The Big Sleep (1946 film) E. Jackson were completely eliminated. Because of the two versions created by the re-shooting, there is a substantial difference in content of some twenty minutes between them, although the difference in running time is two minutes. Novelist Raymond Chandler said Martha Vickers (Carmen) overshadowed Lauren Bacall (Vivian) in their scenes together, which led the producers to delete much of Vickers' performance to enhance Bacall's. The re-shot, re-edited and revised "The Big Sleep" was finally released on 23 August 1946. The cinematic release of "The Big Sleep" is regarded as more successful than the 1945 pre-release version (see below), even though
The Big Sleep (1946 film) a tone of voice that keeps its distance, and yet is wry and humorous and cares. In a 1997 review, Eric Brace of "The Washington Post" wrote that the 1945 original had a "slightly slower pace than the one released a year later, and a touch less zingy interplay between Bogart and Bacall, but it's still an unqualified masterpiece." In 2003, AFI named protagonist Philip Marlowe the 32nd greatest hero in film. "Empire" magazine added "The Big Sleep" to their Masterpiece collection in the October 2007 issue. The film placed 202nd on the 2012 "Sight & Sound" critics' poll of