The Big Sleep

"The picture they were born for!"

1946 1h 54m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 1,207🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes●86Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 94,158

MysteryCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

“The picture they were born for!”

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Cast

Humphrey Bogart
Philip Marlowe
Lauren Bacall
Vivian Sternwood Rutledge
John Ridgely
Eddie Mars
Martha Vickers
Carmen Sternwood
Louis Jean Heydt
Joe Brody
Charles Waldron
General Sternwood
Regis Toomey
Chief Inspector Bernie Ohls
Sonia Darrin
Agnes Lowzier (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Howard Hawks
Writers: William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $11M — a 42.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Sidney Hickox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christian Nyby shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and John Ridgely carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The picture they were born for!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Howard Hawks directs. Sidney Hickox behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. Christian Nyby cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $11M — a 42.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
380 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Sidney Hickox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Christian Nyby shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and John Ridgely carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The picture they were born for!".
9IMDB entry: tt0038355 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "based on novel or book", "gambling", "poison", "blackmail".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sidney Hickox
Original score: Max Steiner
Editing: Christian Nyby
Makeup / hair: Perc Westmore
Sound: Robert B. Lee
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $250,000
Box office: $10,682,000
Return: 4273% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Big Sleep (1946)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 86/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 94,158 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

Howard Hawks

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2012-12-09
★ 10/10
Oh, man, what a movie! Perfect on every sense. Great cast, with terrific Bogart and Bacall. Complex and interesting plot and smart dialogues. Only "funny" thing, if we want to say something, is the "perception" of the women roles in the movie. They are strangely all sexy and attracted to and tempting Philip Marlow.
talisencrw2016-02-20
★ 10/10
This continues the incredible run of films Bogie made with now-wife Lauren Bacall. Crackling script ran to perfection by Howard Hawks. Essential, especially for fans of detective thrillers or simply well-made movies.
CinemaSerf2023-12-26
★ 7/10
"General Sternwood" (Charles Waldron) has two daughters and poor old private detective "Philip Marlowe" (Humphrey Bogart) might be forgiven for ever getting involved with a case that sees him employed to investigate a case of blackmail against his youngest - "Carmen" (Martha Vickers). It looks like she is the target of the venal rare book seller "Geiger" but swiftly we realise that that's just the tip of an iceberg that includes not just that blackmail, but another one - with the duplicitous "Joe" (Louis Jean Heydt) and then there's the missing "Regan" which takes him fairly and squarely into the scheming orbit of the other daughter "Vivian" (Lauren Bacall). Soon he's chasing his tail, getting thumped, tied up, shot at - and all whilst he slowly falls for his femme fatale. Who's pulling the strings and why? The story itself isn't the most complex - it's a fairly standard Raymond Chandler adventure. What makes this positively glow are the performances. Bogart and Bacall exude a chemistry that's understatedly provocative. Bacall, especially, uses the less-is-more style with a flash of her eyes or a gesture from her cigarette; Bogart just needs to smile or shrug. It comes alive. The effective use of rain, light, shade and a strong support from Vickers and Bob Steele as crooked henchman "Canino" all help this to create an atmosphere of menace tinged with some dark humour and presented via a strong script. Howard Hawks knows how to let his stars get on with it, and he delivers well with this compelling and superior example of Hollywood at it's very best.