THE BIG SLEEP
What gives depth to the dimension of the screen chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, is that Vivien/Bacall is equally adept in work and play. When we first see her (which is when Marlowe does) she is dressed smartly in a uniform-like jacket, complete with shoulder pads and collar, and later with checkered jacket and a black beret. Hawks is presenting Vivien as a figure equal to Marlowe in terms of facing the tasks ahead. Her costuming is a subtle denial of another stylistic convention of the film noir genre: the sinister allure of the femme fatale Vivien wears not passive and seductive whites, but active and assertive jackets and collars. The world of The Big Sleep is a world of high-class Hollywood hoodwink. The films pace is relentless; the lighting kept low-key. And Max Steiners score is just the right soundtrack for us as we ride with Marlowe through the rainy, gloomy streets. (Andrew Slattery)
http://www.reelclassics.com/Movies/BigSleep/bigsleep.htm
http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue02/infocus/bigsleep.htm
- Humphrey Bogart - Philip Marlowe
- Lauren Bacall - Vivian Sternwood Rutledge
- Martha Vickers - Carmen Sternwood
- Charles Waldron - General Sternwood
- John Ridgely - Eddie Mars
- Patricia Clarke - Mona Mars
- Dorothy Malone - Buchhändlerin
- William Faulkner
- Jules Furthman
- Leigh Brackett nach dem Roman «The Big Sleep» von Raymond Chandler
- Sidney Hickox
- Robert B. Lee
- Christian Nyby
- Max Steiner «And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine» gesungen von Lauren Bacall
- Carl Jules Weyl
- Leah Rhodes
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