Rating: A+
This is one of those films that reminds me of a time when special effects weren’t needed in order to make people gape over just how good a film really is. And in a time where so many films are acting like 3D is a brand new trend thus inspiring corporate filmmakers, like James Cameron, to jump for joy, I think it’s important to remember the days when acting and story were the driving force. So, I think that a perfect example of such a film is The Big Sleep from 1946 directed by Howard Hawks and written by none other than William Faulkner. I can’t tell you how much I love this film and not just because the director is responsible for some of the most important films in history, like Sergeant York, the original Scarface, and Rio Bravo, or because the writer also wrote some incredible works of literature as well as a ton of screenplays, which a lot of people don’t realize, but because it is one of the first in the film noir genre and it stars my favorite actor of all time (not Sam Jackson, he’s my second favorite), Humphrey Bogart.
The story is one of a typical film noir genre revolving around the private detective, Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart), who gets caught up in some funny business after being hired by a wealthy family. I won’t go into any more detail but I will tell you that a love interest develops between Marlowe and Lauren Bacall’s character Vivian Rutledge. The chemistry between the two works very well which may be because they had been married for about a year by the time this film was released. One of the famous attributions given to Lauren Bacall is that she came up with the name for “The Rat Pack”. I have to say that I like this film more than The Maltese Falcon, which is arguably the first of the film noir genre and also starred Bogie simply because I find the acting to be more enjoyable and the characters are more interesting. Also, by this time the film noir genre was in full swing and there is much more action than in The Maltese Falcon, which I as a man just have to have.
This is a great film for viewing the versatility of Bogie’s acting talents where he goes from being the hard-boiled detective to pretending to be a pretentious book hunter then to being engaged in a very quick-talking argument which always makes me smile in awe of just how good Bogart really is. And just as a side note, there is a restaurant near where I live called “Bogart’s” and seeing this film again has inspired me to go as soon as I get a chance.
I can’t bring myself to like this film more than Casablanca in terms of being a better film but in terms of favoritism, this film outweighs the other because it simply has more personality than the other. Also, as opposed to Casablanca we know Bogie gets the girl in the end, both in the world of the film and in real life. As for the other aspects of filmmaking, this is a straight-forward work focusing primarily on the main character which is traditionally why there is a long monologue at certain times explaining what happened to bring us to that point. Another aspect of this film that I really like is the wardrobe which would be typical of the time and if I had to go gay for any one guy, it would be Bogie just because of how good he looks in a suit, trench coat optional.
If I had to recommend you watch any film that stars Humphrey Bogart just to get a sense of how good Bogie really is, it would have to be this one. The entire film is forced to be carried by the main character which is typical of the genre and I can’t tell you just how well Bogart pulls this off. Normally this would be a tough task to perform for any actor but because of his loving wife and just how talented Bogie is, The Big Sleep becomes a masterpiece.
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