The Big Sleep

Play trailer

The Big Sleep

Released Aug 31, 1946

1h 54m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

68 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

A perfect match of screenplay, director, and leading man, The Big Sleep stands as a towering achievement in film noir whose grim vitality remains undimmed.

Read Critics Reviews

SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

It is a fast-moving drama, knee-deep in corpses, as tough as they come. It is rather'difficult to keep track of who is murdering whom and why, but there is not time to worry about such details with so many bullets flying around.

Jul 22, 2019

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The Big Sleep is the best scripted, best directed, best acted, and least comprehensible film noir ever made.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 13, 2014

Full Review

Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The plot is a bundle of confusions, but who cares? Few films have made cigarettes seem so glamorous. Or had such seductive repartee.

Rated: 5/5

Mar 7, 2014

Full Review

Justine Smith

Vague Visages

Chandler’s words burn with pain and self-destruction, but Hawks — who valued strength, independence and action — neutered the inefficiency and hatefulness of Marlowe’s rage.

Nov 21, 2023

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

This is the best plot I’ve ever seen pull this many threads together in such a way where you don’t always have to know what’s going on to know what’s going on. The magic of Bogart.

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... an American classic, arguably the greatest film made for a Chandler novel, and the definitive pairing of legendary screen team Bogie and Bacall.

May 6, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

R-Peyman F

Chemistry between Bogart and Bacall is undeniable and simply doesn't exist in cinema any longer. If you were thinking of watching this...just do it. I will say, the plot is convoluted and somewhat hard to follow, so pay close attention. A re watch may be in order, but I'd rather watch this twice than anything made by Hollywood the last 10 years.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

Full Review

Ted B

4.0 stars; In a movie made 75+ years ago, Bogart and Bacall leapt off the movie screen with provocative, compelling performances. Today, they jump off your (streaming) TV screen with the same magnetism. The chemistry between them never gets old. This movie is no exception. Bogie leaves no (acting) stone unturned in his portrayal of the hard-nosed, tough, never-take-no-for-an-answer gumshoe Philip Marlowe. Lauren plays the sultry silentress who runs the affairs of the wealthy Rutledge family. The patriarch, General Rutledge, hires Marlowe to fix a blackmailing scheme that's occurring against his family. This starts Marlowe out on a path that is a convoluted maze of characters and murders, so much so that it's hard to keep up with who killed whom. But you know, it doesn't matter. The performances and the direction of this movie make it so much fun, it's hard to care. This is the third time I have seen this movie, so I actually kept notes of who was who. It made the plot a little easier to follow, but it didn't make the movie any more fun to watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/22/24

Full Review

Rick A

Becall and Bogart shine in this Howard Hawks drama. Many have tried to imitate it but nothing beats this original. Malone is trying to help an aging war hero's disreputable daughters. Filled with twists, turns and intrigue it is a non stop thrill ride. It features a young Dorothy Malone who is the Proprietress of the Acme Book Shop. Her sexual chemistry is electrifying. She conveys more with a wink and a nod than modern actresses can in a full nude scene. The movie is worth it just for this one scene.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/18/24

Full Review

Andrew L

Bogie and Bacall's best film about a private eye who is hired to follow around a rich man's daughter who has gotten herself in trouble with some serious debts.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/06/24

Full Review

Alec B

I just don't see why the labyrinthine plot is a problem, the movie treats it as an afterthought and instead focuses on the simmering sexual tension between the leads which is ultimately more enjoyable.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Michael M

One of my All-Time-Favourites and one of Bogarts best Films.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Howard Hawks

Director

Humphrey Bogart

Philip Marlowe

Lauren Bacall

Vivian Rutledge

Martha Vickers

Carmen Sternwood

John Ridgely

Eddie Mars

Louis Jean Heydt

Joe Brody

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Out of the Past

93%

92%

Out of the Past

Watchlist

The Woman in the Window

83%

83%

The Woman in the Window

Watchlist

Panic

100%

93%

Panic

Watchlist

Black Legion

100%

58%

Black Legion

Watchlist

Quai des Orfevres

100%

89%

Quai des Orfevres

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

On DVD This Week: Spotlight, Fargo, The Good Dinosaur, and More

Frank Miller and Clive Owen to Do Some Old-School Film Noir

User Tomato Awards: "The Departed" Is Your Favorite of 2006

View more photos

Synopsis

Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.

Director: Howard Hawks
Producer: Howard Hawks
Screenwriter: William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 31, 1946, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 54m

Most Popular at Home Now