Imo it was really Bacall's manner and the way she talked and moved that lent to the appearance of greater maturity. There was nothing about her static appearance that suggested someone much older than she was. Even her relatively tall height.
Key to the appearance of maturity was how she gave off the impression of self assurance. Her own ability to do so while still a teenager showed that people her age could pull that off, but only rarely so. More typically it is something people achieve moving through their twenties.
Of course there is a certain irony here since by her own account Lauren was very nervous and insecure at times. But she was able to overcome that and appear the contrary, which perhaps was as important to her success as an actress as anything was.
Offhand I can't think of an actress in film history who had that level of self assurance at such a young age. Perhaps some with a background as a child star, like Liz Taylor? See for example her at age 18 in Father of the Bride.
I also thought of Joan Crawford, who imo stole Grand Hotel from the likes of the Barrymores, Garbo and the rest, but she was already 23 by then.
But back to Lauren, yes, her impressive manner and voice and movements all added up to quite a show. In The Big Sleep it is never said how old her character of Mrs. Rutledge is supposed to be, but certainly older than Lauren's actual age at that time. So her directors took that into account as well.
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