The Big Sleep

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The Big Sleep

1946,

1h 54m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

96%

67 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

67 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.

Critics Consensus

A perfect match of screenplay, director, and leading man, The Big Sleep stands as a towering achievement in film noir whose grim vitality remains undimmed.

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SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

Jul 22, 2019

It is a fast-moving drama, knee-deep in corpses, as tough as they come. It is rather'difficult to keep track of who is murdering whom and why, but there is not time to worry about such details with so many bullets flying around.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Aug 13, 2014

5/5

The Big Sleep is the best scripted, best directed, best acted, and least comprehensible film noir ever made.

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Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Mar 7, 2014

5/5

The plot is a bundle of confusions, but who cares? Few films have made cigarettes seem so glamorous. Or had such seductive repartee.

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Justine Smith

Vague Visages

Nov 21, 2023

Chandler’s words burn with pain and self-destruction, but Hawks — who valued strength, independence and action — neutered the inefficiency and hatefulness of Marlowe’s rage.

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Cory Woodroof

615 Film

Aug 30, 2022

This is the best plot I’ve ever seen pull this many threads together in such a way where you don’t always have to know what’s going on to know what’s going on. The magic of Bogart.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

May 6, 2022

... an American classic, arguably the greatest film made for a Chandler novel, and the definitive pairing of legendary screen team Bogie and Bacall.

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Anakin G

Apr 20, 2019

A great movie indeed with a great cast, one of the definitive noirs with incredibly engaging atmosphere. My only complaint is that the plot is too complicated to comprehend it within one viewing: too many names and too many twists, and the pacing of the movie aggravates that 'problem'. Or maybe this film just requires multiple viewings; otherwise it's almost perfect with Bogart at his finest;

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Rey L

Mar 17, 2019

I really liked the cinematography, I found some of the dialogue difficult to decipher, but Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall really had some great interactions.

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Han S

Nov 6, 2018

This film was almost good.

Luke G

May 5, 2018

Definitely an entertaining film and a great performance by Bogey, but the other performances in the movie were less interesting. It's strange to see people that are acting high in a movie so old, so that was different. People will do a lot of things for family, no matter how badly they act and no matter how much the person is responsible for their own messes. I like that the film stayed exciting throughout, but I wish that the score was more powerful and the cinematography was better.

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Abraham S

Apr 18, 2018

The plot is ridiculously complicated; I gave up trying to understand it about halfway through the movie. However, the witty dialogue, suspenseful action, and a charming Humphrey Bogart made "The Big Sleep" a delightfully entertaining watch.

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Leia S

Apr 7, 2018

Bogart is great as is Bacall. But it's one of their weaker films in my opinion.

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Howard Hawks

Director

Humphrey Bogart

Philip Marlowe

Lauren Bacall

Vivian Rutledge

Martha Vickers

Carmen Sternwood

John Ridgely

Eddie Mars

Louis Jean Heydt

Joe Brody

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Synopsis

Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.

Director: Howard Hawks
Producer: Howard Hawks
Screenwriter: William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 31, 1946, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 54m

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