The Big Sleep

One of the greatest detective films to come out of Hollywood, THE BIG SLEEP is perhaps the most notorious for its famous unsolved murder - that of the Sternwood chauffeur. The unwieldy plot, scripted by William Faulkner, kept Hawks busy trying to figure out the puzzle. When Hawks called Chandler to ask the killer's identity, the writer reportedly stated "How should I know? You figure it out," and then hang up. The recent DVD release of the movie includes an alternative cut of the film which is more explanatory, but may not be as good as the original movie.

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1946    Warner Brothers      118 minutes

Howard Hawks directs what many consider to be the best of the Philip Marlow stories, written by Raymond Chandler. This might also be the best Bogart/ Bacall films as well.

Fresh from making TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Hawks teamed-up again with Humphrey Bogart and the young actress Lauren Bacall, who's off-screening romance had now be cemented. The combination of their dazzling star persona, combined with the poetry of both Chandler's and Faulkner's words and Hawks's direction, give THE BIG SLEEP some of the most sexually electric dialog ever to hit the screen.

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Trivia

• The scene where Bogart and Lauren Bacall make suggestive talk about horses was added almost a year after filming was otherwise complete, and the two performers had married in the meantime.
  
  
• Eager to repeat the success of TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Jack Warner gave Howard Hawks $50,000 to purchase the rights for The Big Sleep. Hawks bought the rights for $5,000 and pocketed the rest.

World Events

With World War II over, restructuring begins at home and rebuilding begins abroad.

Births

1/20    David Lynch

1/26    Gene Siskel

4/29    John Waters

5/1      John Woo

5/19    Andre' the Giant

8/19    Bill Clinton

9/15    Oliver Stone

           Tommy Lee Jones

11/6    Sally Field

Academy Awards

Best Picture - THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Best Director - William Wyler/THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Best Actor - Fredric March/THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Best Actress - Olivia de Havilland/TO EACH HIS OWN

Best Supporting Actor - Harold Russell/THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Best Supporting Actress - Anne Baxter/THE RAZOR'S EDGE

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