Directed by howard hawks starring humphrey bogart and lauren bacall 1946 hired by a hothouseensconced retired general to investigate his nympho daughters gambling debts, humphrey bogart, as chandlers philip marlowe, finds the dames keep throwing themselves at him, even as corpses keep dropping, while he and lauren bacall take time for memorable double entendres. Originally completed in 1945, the big sleep sat on the shelf as warner bros. That can be seen more clearly now that an earlier version of the film has surfaced. The big sleep 1978 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The cast includes sarah miles, candy clark, joan collins, and oliver reed, also featuring james stewart as general sternwood. The big sleep film noir characteristic by harles pengeston. The film stars humphrey bogart as private detective philip marlowe and lauren bacall as vivian rutledge in a story about the process of a criminal investigation, not its results. The big sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by howard hawks, the first film version of the 1939 novel of the same name by raymond chandler. Criticism of howard hawkss the big sleep 1946 has already shown that its. Ill outline the noir elements of this classic murder mystery below. While michael winner was busy updating the big sleep why didnt he add a disco score to reflect the cultural environment of 1978. The big sleep has a dual reputation as one of the greatest of filmnoir. Almost immediately, marlowe finds himself deep within a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organized crime.
Overall, the big sleep is a foundational film and a great time. There was a glut of feature production in hollywood during world war ii, leading to similar decisions at other. In the movie the big sleep, bogies character drops into a casino to talk to eddie mars. The big sleep was finished by warner brothers in 1945, but held out of release while the studio rushed to play off its backlog of world war ii movies. The big sleep, american film noir, released in 1946, that was based on raymond chandlers classic 1939 novel of the same name. Film noir is more than a subject crime and punishment or a theme the underside of american life. David thomas book on the big sleep is everything i expect from a bfi film classics volume. Based on raymond chandlers novel, this remake of howard hawks 1946 classic film noir detective story which starred humphrey bogart. To have and have not was one of the surprises of 1944.
Chandler took some of his short stories and wove them together into one coherent novel. 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. The big sleep 1945 prerelease version 1945 allmovie. What makes the big sleep a good example of film noir, and its elements. This is the last scene of the classic movie the big sleep 1946 with humphrey bogart and lauren bacall. The big sleep was based on the raymond chandler novel of the same name.
Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. I just watched the film the big sleep 1946, with bogart and bacall, and i would like to know where the name came from. While this can be done effectively, this was not the case in this film. I was never bored sleepy while watching this film, which speaks volumes especially considering the convoluted plot. The big sleep questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the big sleep. 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. This weeks film noir is one of humphrey bogart and lauren bacalls best films. I know that the big sleep was a book before the movie, so obviously the nameploteverything came from that, but my question is the same. Two cuts of howard hawkss the big sleep the new yorker.
I dont see anything profound or socially necessary about the big sleep, but films like this can be intellectually engaging and fun. Usually categorized under the film noir umbrella for its shadowy photography and emphasis on the menace of the underworld, the big sleep mixes its cynicism with enough dry humor to almost lend it a sense of optimism. The big sleep is a 1946 film by howard hawks based on a novel by raymond chandler. The big sleep, howard hawks film analysis senses of cinema. Arguably it is the best of chandlers seven novels, and unquestionably it ranks above the writing of. Unfortunately, while this made the big sleep into a true filmnoir classic, warners also decided to cut a few scenes from the original 1945 version of the film to keep its length manageable, and the result is a plot that, even after repeated viewings, is almost incomprehensible. When they were writing the original 1946 movie version of the big sleep 1946, they came up with this little problem in raymond chandlers novel. As with any film from this period in cinematic history, the behindthescenes details are almost as important as what ends up on the screen, but this is even more so when dealing with hollywood icons like howard hawks, humphrey bogart, or lauren bacall. Finally, the big sleep is invariably described as a film noir, a term coined by french critic nino frank in 1945 when a flood of dark hollywood thrillers made during the war eventually arrived on. The big sleep 1978 nude scenes 1h 39min crime, drama, mystery 7 april 1978 uk grizzled american private detective in england investigates a complicated case of blackmail turned murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a pornographer and a gangster. Humphrey bogart plays knightinshining armour or at least a scruffy raincoat philip marlowe in this classic film noir a shabby private detective hired for the seemingly simple task of keeping an eye on a bigwigs wildchild daughter. The big sleep 1946 film the big sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by howard hawks, the first film version of the 1939 novel of the same name by raymond chandler. How did you prove to vivian that carmen had done it. Bosley crowther, in the new york times on november 3, 1945, wrote about confidential agent.
Novel film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. Factorys entertainment offerings serve up firstrun feature films, original, contemporary, and classic tv. This film is a marvel of convoluted, unexplained plot threads that miraculously add up to one of the great pleasures of cinema. After reading the book three times and watching both versions of the film. The films pairing of middleaged screen veteran humphrey bogart and 18 yearold lauren bacall had proven incendiary at the boxoffice. The big sleep is a 1978 neonoir film, the second film version of raymond chandlers 1939 novel of the same name. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. The big sleep, howard hawks senses of cinema film journal. The big sleep contains a somewhat subtler version of this.
It is, above all, a style, and hollywoods greatest stylist, howard hawks, made one of the. The picture was directed by michael winner and stars robert mitchum in his second film portrayal of the detective philip marlowe. It was directed by howard hawks, cowritten by author william faulkner, and starred the popular team of humphrey bogart and lauren bacall. Humphrey bogart and lauren bacall ignite the screen in this classic film noir adaptation of raymond chandlers steamy detective novel. Robert mitchum and joan collins in the big sleep 1978 robert mitchum in the big sleep. The labyrinthine gumshoe movie, with bogart and bacall on top form, looks for all the world like something david lynch might have dreamed up. The screenwriting team which included no less than william faulkner called up chandler and asked him whod killed the leftover.
Sometimes its hard to keep track of what philip marlowe is up to during the big sleep. The big sleep film noir dorothy malones sexiest look ever duration. The big sleep is a lust story with a plot about a lot of other things. Media in category the big sleep film the following files are in this category, out of total. See the full list of the big sleep cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. Since her role was larger in that picture, and the film was more timely, warner decided to put the big sleep on the shelf until confidential agent had played out. Elisha cook essays one of his typical roles as a luckless fall guy. June 19 as part of its film noir festival, summer of darkness. Dorothy malone got her first notice on film as a bookstore proprietor.
Marlowe and a librarian are in a closed bookstore during a heavy rain, they begin having drinks, and the camera pans away and cuts. This studio treatment elevated the film to a status, but ultimately the box office was fuelled by a moviegoing public anxious to witness. It seemed to have an extra dead body left over at the end. Both the original novel and the movie are considered classics, and the latter is a quintessential example of the film noir genre the convoluted plot follows the investigation by hardboiled detective philip marlowe humphrey bogart into the gambling debts of young dilettante carmen sternwood at the behest of.
Overall, the big sleep is uniformly excellent, the perfomances, direction and visuals are powerful and effective. Based on raymond chandlers novel, this remake of howard hawks 1946 classic film noir detective story which starred humphrey bogart inexplicably moves. A dream project with a dream cast and the result is a nightmare. When they were writing the original 1946 movie version of the big sleep 1946, they came up with this little problem in raymond chandlers. Bacall had another big vehicle she had finished right after the big sleep, confidential agent 1945, a wartime espionage film costarring charles boyer. The big sleep was next but it sat on a shelf for over a year and bacalls third film confidential agent was released before the big sleep. Private eye philip marlowe robert mitchum falls into a. With the big sleep, the image thats singed onto your brain most likely involves bogart and. The big sleep was a warner brothers big budgeted film, not an rko low budget b. Both the original novel and the movie are considered classics, and the latter is a quintessential example of the film noir genre the convoluted plot follows the investigation by hardboiled detective philip marlowe humphrey bogart into the gambling debts of young dilettante. The big sleep is a 1946 film noir by howard hawks, based on the 1939 novel of the same name by raymond chandler. The film lacks any directorial tricks, so is aside from the difficulties of its plot strikingly direct and accessible. While the plot is hard to follow at times, the film makes up for the mini frustration by having very interesting characters that have wideranging personalities and motives.