Ashwin Lewis
The Big Sleep is a 1939 hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, which was adapted into films in 1946 and 1978. The story, set in Los Angeles, follows private investigator Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy general to investigate a blackmail case involving his wild young daughter. The title The Big Sleep is a euphemism for death, referring to a rumination in the book about sleeping the big sleep. The novel is known for its complex narrative, with characters double-crossing each other and secrets being exposed.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of work | Hardboiled crime novel |
| Author | Raymond Chandler |
| Year of publication | 1939 |
| Main character | Detective Philip Marlowe |
| Setting | Los Angeles, California |
| Plot | Complex, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed |
| Title meaning | Euphemism for death |
| Film adaptations | Twice, in 1946 and 1978 |
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What You'll Learn
The 'big sleep' is a euphemism for death
"The Big Sleep" is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, published in 1939. It is the first in a series of novels featuring the archetypal hard-boiled detective, Philip Marlowe, and is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The novel is set in Los Angeles, California, and was adapted into films in 1946 and 1978.
The title "The Big Sleep" is indeed a euphemism for death. The phrase is only mentioned once, in the final chapter of the book, where there is a rumination about "sleeping the big sleep". This reflects the novel's exploration of mortality and the unpredictable nature of life and death.
The story revolves around Philip Marlowe, a heavy-drinking, laconic private investigator in Los Angeles. Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, who wants him to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur Geiger to blackmail his wild young daughter, Carmen. As Marlowe investigates, he discovers that the case involves more than just blackmail, and the plot twists and turns to reveal deeper secrets, including the disappearance of Sternwood's son-in-law, Rusty Regan.
The novel also includes an unanswered question about the identity of a murderer, showcasing Chandler's focus on atmosphere and characterisation over plot. Through his writing, Chandler captures the moral disorder of the era, reflecting the socioeconomic changes occurring in cities like Los Angeles. "The Big Sleep" exemplifies the hard-boiled genre, mirroring the grittiness and cynicism of its time.
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The story is noted for its complexity
The Big Sleep is a 1939 hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler. It is the first in a series of novels featuring the archetypal hard-boiled detective, Philip Marlowe. The story is set in Los Angeles, California, and is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative.
The novel is a combination of two of Chandler's previously published short stories, "Killer in the Rain" and "The Curtain", which shared similarities that made it logical to combine them. Both stories featured a powerful father with a wayward daughter, and Chandler merged these characters into General Sternwood and his wild daughter Carmen. He also borrowed small parts of two other stories, "Finger Man" and "Mandarin's Jade".
Chandler's writing process, which he called "cannibalizing", sometimes produced a plot with a few loose ends. He spent more effort on expanding descriptions of people, places, and Marlowe's thinking than getting every detail of the plot perfectly consistent. For example, in "The Curtain", the description of Mrs. O'Mara's room is just enough to establish the setting: "This room had a white carpet from wall to wall". In The Big Sleep, Chandler expanded this description, using new details to foreshadow the fact that Mrs. Regan (Mrs. O'Mara in the original story) is covering up the murder of her husband by her sister, and that the coming rainstorm will bring more deaths:
> The room was too big, the ceiling was too high, the doors were too tall, and the white carpet that went from wall to wall looked like a fresh fall of snow at Lake Arrowhead. There were full-length mirrors and crystal doodads all over the place. The ivory furniture had chromium on it, and the enormous ivory drapes lay tumbled on the white carpet a yard from the windows. The white made the ivory look dirty and the ivory made the white look bled out. The windows stared towards the darkening foothills. It was going to rain soon.
Chandler's style of crime fiction differed from that of previous authors in that he prioritized atmosphere and characterization over plot. An ending that answered every question and neatly tied up every plot thread was less important to him than creating interesting characters with believable behaviour. This approach contributed to the complexity of The Big Sleep, leaving some unanswered questions that even Chandler himself couldn't resolve. For example, when Howard Hawks filmed the novel, his writing team was perplexed by the question of who killed the chauffeur, to which Chandler replied that he had no idea.
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The story is set in Los Angeles
The Big Sleep is a 1939 hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler. It was Chandler's first novel to feature the detective Philip Marlowe, a heavy-drinking, laconic private investigator in Los Angeles. The story is set in Los Angeles, where people had flocked during the time of the Great Depression in search of work. This influx of people into the city resulted in a meshing of demographic and socioeconomic changes, slowly eroding old social norms such as traditional views of masculinity and family.
Chandler captures this unique energy of Los Angeles in his novel, with the parties in the Hills, the small fires on Skid Row, and the night lights in Malibu. As the story unfolds, Marlowe is called to the home of the wealthy and elderly General Sternwood, who wants him to deal with an attempt by a bookseller named Arthur Geiger to blackmail his wild young daughter, Carmen. The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative.
The novel has achieved critical acclaim, with BBC News listing it as one of the 100 most influential novels and The Guardian ranking it 62nd on its list of the 100 best novels. The book review site The Pequod also gave it a high rating, praising Chandler's atmospheric settings. The New York Times likewise praised the novel, calling it "a study in depravity" and noting that Marlowe stands out as "the only fundamentally decent person in it."
The Big Sleep has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and 1978. The 1946 film, directed by Howard Hawks, starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Due to the ongoing war, the film's release was delayed by Warner Bros until they had released a backlog of war-related films. The film ended up being a critical and commercial success, leading to two more "Bogie and Bacall" films: Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948). In 1997, the original 1945 cut of the film was restored and released, with the U.S. Library of Congress deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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The story features double-crossing and secrets
Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel, The Big Sleep, is a hardboiled crime novel set in Los Angeles, California. It is the first in a series of novels about a private detective named Philip Marlowe. The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative.
The novel revolves around Marlowe being hired by a wealthy and elderly General Sternwood to deal with an attempt by a bookseller, Arthur Geiger, to blackmail him with scandalous photos of his wild young daughter, Carmen. However, the plot soon twists and turns, revealing more than just blackmail. It leads back to the disappearance of Vivian, the older of Sternwood's two daughters, and her husband, Rusty Regan.
Mrs. Regan (Mrs. O'Mara in the original story) is discovered to be covering up her husband's murder by her sister. This is foreshadowed by Chandler's detailed description of her room, where "the white made the ivory look dirty and the ivory made the white look bled out". The coming rainstorm is also symbolic of the impending deaths.
The story is filled with double-crossings and secrets, as various characters' agendas and true intentions are slowly revealed. Marlowe's ability to communicate and interact with a diverse range of characters, from seedy criminals to the district attorney, helps him navigate the web of deceit and uncover the truth.
The title, "The Big Sleep," is a euphemism for death, referring to a rumination in the book about "sleeping the big sleep." The phrase is only mentioned in the final chapter, adding a layer of depth to the story's exploration of mortality.
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The story was adapted into films in 1946 and 1978
The story "The Big Sleep" was adapted into films in 1946 and 1978. The 1946 version is an American film noir directed by Howard Hawks and stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge. The plot revolves around blackmail and multiple murders, with a complex web of characters and interrelationships. The story is noted for its fast pace, witty dialogue, and intense action. The 1946 version was based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler and was initially produced in late 1944, but its release was delayed due to World War II. It was finally released on August 31, 1946, by Warner Bros.
The 1978 version, titled "The Big Sleep," is a neo-noir film directed by Michael Winner. It stars Robert Mitchum as detective Philip Marlowe, along with a cast including Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, and Oliver Reed. The setting for this version was changed from 1940s Los Angeles to 1970s London, and it explores themes like drug addiction, homosexuality, pornography, and nudity, which could only be hinted at in the 1946 version. This version received mixed reviews, with some critics feeling that the relocation and updating had detracted from the original story's atmosphere and context.
Both films are known for their complex and convoluted plots, with the 1946 version being criticized for its disjointed narrative and vague character relationships. The 1978 adaptation also faced similar criticism, with reviewers noting a lack of enthusiasm and the actors appearing to "sleepwalk through their parts." However, despite these flaws, both films have their strengths, with the 1946 version boasting memorable performances by Bogart and Bacall, and the 1978 film showcasing talented actors in its own right.
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Frequently asked questions
The big sleep is a euphemism for death.
The term comes from the title of Raymond Chandler's 1939 hardboiled crime novel, "The Big Sleep".
The protagonist of "The Big Sleep" is private detective Philip Marlowe.
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