‘I assume they have all the usual vices, besides those they’ve invented for themselves...’
Is there an actor more shackled to a specific era than Humphrey Bogart? You can imagine James Stewart appearing as an elder statesman in a modern-day movie. Humph? Not so much. He is a man who is a product of his time in every conceivable way. Along with Casablanca, Philip Marlowe and The Big Sleep is probably his most iconic character. It’s easy to see why…
As the plot of The Big Sleep is famously convoluted, I will stick to the very basics. Philip Marlowe (Bogart) is a private detective hired by General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to deal with a case of blackmail or something or other. As part of this conversation, Marlowe basically calls both of Sterwood’s daughters sluts but rather than becoming angry, the old man resignedly agrees. This is not a film that is kind to women. It doesn’t matter though because one of the women is played by Lauren Bacall and she is an absolute force of nature throughout.
Bogart was drinking heavily on set and was having an affair with Bacall prompting studio head Jack Warner to send a memo to the actors reading “Word has reached me that you are having fun on the set. This must stop”. Happily, Bogart’s drinking and the affair only help to make Marlowe a more authentic character. You can almost smell the gin and cigarette smoke rising from the screen whenever Humph appears and the scenes he shares with Bacall smoulder and pop with sexual tension and barely concealed emotion. This, combined with some of the best dialogue ever committed to film, ensures that despite being difficult to follow in places, the plotting never becomes a hindrance. I just loved living in this world for two hours. I was sad when the credits rolled.
Howard Hawks was one of the most prolific and important directors of the early Hollywood era having been at the helm for pre-code classics such as the original version of Scarface as well as iconic screwball comedies like His Girl Friday but The Big Sleep is his masterpiece. And it is a masterpiece. Utterly essential cinema.
