Favorite things about… The Big Sleep

The favorite film:
The Big Sleep, a 1946 noir mystery marking the second on-screen pairing of The Most Beautiful Couple Ever*, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Howard Hawks directs, and the film is based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler.

*I have awarded them this title (for obvious reasons), just as I’ve awarded Cary Grant the title of The Most Beautiful Man Ever.

The synopsis:
Philip Marlowe is a private detective hired by an ill, very wealthy man named General Sternwood to solve many of the family’s problems. All of the current drama seems to be stemming from the disappearance of one of the General’s favorite employees.

Sternwood’s two daughters, Carmen and Vivian, are wrapped up in the drama through their own corrupt associations and less-than-respectable hobbies. As Marlowe works to track down all of the loose ends of the complicated case, he finds himself falling for the dangerous Vivian and becoming deeply engulfed in the world of crime.

The cast:
Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe
Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge
Martha Vickers as Carmen Sternwood
Charles Waldron as General Sternwood
John Ridgely as Eddie Mars
Louis Jean Heydt as Joe Brody

Fun facts:

• Famed novelist William Faulkner contributed to the screenplay. He also worked on the screenplay for Bogie and Baby’s first film together, To Have and Have Not (1944).
• Howard Hawks bought the rights to the novel for only $5,000, adding the rest of the money Jack Warner had given him into his own pocketbook.
• An earlier cut of the film was shown to American troops overseas in 1945. Additional scenes were shot with Bogie and Baby before the theatrical release of the film in order to try to replicate the success of To Have and Have Not.
• Vivian and Carmen both make jokes about Marlowe’s height early on in the film. Bogart was a shorter-than-average leading man, and trick photography or shoe lifts often had to be used to make him look taller than his lead actresses.
• Stickers for the rationing of gasoline can be seen on many of the cars in the film.
• A remake of the film was released in 1978 starring Robert Mitchum, Joan Collins and Jimmy Stewart.
• Steve Martin’s fantastic noir parody Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982) utilizes scenes from this film, among others (including Sorry, Wrong Number; Hitchcock’s Notorious and Suspicion; Bogart’s In a Lonely Place; Bogart and Bacall’s Dark Passage; and The Killers)

Favorite things:

• Marlowe sweating out half of his body’s water content while the General sits wrapped up in blankets
• General Sternwood describing his daughters as corrupt fools
• The supreme wit and snark of Marlowe and Vivian’s first meeting
• Bogie and Baby’s chemistry – they kill me!
• My two favorite things together on screen: Bogart and bookstores!
• Bogie’s exaggerated change of personality when he visits Geiger’s book shop

• The sassy ACME bookstore clerk (portrayed by Dorothy Malone) shamelessly flirting with Marlowe and closing down the store to spend “quality time” with him
• Bogie’s fence-hopping skills at Geiger’s house
• This awesome hidden camera:

• Martha Vickers’ portrayal of Carmen’s “high as a kite” phase
• Beautiful set design and costuming
• Marlowe and Vivian’s call hilarious call to the police after he takes the phone from her
• The sarcastic, droll dialogue (and the perfect delivery of it)
• Vivian’s… mosquito net? Fencing mask? Veil?:

• Lauren Bacall’s song:

• Vivian’s unclear intentions throughout the majority of the film – Is she really on Marlowe’s side?
• This film has everything I could possibly want in a hard-boiled mystery. Suspense! Drama! Romance! A full, complex plot! It’s the perfect private eye film, and there isn’t a single dull moment.
• Quotes:
  • Carmen: “You’re not very tall, are you?”
  • Carmen: “You’re making fun of me.”
    Marlowe: “Uh-huh.”
    Carmen: “You’re cute.”
  • Vivian: “I’m sure I don’t care what you say, Mr. Marlowe.”
  • Marlowe: “You do sell books, hmmm?”
  • Vivian: “You like to play games, don’t you?”
  • Marlowe: “Such a lot of guns in town and so few brains.”
  • Marlowe: “I like brandy.”
    Vivian: “I have lots of it.”
  • Vivian: “I’m not used to being hijacked. Give me a little time.”
  • Vivian: “I like that. I’d like more. [Kisses Marlowe] That’s even better.”
    Marlowe: “Alright, now that’s settled. What has Eddie Mars got on you?”
    Vivian: “So that’s the way it is.”
    Marlowe: “Yeah, that’s the way it is. Kissing is alright, it’s nice. I’d like to do more of it. But first I want to find out what Eddie Mars has on you.”
  • Marlowe: “I don’t suppose there’s a gun around here.”
  • Vivian: “I don’t mind, as long as you’re around.”
  • Vivian: “I guess I’m in love with you.”
  • Marlowe: “What’s wrong with you?”
    Vivian: “Nothing you can’t fix.”