Review of The Big Sleep (1946) by Lisa L — 06 Jan 2011

This noir blasts off from the get-go and doesn't let up until the finish line. There is so much plot information that unfolds, that if Marlowe didn't occasionally fill us in with his expository asides, we would have no idea what's going on.

It's nice to see somebody knows what the Hell is happening. Bogart as always employs his effective light-switch personality, shifting from charming and smooth, to quick-thinking and menacing. The dialogue, direction and atmosphere all deserve high praise.

It's a shame Bogart's future wife can do nothing else except look sultry, or that the plot is so dense that we require Marlowe to be our machete of understanding, hacking through all the narrative foliage, but the film is a Hell of a ride while it lasts.