The Big Sleep (1946)

One more Bogart and Bacall film. It's generally regarded as the best of the bunch.

REVIEW:

This movie was a bit of a disappointment. The main problem with this movie is its plot. While the plot is rather good, it is quite confusing. Even after reading a complete plot summary on wikipedia, the plot still doesn't make all that much sense. The film has far too many major characters for a film that is under two hours. In addition, this film seems to borrow all the basic principles of the far superior The Maltese Falcon - Bogart is a private detective who is hired at the start of the film to unravel a mystery, people get shot, and he has a love interest. The two plots are indeed different, but the general idea is reasonably close.

The acting in here wasn't bad but there's so many characters that it doesn't really matter. On a first viewing you're so concerned at trying to remember who is who you don't really remember their acting. Bogart wasn't bad, but this wasn't his best work. Bacall wasn't bad either although she wasn't on screen all that often.

Overall, this is a highly-regarded film noir but it probably requires multiple viewings to really get a feel for it. The first viewing leads a lot to be desired.

70/100
C-

UP NEXT: To be determined.