The Big Sleep (1946 film) The Big Sleep (1946 film) The Big Sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by Howard Hawks, the first film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge in a story about the "process of a criminal investigation, not its results." William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman co-wrote the screenplay. In 1997, the U.S. Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and added it to the National Film Registry. Because the film was scheduled for release a
Mystery film film was filmed entirely from Marlowe's viewpoint. The audience sees only what he does. Montgomery only appears on camera a few times, once in a mirror reflection. Another Chandler novel "The High Window" was made into the film "The Brasher Doubloon" (also 1947) starring George Montgomery. This was essentially a remake of "Time to Kill" (1942), a Michael Shayne adventure starring Lloyd Nolan. Chandler also wrote an original screenplay for "The Blue Dahlia" (1946) starring Alan Ladd. "The Glass Key" (1942), also starring Ladd, was the second film adaptation of Hammett's novel. Another standout film of this period is "Out