The Big Sleep (film) Review

 The Big Sleep   

Director/Studio/Author: Howard Hawks/Warner Home Video/William Faulkner

American release date: July 25, 2006 (original theatrical release 1946)

Format, Genre and length: DVD/Film Noir/114 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Philip Marlowe’s been around. You see, he’s a private detective, so he pretty well knows the score. But you can’t always be choosy about your clients, even when they live on the right side of the tracks. After receiving a referral from an acquaintance at the DA’s office, Philip (Humphrey Bogart) goes to the home of the wealthy Sternwoods. The General is an elderly infirm man with a stoically discreet butler, and two daughters who were born later in life and who lead him a merry chase. Carmen (Martha Vickers) is wild and flirtatious, and Vivian (Lauren Bacall) is commanding and self-assured. Marlowe discovers how wild Carmen is when she playfully attempts to seduce him in the foyer.

Synopsis:

The General likes to spend his time in the hothouse where he grows orchids—not because he likes flowers, but the warmth feels good. He’s received a threat of blackmail in the mail and he wants Marlowe to look into it. Some guy named Geiger, holding some gambling notes allegedly signed by Carmen. Marlowe agrees to look into it, but as he is leaving, the butler informs him that Mrs. Rutledge (Vivian) wishes to see him. She is curious about why Marlowe is there, but he isn’t exactly forthcoming with details, seeing as she’s not his client. And why is she concerned about a guy named Regan?

It turns out Geiger has a bookstore, so Marlowe does a little homework at the library. He then dons a foppish disguise and makes some inquiries as to certain first editions of the girl who mans the store. Her lack of basic knowledge raises his suspicions, along with the entrance of a guy with a suspicious package in a plain wrapper that she buzzes into the backroom. He tries to talk to the owner, Geiger, but he’s not available.

Going across the street to a rival bookstore, Marlowe charms a description of Geiger out of the more knowledgeable girl there (look for a young Dorothy Malone here0, and afterward settles down to wait. When a man matching that description exits the shop, with his driver, Philip follows them and again watches and waits. During the evening, he sees a flash, hears two shots, and as he approaches the house, he sees two cars flee the scene. Inside he discovers a rather stoned Carmen Sternwood, and a rather dead Arthur Geiger.

Marlowe returns Carmen to the bosom of her family, and then returns to the scene of the crime to discover that the corpse is gone. He notifies the police, while still pursuing his own investigation, which leads to, among other places, a high stakes gambling joint, and low class hoods. Marlowe has to figure out what’s what and who’s who, and hopefully not lose his life in the process.

Commentary:

Just before watching The Big Sleep, I read the novel by Raymond Chandler, so I was probably pre-disposed to catch discrepancies. Some made sense to me, some not so much. For example, in the book Vivian Sternwood is Mrs. Rusty Regan, but that was changed and I don’t know why, because it changes the General’s interest in Regan and his whereabouts. In the book, Marlowe finds Carmen in Geiger’s house, stark naked and sitting on a throne, but I realize that would never have flown back then. Same for when she talks her way into Marlowe’s apartment and is waiting naked in his bed. Censors would have had a cow, I’m sure.

Other than that, it’s fairly faithful to the book. Well, excluding the part where you never do find out the significance of the book/books and the list (Geiger has a lending library of pornography, and the coded list is of his clients). Also, the man who avenged Geiger’s death, without giving away any movie spoilers, is Geiger’s lover, so that was totally glossed over.

Bogart is magnificent as Marlowe, I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role. Martha Vickers is competent as Carmen, but I didn’t see Lauren Bacall as Vivian. In fact, I think she’d have made a better Carmen, but it’s a no-brainer why that casting occurred, since she and Bogie were either married at that point, or at least together. In fact, a romantic aspect was added that didn’t really exist in the book, basically because of that. To me, that’s on a par with something they did in the film Evita, where a song that didn’t even belong to Evita was taken from another character and given to her, basically because Madonna played her.

Other than all that, though, it’s a very enjoyable film, well written and well directed and pretty well acted. True film noir and a classic. I don’t think anyone but Bogie could have carried it off that well, though. A definite keeper for your collection, worth revisiting on a regular basis. And don’t forget to look for Elisha Cook Jr. doing what he does best in a secondary role.

The Big Sleep Review

The Big Sleep  

Author: Raymond Chandler

Publisher: Vintage

American release date: July 12, 1988

Format/Genre/Length: Novel/Crime/139 pages

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: not rated

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

A referral from an associate in the DA’s office garners private investigator Philip Marlowe a job with the very wealthy General Sternwood. The General is elderly and infirm, living in a huge house with a discreet butler and two daughters—both born late in his life, and both rather wild girls. Where Carmen is ditzy and prone to flirtatiousness, Vivian is more self-assured and wears an air of self-possession, despite the fact that her husband, Rusty Regan, has disappeared without a word. However, that is not why the General has summoned Marlowe. There seems to be a small matter of blackmail…

Synopsis:

General Sternwood has received some promissory notes purporting to have been signed by Carmen; a card with the name Arthur Geiger, purveyor of rare books, is enclosed. Marlowe suspects it’s an attempt to claim blackmail money, especially after he learns that the general was hit up for hush money a few months previously by a guy named Joe Brody, who wanted it in order to stop seeing Carmen. Since the General won’t ask Carmen directly, Marlowe agrees to check things out. Before he can even get out of the house, Vivian Regan requests his presence in her room, and attempts to grill him over what he’s doing for her father. But Marlowe is keeping a tight lip; he’s not one to spill the beans about his clients, even if she is the client’s daughter.

Affecting a cover as a man knowledgeable about rare books, Marlowe goes to Geiger’s book store but apparently the worthy gentleman is not on the premises, and the gal he’s hired to take care of things doesn’t know as much about rare books as perhaps she should. When she hands a wrapped parcel to a mysterious visitor in exchange for an unspecified amount of cash, Marlowe suspects there is more here than meets the eye. So he takes his leave and follows the man, giving him a distinct case of the heebie-jeebies. The nervous Nate ditches the package, and Marlowe retrieves it.

Having gotten a description of Geiger from a girl in a bookstore across the street, Marlowe cases Geiger’s place until he appears, and tails him to his house on Laverne Terrace. Night slips in as Marlowe bides his time. A sudden flash from Geiger’s home, followed by a scream and three shots, draws him in, where he discovers a naked Carmen Sternwood, and a dead Arthur Geiger. Being a discreet kind of guy, he returns the stoned heiress—properly dressed—to the bosom of her loving family, and returns to the scene of the crime, only to discover that the body is gone!

A dead chauffeur, a lending library of pornography, gambling debts, scandal and more strew Marlowe’s path as he seeks the answers to questions which only lead to more questions. Why does everyone think he’s searching for Rusty Regan? Marlowe will stop at nothing to get at the truth, including putting his own life in peril.

Commentary:

This is my first Raymond Chandler novel, his first Philip Marlowe, and it’s a great introduction to the PI, as well as a wonderful addition to the genre. Although written a long time ago, it definitely withstands the test of time, and is just as fascinating for modern readers as any contemporary novel. Chandler has a definite way with descriptions that give you instant pictures of what he’s talking about. For example, this description of the Sternwood home:

Over the entrance doors, which would have let in a troop of Indian elephants, there was a broad stained-glass panel showing a knight in dark armor rescuing a lady who was tied to a tree and didn’t have any clothes on but some very long and convenient hair.

Marlowe is a cynical observer of the human condition, and he isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. Or to take a chance, even if it means putting his life on the line or getting physical. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the next one, Farewell My Lovely. I recently watched the film, The Big Sleep, which I shall review separately, and compare the book to the movie.