Why was the plot so unbelievably overcomplicated . What was the point of having so many interlocking and overlapping characters ? This was a tale which could have been told much easier without all the total screen confusion .
( and it's just my opinion but surely the sexiest female in the whole movie is the pretty girl in the bookshop with the glasses ? Personally I've never understood the attraction of Lauren Bacall )
Have you seen both versions of the film - the pre-release as well as the theatrical (1946) release? If not, it might lessen the confusion a bit.
I couldn't agree more with you about Dorothy Malone. You might enjoy this, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OllXnwy0nw
Here's a brief clip of Dorothy Malone from the television series Peyton Place, made roughly 20 years after The Big Sleep. A different role, of course, but still a fine actress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFATK3gsuQU
I prefer Agnes Lowzier (Sonia Darrin) to all the other prominent female characters. Bacall and Vickers are spoiled and haughty. They would soon get bored with Marlowe. Plus they're alcoholics and drug addicts. It's not going to be a lasting relationship despite the movie trying to tell you that.
I think "Murder, My sweet" (1944) was by far the best Chandler / Marlowe adaptation. Tougher and darker without all the silly stuff like Marlowe flirting with every lady taxi driver and librarian and book store clerk and them meeting him halfway. Or the corny singing in the casino by Bacall. This movie hasn't aged well.
The ending is silly where Marlowe hides out in Eddie Mars' house with nothing but a revolver to face thugs with machine guns. What if they had all come in the house with guns drawn? What if Eddie had just shot him and said he was trespassing? He also put Vivian at risk. The shoot out from the end of "LA Confidential" was more realistic for what Marlowe should've faced, minus the happy ending tacked onto that movie.
I agree. It's hard to get familiar with the characters and the story when it's so all over the place.
shareThere are really three stories going on at the same time. That's
the reason for so many characters: 2 romances, one murder and
blackmail.
--Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning 7 times?--
It is a puzzling film noir, and man, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it for that very reason (of course there's much more to like about it).
As for the sexy broads, well, I absolutely see the appeal of young Lauren Bacall... however, all the other girls in the film give her a run for her money for sure. Dorothy Malone (bookshop girl) and Martha Vickers (Carmen) are my favorites.
You want something corny? You got it! I
Why was the plot so unbelievably overcomplicated . What was the point of having so many interlocking and overlapping characters ? This was a tale which could have been told much easier without all the total screen confusion .
My favorite is Agnes Lowzier (played by Sonia Darrin), who shamefully wasn't even credited / billed. She had character and depth while the others were shallow as cardboard cut-outs. Dorothy Malone was better in the Douglas Sirk melodrama "Written on the Wind." More beautiful and a much juicier character.
shareAnother good Dorothy Malone movie is "Written on the Wind," a melodrama by auteur director Douglas Sirk.
shareThe plot exists simply to embellish the characterizations and dialogue.
share