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The Big Sleep

Play trailer Poster for The Big Sleep 1946 1h 54m Mystery & Thriller Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer 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.
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The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

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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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Critics Reviews

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SMH Staff Sydney Morning Herald 07/22/2019
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. Go to Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) 08/13/2014
5/5
The Big Sleep is the best scripted, best directed, best acted, and least comprehensible film noir ever made. Go to Full Review Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) 03/07/2014
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. Go to Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages 11/21/2023
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. Go to Full Review Cory Woodroof 615 Film 08/30/2022
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. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 05/06/2022
... an American classic, arguably the greatest film made for a Chandler novel, and the definitive pairing of legendary screen team Bogie and Bacall. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Charmaine B @RT95422848 3d Silly and almost unintelligible. See more erie C. @Sonia999 Feb 27 Who cares that the plot is confusing? This film is so enjoyable and such classic film noir that I’ve seen at seven or eight times and enjoy the atmosphere on an occasion. See more Tan C @TanZoi Jan 10 It shows that a movie doesn’t need to explain everything. It only needs to move forward with conviction. You don’t care who killed whom. You watch Marlowe go deeper into danger. Marlowe is my kind of hero. He knows how to fight back and keep things moving. I love the final setup where he has Mars killed to avenge Jones. It’s clean and satisfying. Still, Bogart doesn’t fit my image of Marlowe. I can’t separate he in Marlowe and Spade. The film is known for its complexity. But the problem isn’t structure—it’s information. It drops the usual pleasure of solving a mystery. So, I’m lost. I’ve rewatched it several times. I still don’t know who killed the chauffeur. It doesn’t matter. Every viewing is a pleasure. The pacing is the film’s greatest strength. The dialogue is fast and sharp, full of dry humor. Scenes cut cleanly. There are no wasted shots. If you want a clear case and perfect logic, this film may disappoint you. That is exactly why I give it five stars. See more Kyle M @RT77296778 Sep 29 Frankly, it became routine regarding the unpointed intellectuality getting tangled that disengages, powered by ordinary collaborative talents as the film’s substantial solid buoyance. (B) See more Alain E @AlainE Jul 13 The story is disjointed, but the atmospherics are perfect. The dialogue textbook pulp fiction: “How do you like your brandy, sir?” “ In a glass “. And her tears flowed like wine. If only I had met a dame like that! See more Stephen C @bob25009 06/10/2025 Success in 1 hour and 54 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Read all reviews
The Big Sleep

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Cast & Crew

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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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The Big Sleep

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Movie Info

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