The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep was my first Raymond Chandler book and it’s a pretty amazing one at that. Chandler has a voice that captivates you and I can understand why his first novel was made into a film with none other than the enigmatic Humphrey Bogart playing Marlowe.

While I knew The Big Sleep was going to be a difficult adaptation because of the time in which it was made, I do have to say that the film was slightly dampened for me because I felt like I could see the censorship board all over it. Bogart was great as Marlowe, and Bacall was ravishing as his clients daughter, but there was too much changed from the book and the bite was taken out. An audience in 1946 may not have known the difference as very few hard hitting films were around in that day, but I can tell you that I’ve seen enough hard edged noirs in my time that I wanted the edge there.

One of the biggest changes script to screen was in Bacall’s character, Vivian Rutledge. In the book Vivian flirts with Marlowe, but is a scandalous spoiled woman, several times divorced and married to the man Marlowe is helping to hunt down. In the film Vivian is single and shares much screen time with Marlowe – not that I could blame the studio for making Bogey and Bacall an onscreen pair, the duo had so much onscreen chemistry a blind man could see it.

All in all, The Big Sleep is an enjoyable noir, but very ripe for a faithful-to-the-book remake.



Director: Howard Hawks


Vivian: You go too far, Marlowe.
Marlowe: Those are harsh words to throw at a man, especially when he's walking out of your bedroom.

To Have and Have Not

If you at all have an affinity for screen writing or classic cinema you know the line “You know how to whistle don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.” Lauren Bacall uttered these words in To Have and Have Not and the popularity of this line is why I had to finally see the film.

To Have and Have Not is a World War II film, but it’s a peculiar one at that. The closest film to it would be another Bogart classic, Casablanca. On the French island of Martinique the Germans have arrived and there is the beginnings of tension between the French resistance and the foreign power. Harry Morgan is a small fishing boat captain that rents his boat and skills to tourists with extra spending money. The first thing that blows into his life is another American runaway in the form of Marie Browning, a young, attractive woman who happens to be a pick-pocket. However, what really turns the tables on Harry is his landlord, who gets Harry and Marie pulled into business with the resistance. When the Germans catch wind everyone is under suspicion and it’s only a matter of time before the two American’s have to choose sides.

As good as Bogart is in this film, the standout is Lauren Bacall. This is her first film role and she sizzles on screen as the sultry young American that isn’t as naive as she seems. It’s obvious from her first lines why and how this woman went on to be one of our industry’s biggest stars. However, what’s so formidable is how she could hold her own against Bogart – a man with whom she would share the screen many times, and eventually marry.

To Have and Have Not is another example of an incredibly well written film. There is a verve and zest in the dialogue that too many films do not have today and that makes the film come alive even when the style of shooting may not fit what a modern audience is used to. The pace never ceases, and to the very end you are left wondering where times that like have gone.

Director: Howard hawks
Writers: Jules Furthman & William Faulkner
Harry “Steve” Morgan: Humphrey Bogart
Eddie: Walter Brennan
Marie “Slim” Browning: Lauren Bacall

Slim: Who was the girl, Steve?
Steve: Who was what girl?
Slim: The one who left you with such a high opinion of women.

MIsery

Paul Sheldon is a romance writer tired of writing his heroine Misery. Annie Wilkes is a former nurse who is Paul’s number one fan. After finishing up his latest non-Misery manuscript in the country he ends up in a car crash during a blizzard and Annie rescues him; Paul is badly injured and bed-ridden and Annie assures him that once the phones are restored or the roads are plowed she will get him help. However, as time wears on it becomes evident that Annie has a psychotic fixation with Paul and when she discovers that he has killed off Misery in his latest novel she holds him hostage while forcing him to write Misery’s resurrection.

Misery is one of the creepiest films I have ever seen anchored by two of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her depiction of Annie Wilkes and I have to say that the award was earned; Kathy reaches a level of insanity that shouldn’t be possible in a sane member of society and I think that it is up there with the performances of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - it’s chilling.

James Caan is no slouch either. He has the equally hard task of being the victim in this film and walks between pain, paranoia, gratitude and determination with great aplomb and not a moment feels false. It is incredibly hard to play the straight man to such a irregular character like Annie Wilkes.

One thing I did not expect from Misery was the comedic elements added by the town sheriff and deputy; they are an old married couple who obviously don’t see much action in their area and instead banter like the old couple they are. I feel in love with them immediately and thought they brought a nice relief to the otherwise nail-biting story-line.

I am still in shock that the writer and director behind Misery are the writer and director behind The Princess Bride. While I think that William Goldman and Rob Reiner are immensely talented people there could not be a film more diametrically opposed to The Princess Bride than Misery.

Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman
Paul Sheldon: James Caan
Annie Wilkes: Kathy Bates
Buster: Richard Farnsworth
Virginia: Frances Sternhagen
Marcia Sindell: Lauren Bacall

Annie: God came to me last night and told me your purpose for being here. I am going to help you write a new book.
Paul: You think I can just whip one out?
Annie: Oh, but I don't think Paul, I know.