The type of man she hated . . . was the type she wanted !
I can still remember the first time seeing this movie. It was back in the '70s and I was just a dumb kid sitting on the living room floor eating popcorn with the rest of my family. Even back then I knew this movie was special even if I didn't understand a lot of what was being said.
Growing up...Understanding!
But I didn't stay a dumb kid and I grew up to be a dumb adult, so what can I say about this one? It's classic for a reason! The Big Sleep was written by the great Raymond Chandler, and get this, the screenplay was written by three people, one of whom was William Faulkner! Who knew?
And there's Dorothy Malone
I mentioned Bogie and Bacall, and for good reason they're the stars...but I gotta tell ya', my favorite in the movie was a small part played by Dorothy Malone. As a matter of fact, here's my favorite scene in the movie:
Not everyone loved this one
This is one of those times I disagree with Bosley Crowther, "With only the foggiest notion of who does what to whom—and we watched it with closest attention—we must be frankly disappointing about it.For "The Big Sleep" is one of those pictures in which so many cryptic things occur amid so much involved and devious plotting that the mind becomes utterly confused. And, to make it more aggravating, the brilliant detective in the case is continuously making shrewd deductions which he stubbornly keeps to himself. What with two interlocking mysteries and a great many characters involved, the complex of blackmail and murder soon becomes a web of utter bafflement." New York Times August 24, 1946. While I really value contemporary reviews, I wonder if time has put this movie into the proper category of greatness that the likes of Bosley may have been too close to see.
A couple nice reviews can be found at Reel Views, and by far, in my humble opinion, the best review is at Reel Classics. And of course, here's the trailer:
Carmen Sternwood: You're not very tall are you?
Philip Marlowe: Well, I, uh, I try to be.
RATING: Most excellent - and not just because I'm supposed to like it.
WATCH IT AGAIN? Definitely
DO I WANNA OWN IT?: Already do!
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