The Big Sleep (1946)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

William Faulkner (screenplay) &
Leigh Brackett (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 August 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The type of man she hated . . . was the type she wanted !

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | General | Private Eye | Private Detective | Blackmail

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Philip Marlowe
Lauren Bacall	...	Vivian Rutledge
John Ridgely	...	Eddie Mars
Martha Vickers	...	Carmen Sternwood
Dorothy Malone	...	Acme Bookstore Proprietress
Peggy Knudsen	...	Mona Mars
Regis Toomey	...	Chief Inspector Bernie Ohls
Charles Waldron	...	General Sternwood
Charles D. Brown	...	Norris the 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	...	District Attorney White (scenes deleted)
Trevor Bardette	...	Art Huck (uncredited)
Joy Barlow	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Max Barwyn	...	Max - Head Waiter (uncredited)
Deannie Best	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Tanis Chandler	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Joseph Crehan	...	Medical Examiner (uncredited)
Sonia Darrin	...	Agnes Lowzier (uncredited)
Carole Douglas	...	Librarian (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Man in Casino (uncredited)
Tom Fadden	...	Sidney (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Woman with Bumped Man (uncredited)
Shep Houghton	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Pete Kooy	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Lorraine Miller	...	Hatcheck Girl (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Furtive Man (uncredited)
Shelby Payne	...	Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Silent Thug Beating Marlowe (uncredited)
Tommy Rafferty	...	Carol Lundgren (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Ed - Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
Theodore von Eltz	...	Arthur Gwynn Geiger (uncredited)
Wally Walker	...	Mars' Thug (uncredited)
Dan Wallace	...	Owen Taylor (uncredited)
Paul Weber	...	Mars' Thug (uncredited)
Ben Welden	...	Pete (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
William Faulkner		(screenplay) &
Leigh Brackett		(screenplay) &
Jules Furthman		(screenplay)
Raymond Chandler		(novel "The Big Sleep")

Produced by
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer
Howard Hawks	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Sidney Hickox		(as Sid Hickox)

Film Editing by
Christian Nyby

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl
Max Parker		(supervising art director) (uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Fred M. MacLean

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Eric Stacey	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Hansen	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Robert Vreeland	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound
Gerald W. Alexander	....	sound effects mixer (uncredited)
Gerald W. Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Robert G. Wayne	....	sound effects mixer (uncredited)
Robert G. Wayne	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Davidson	....	special effects director (as E. Roy Davidson)
Warren Lynch	....	special effects (as Warren E. Lynch)
Robert Burks	....	special effects (uncredited)
William C. McGann	....	special effects (uncredited)
Willard Van Enger	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael P. Joyce	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leah Rhodes	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Simon Bucharoff	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles David Forrest	....	music mixer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1996) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Key Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

114 min | 116 min (pre-release version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound 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:12

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Nina Foch tested for the role of "Carmen."

Goofs:

Continuity: When the station wagon pulls out of the alley behind Giegers book store, the crates extend past the car body and are on the tail gate. When the station wagon pulls up to the Randall Arms and pulls into the alley, the crates are now fully inside the body of the car.

Quotes:

Philip Marlowe: Get up angel, you look like a Pekingese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bogart: The Untold Story (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine

I collect blondes and bottles...

"The Big Sleep" is one of those movies I never tire of watching. Bogie, playing Philip Marlowe - one of his finer roles, commands the screen, wise-cracking with felons and coppers alike, giving a few beatings and taking a lot himself. The night scenes are wonderfully shot, with shadow and fog effects being used perfectly. The main reason to watch this movie, though, are the scenes between Bogart and Bacall. Their on-screen chemistry (fueled by their off-screen romance) lends the most weight to the film. My favorite of their exchanges is when Bogart, tied up yet still smoking, tells Bacall to "take this cigarette out of my mouth". And, of course, they kiss. A short while later, she helps Bogie take out a hired killer. Bogie remarks "I didn't think they made them like that anymore." They certainly don't.