Toomey | ... | Chief Insp. Bernie Ohls (District Attorney's Office) | |
| Charles Waldron | ... | Gen. Sternwood | |
| Charles D. Brown | ... | Norris (Sternwood's butler) | |
| Bob Steele | ... | Lash Canino | |
| Elisha Cook Jr. | ... | Harry Jones | |
| Louis Jean Heydt | ... | Joe Brody | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Pat Clark | ... | Mona Mars (scenes deleted) | |
| James Flavin | ... | Capt. Cronjager (scenes deleted) | |
| Thomas E. Jackson | ... | Dist. Atty. White (scenes deleted) | |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Le grand sommeil (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]Tote schlafen fest (Austria) (Germany) [de]
À Beira do Abismo (Portugal) [pt]
Al borde del abismo (Argentina) [es]
Birlesen kalpler (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
De diepe slaap (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Den djupa sömnen (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Der tiefe Schlaf (Austria) (TV title) [de]
El gran sueño (Mexico) [es]
El sueño eterno (Spain) [es]
Hluboký spánek (Czech Republic) (TV title) [cs]
Il grande sonno (Italy) [it]
La gran dormida (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Pathos kai aima (Greece) [el]
Sternwood mysteriet (Denmark) [da]
Syvä uni (Finland) [fi]
Utpressning (Sweden) [sv]
Veliki san (Serbia) [sr]
Wielki sen (Poland) [pl]
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
114 min | 116 min (pre-release version)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)Certification:
Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:PG | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Canada:14A (video rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:(Banned) (1947-1949) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1961) | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #10625) | Iceland:12Filming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USAFun Stuff
Trivia:
References are made by both sisters about Marlowe's height at the beginning of the film. Back then it was film convention for the male lead to be taller than the female and Humphrey Bogart was shorter than both leading actresses, a problem corrected on screen through giving Bogart platform shoes as well as trick photography. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Bogart is in the house with the beaded curtain, the curtain is always completely still even after a very short time of passing through it. The first time Bogart goes into the bedroom and out again, you can see the curtain continue to move for a certain duration. His movements past the curtain should have them moving each time he comes back out of the bedroom because that duration is less than the first time. moreQuotes:
Vivian: How did you find her?Marlowe: I didn't find her.
Vivian: Well then how did you-...
Marlowe: I haven't been here, you haven't seen me, and she hasn't been out of the house all evening.
more
Soundtrack:
And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine moreFAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersWhat does the title mean?
Is "The Big Sleep" based on a novel?
more
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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.