The Big Sleep (1946) ***

 Release Date: August 23, 1946

Running time: 114 minutes

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers

Directed by: Howard Hawks

Dashiell Hammett made a career in the early parts of the 20th century churning out pot boil detective stories inspired by his time working for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency. One of these novels, The Maltese Falcon, became a popular film in the 30’s before becoming an even more popular film in 1941 starring Humphrey Bogart as a now cliched private dick, Sam Spade. Naturally, success breeds imitation and many authors throughout the 30’s and later sought to create their own sleuths. Most would go forgotten to the annuals of the past but one in particular has managed to endure, Philip Marlow, a creation by Raymond Chandler. Marlow, in some respects, even manages to be more well known in modern circles than Sam Spade if for no other reason than a handful of films, TV and other media appearances that crop up to the modern day. 

Philip Marlow’s on screen presence began, however, back in 1946 with what many would assume to be a Maltese Falcon rip off/homage and it doesn’t help that both films star Bogart in what can almost be considered the same character. There are some minor differences but they amount to little. What really separates the films is the script. The Maltese Falcon is easy to follow, doesn’t get bogged down in excess baggage and characters and never confuses the audience. The same cannot be said about The Big Sleep. Much of this can be faulted to the novel which is equally hard to follow, but the screenwriters job is to make it easy for the average movie goer to keep up with and in that aspect they failed.

The story begins with Philip Marlow (Bogart) being summoned to the mansion of General Sternwood about a matter of his daughter Carmen’s (Martha Vickers) gambling debts to Arthur Geiger. Marlow advises the general to pay the money, then as he is leaving he is stopped by Vivian (Lauren Bacall), the general’s elder daughter who suspects an ulterior motive from her father for bringing in Marlow. Recently a man named Sean Regan, Sternwood’s protégé, disappeared mysteriously. 

Marlow goes to Geiger’s shop but is stonewalled, eventually tailing the man to his residence where he hears a gunshot and a woman screaming. Investigating, he discovers Geiger has been killed and Carmen drugged. He also finds a hidden camera that is missing its film. After taking Carmen home he returns to find the body has been removed. The further Marlow digs into things, the more bodies turn up and he finds himself entangled in pornography, blackmail and more murders. The novel even included homosexuality, something that would have never passed the Hayes Code back in 1946. 

The Big Sleep has a reputation for being overly confusing. Indeed it lives up to that reputation by throwing in so many characters and twists that it really needed more time to help audiences of the day keep up with it all. This would have been even more troublesome for audiences who didn’t have the benefits of home video where they could watch it repeatedly to glean all the nuances. 

There are times where the only thing keeping things interesting are the scenes between Bogart and Bacall, paired here for the second time following To Have and Have Not. Bogart was going through a messy divorce during this film and was very much in love with Bacall and it shows on screen. There scenes together are electrifying and help bolster the middle of the film. An earlier cut of the film was missing many of these moments which were added with reshoots to take advantage of the two’s on and off screen appeal. It was a good decision as the film flounders without those moments.

Bogart never seems rattled no matter what he stumbles into. This also is much like the earlier Sam Spade character. That being said, Bogart is a tad more confident in this movie now that he is no longer a contract player and is instead a bona fide star. Sam Spade started that for him and Philip Marlow completes the transformation. There is more subtlety to this performance. What ultimately sinks it though is how difficult it is to follow everything that is going on. It’s not impossible to keep up, but this is not a film for the casual viewer. If you don’t give it your full attention you will be lost.

Martha Vickers is a hoot as the younger daughter who finds herself being blackmailed and photographed in compromising pictures. Her opening scene practically falling all over Marlow is hilarious and over-the-top. Her performance gets dwarfed by the behind the scenes knowledge of what was going on between Bogart and Bacall but in retrospect it is an absolute delight to watch. 

What it boils down to is The Big Sleep is a bit of a mess of a story that lives primarily on its cast. Bogart is smooth and polished as the ever confident private eye. Bacall is great in a nuanced roll where we wonder from scene to scene where her priorities really are. Vickers is all over the place as Carmen, yet we come to understand why this is and even sympathize with her. It’s not a perfect movie, yet it is always watchable. It is no The Maltese Falcon, but it doesn’t need to be.