She’d make a jazzy weekend, but she’d be a bit wearing for a steady diet.
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. Today on Classic Movie Rev, we are taking on The Big Sleep (1978).
Before we get going, I want to remind you to follow the link in the show notes or from the site to visit our store.
This film has a plethora of great stars, including Robert Mitchum, possibly the king of Film Noir, great actor Jimmy Stewart, Richard Boone, who is excellent at being a bad guy and if you doubt this see The Shootist (1976). From the other side of the pond, there is Sarah Miles, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, Joan Collins, and John Mills.
The story is based on a Raymond Chandler novel, plus Bogie and Becall showed how the lines should be delivered in the original version of this movie, The Big Sleep (1946). This film had everything going for it, and it should be great.
There are multiple scenes of Candy Clark totally nude, which is something you would think at least make the movie interesting. When Clark tries to be petulant, her acting is so bad; it seems like she is spoofing a toddler. All the other actors seemed like they were sleepwalking through the film.
On iMDB.com, this film is rated 5.8[1]. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has a 67 percent on the Tomatometer and only 27 percent audience approval[2]. Those numbers seem about right for this film.
Englishman Michael Winner was the director. He directed 42 films. I went through the list, and the only films of merit are Chato’s Land (1972), The Mechanic (1972), Scorpio (1973), The Stone Killer (1973), Death Wish (1974), and Death Wish 3 (1985). So, I guess his directing style is to put Charles Bronson or Oliver Reed on the screen and let them entertain the viewers.
Great film critic Roger Ebert rated this movie two and a half stars and said in March 24, 1978 review:
“But now we come to the case of “The Big Sleep” (1978), with Robert Mitchum stepping into Bogie’s shoes. The movie isn’t a classic, but it does make sense. Does it ever. We get Mitchum’s voice explaining things on the sound track, and we get flashbacks to remind us of key scenes, and when characters confess to a crime we get scenes picturing them. And yet, when the movie’s over, we’re still mystified. Chandler’s plot is so complicated that maybe Hawks was right in 1946 when he ignored the loopholes.[3]
What really matters in a movie like this isn’t plot, anyway, it’s style: How the characters talk to each other, and wear their clothes, and smoke cigarettes and hold guns. The style in the new “Big Sleep” is confined mostly to three actors: Mitchum, Candy Clark and Richard Boone. The movie is a disappointment otherwise.
It was directed by Michael Winner, who can hold our attention when he wants to (as in “Death Wish”). But here, despite all the great costumes and sets and London locations they’re given to work with, the actors don’t seem engaged.”
New York Times film critic Janet Maslin said in a March 15, 1978 review:
“Howard Hawks directed the 1946 version of “The Big Sleep” in black and white, so it’s conceivable that Mr. Hawks didn’t furnish Philip Marlowe’s bedroom with color-coordinated sheets and blankets merely because he wasn’t able to. However, it’s also conceivable that Mr. Hawks chose deliberately to depict Marlowe as something other than an immaculately appointed fellow with a decorating flair. Michael Winner’s new film version of the Raymond Chandler novel concentrates so heavily on the dapper side of Marlowe that it makes the first version look like an unmade bed—which may be what it was meant to look like, after all. There are no shadows in this senselessly gaudy remake; there isn’t much nighttime, either, and there isn’t any rain. There isn’t any Los Angeles, because Mr. Winner, pretending to switch the story’s setting to London for no intelligible reason, seems actually to have transferred it to a succession of furniture-store showrooms. Not a single prop looks used, not even the dainty china cups put of which Marlowe drinks his morning coffee.[4]“
So, all that doesn’t bode well.
Actors – The Big Sleep (1978)
Returning
The great actor and Film Noir specialist Robert Mitchum played private investigator Philip Marlowe. This great actor was first covered in Out of the Past (1947).
Another great actor, Jimmy Stewart, played the dying Gen. Sternwood. He came off in the role like he was dying. Stewart was first covered in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946).
Richard Boone played the role of the brown man, killer Lash Canino. Boone was first covered in The Alamo (1960).
John Mills was Inspector Carson, and James Donald was Inspector Gregory, both of Scotland Yard. Mills was briefly covered in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), and Donald was covered in The Vikings (1958).
New
Sarah Miles played spoiled rich girl Charlotte Sternwood. Miles was born in England in 1941. Watch out for those bombs. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Miles’ first film was released in 1962, but it took until 1970 with the release of Ryan’s Daughter (1970) to make her especially well-known.
Ryan’s Daughter (1970) was an adaptation of “Madame Bovary” set in post-1916 Eastern Rebellion, Ireland. Her husband wrote it. Her subsequent success was The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973). Later she was in The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976), which asks the perennial question; can Kris Kristofferson act with his cloths on?
Of course, she was in The Big Sleep (1978), with the next quality film being Hope and Glory (1987). She continues to act intermittently, with her last credit coming in 2016.
Candy Clark played the drug-addicted nymphomaniac rich girl Camilla Sternwood. Clark was born in Oklahoma in 1947. She graduated from Trimble Tech High School in Fort Worth, Texas. At the age of 18, she began working as a model in New York.
Clark began her film career in the John Huston directed Fat City (1972). In her next film, American Graffiti (1973), she played pretty but silly Debbie Dunham, who spent the night riding with Terry “The Toad.” She was nominated for a best-supporting actress Oscar for this role.
She worked on television, and her next big movie was The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). She was in The Big Sleep (1978) and the not too good More American Graffiti (1979). She was specialized in playing silly blonds in these and movies like Blue Thunder (1983). Clark has continued to appear in film and television.
Story- The Big Sleep (1978)
American private investigator Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) is living in England. He drives his convertible sports car through the country towards the Sternwood estate. Just before he arrives, a woman in another sports car zooms past him on the narrow road. Marlowe’s inner dialogue talks of him being dressed appropriately and being sober for the visit.
Marlow is watched by a young man washing cars as he approaches the manor. The butler, Norris (Harry Andrews), I’m glad it’s not the judge from “Night Court” 1984-1992 allows him into the foyer to wait while he announces to General Sternwood (Jimmy Stewart) that his guest has arrived. The General is an American officer that returned to England following the death of his wife.
Stewart was the first major Hollywood star to attempt to enlist. He eventually joined the Army Air Corp and flew missions over Nazi Germany. Before the war ended, he made full-bird colonel and later became a brigadier general in the United States Air Force reserves.[5]
Back in the hallway, Camilla Sternwood (Candy Clark) comes in trying to be sexy. The lines fall on the floor as she was nowhere as good as Debbie Dunham in American Graffiti (1973). Camilla eventually falls onto Marlowe, forcing him to catch her. As Camilla tries to kiss him, Norris returns to take Marlowe to the General. The car wash guy is still giving Marlowe the stink eye.
The General is in a wheelchair. He says he has lived a life of excess, and now he is paying for his actions. He spends his time in the greenhouse so stay warm. Marlowe has been recommended by Inspector Carson (John Mills). The General has two daughters, Camilla, the younger wild one, and the older, more stable Charlotte (Sarah Miles). Charlotte was married to an Irishman named Rusty Regan (David Savile). The General says he is very fond of Rusty. Rusty has been missing for a month.
The General says he is being blackmailed again. He had previously paid Joe Brody (Edward Fox) 5,000 pounds to leave his daughter Camilla alone. Marlowe examines the new blackmail requests. They are a series of notes signed by Camilla to a man named Arthur Geiger (John Justin). Marlowe recommends that he pay what are described as gambling debts. Marlowe says he will come down on Geiger.
Norris tells Marlowe that Charlotte wants to see him. She is in a nightgown, and Charlotte thinks Marlowe has been hired to find Rusty. Marlowe won’t give any information. Charlotte wants to know if Marlowe could find Rusty. She mentions that his car was found in a hotel parking lot.
Marlowe brushes up on some rare book information before going to Geiger’s rare book and 1st editions. The clerk in the store is Agnes Lozelle (Joan Collins). He asks about some rare books to find out that she knows nothing about books. Marlowe says he will wait until Geiger returns.
Shortly, a man comes in with a package and is buzzed into the backroom. A young man furtively admits him to the back. The man leaves with a single book. Marlowe follows the man. The man hides in the bushes but then runs away, accidentally leaving his book behind. Marlowe retrieves the book, and it is schoolgirl porn, but not actual underage stuff. In the book and film, The Big Sleep (1946), Geiger is a peddler of gay pornography, which was highly secretive in the 1970s.
Marlowe sees Geiger arrive at the bookstore and be warmly greeted by the young man from the backroom. The young guy leaves with Geiger’s car. The youth man returns to pick up Geiger a few hours later.
Marlowe trails them to a house and waits outside. Much later, Camilla, who is slightly staggering, arrives in her sports car. Marlowe sees a camera flash going off inside and hears Camilla laughing. From inside, three shots are fired. Marlowe breaks in and finds Geiger dead on the floor.
Camilla is nude and sitting blankly in front of the camera, having been shot up with an opioid. Marlowe covers the semi-crazed Camilla. He checks the rest of the house and finds an appointment book. Marlowe delivers the passed-out Camilla to Norris at the Sternwood estate.
Marlowe takes a cab back to the murder site, and the body is gone.
The scene switches to a dock and a fancy car crashing through the rails and into the water.
In the morning, Marlowe examines the book from the murder house. He thinks it is coded blackmailing information. Inspector Carson calls from Scotland Yard to ask if Marlowe knows why the General’s Bentley and a man are at the bottom of the ocean.
Inspector Carson and Marlowe go to the scene of the car crash. The car is being pulled out of the water as they arrive. The dead man in the car is Sternwood’s chauffeur, Owen Taylor (Martin Potter), the guy that was giving Marlowe the stink eye at the estate. Marlowe suspects foul play, but some of the English investigators think it was suicide.
Inspector Carson gives background on Taylor, saying that two years earlier, Taylor and Camilla had run off to be married. Charlotte came to the police and said it was her idea for the couple to run off. Marlowe asks Carson to leave the General out if possible. Carson says the General is sick because he is pining for the companionship of his son-in-law Rusty. Marlowe tells the inspector that he is not looking for Rusty.
Marlowe goes back to Geiger’s bookstore. He tells Agnes that he wants to sell something to Geiger. The backdoor opens. The young man opens the door and pops back inside. Marlowe goes to the back of the store and sees the young man and another man loading large boxes into a van. Marlowe jumps into a cab to follow the van.
They lose the van at first but see it in an apartment garage. Marlowe goes to the door, and the name on it is Joe Brody.
Marlowe returns to his office, and Charlotte is waiting for him. Marlowe mentions that her husband Rusty was a gun runner. Charlotte wants to talk about Owen Taylor, the dead chauffeur. She is still trying to find out why her father hired Marlowe. Charlotte has a stack of nude photos of Camilla. The blackmailers want 10,000 pounds. Charlotte says she can get the money from Eddie Mars (Oliver Reed), the owner of the Cheval Club. Charlotte says Mars will give her the money because she regularly loses money at the club and her husband Rusty ran away with Mona, who is Mars’ wife. Charlotte tells Marlowe that he should see her naked body sometime as she leaves.
Marlowe returns to the murder house and heads to the back. He catches Camilla running out of the back. He takes her back into the house and asks who killed Geiger. She asks goofy and says Brody killed Geiger. She is surprised when Marlowe tells her not to worry about the photos. The doorbell rings, and Camilla runs out. She bumps into Mars and one of his bodyguards. Mars says he wants to see Geiger. Marlowe says they don’t know where Geiger is. Mars lets Camilla leave. When he sees blood on the floor, he threatens to call the police. Mars doesn’t call and says that he owns the house. He says he is not in the pornography business. Marlowe says he will drift, a line that goes back at least to Blood on the Moon (1948). Before he leaves, Marlowe gigs Mars by asking about Mona and mentions Rusty.
Marlowe travels to Joe Brody’s house. Marlowe barges in and says, you have the books, and I have the list of blackmail marks. Brody pulls a gun, and Marlowe sees Agnes hiding behind a curtain. Brody says he did not kill Geiger. Marlowe says that he knows Brody took the negatives from the murder house. Marlowe is about to get the pictures back when the doorbell rings. Brody gives a gun to Agnes and goes to answer the door.
When Brody answers the door, Camilla rushes in with a gun to his throat. Marlowe takes the other gun from Agnes. Camilla is demanding the pictures back. When Camilla is distracted, Brody goes for the gun. It is knocked to the floor as they tussle. Agnes tries to get the gun as Marlowe tries to stop her.
Marlowe gets the gun on the floor, and all the wrestling stops. He gets the photos from Brody and sends Camilla home. Brody admits that he did the first blackmail. Marlowe asks Brody about the two murders while Agnes complains about always picking losers.
Brody begins the tale from the night of the murder. He was going to force Geiger into a partnership, but he saw Camilla in the front. Geiger went around back and found the Sternwood Bentley parked there. He says that Owen Taylor entered the back of the house. Inside, Geiger was posing and photographing the nude Camilla. Taylor shot the man three times before leaving with the film. Brody followed the fleeing Taylor until he crashed. Geiger then took the film from the car. Brody then says that he figured Geiger was dead, so he took possession of all of the porno stock.
The doorbell rings again, and Brody goes to the door. A voice asks if it is Brody and then fires through the door, killing him with four shots. Marlowe rushes outside and is fired upon by the young man from the bookstore. Marlowe chases the man in his car as he flees on foot. Marlowe catches the man, who is named Karl Lundgren (Simon Fisher-Turner). He forces Karl to return to Geiger’s house with him.
Karl tries to escape outside of the house, and Marlowe puts him down with a karate chop to the neck. Marlowe handcuffs Karl inside of the house. Marlowe says either Karl or Mars moved the body. He looks in the bedroom, and Geiger’s body is carefully laid out on the bed, so he knows it was Karl that moved the body. Marlowe calls Inspector Carson, and they set up a meeting.
Marlowe takes Karl to the police station and turns him into Cmdr. Barker (Richard Todd) for killing Brody. Marlowe tells the story and who killed whom. Marlowe left out Camilla at Brody’s and Mars at Geiger’s. He says Taylor was a suicide. Inspector Carson says that this all started when Rusty disappeared, and he thinks that’s what the General actually wanted to find out.
Marlowe goes back to his apartment. Inside are Mars and his bodyguard. Mars wants to know if Marlowe kept him out of the story. Mars also thinks he is looking for Rusty. I just realized that bodyguard Reg (Patrick Durkin) is the man that lost the drinking contest to Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Mars tells Marlowe to come to see him at the club. He leaves with a vague threat.
Marlowe calls Norris to leave a message for Charlotte that he has the pictures and everything is alright.
Marlowe goes to Scotland Yard and meets with Inspector Gregory (James Donald) about Rusty. Gregory asks if he thinks Mars killed Rusty and Mona. When Marlowe leaves, he is tailed by a man in a car. Marlowe loses the man.
Later, Norris calls Marlowe to say the investigation is complete. But Marlowe has now become interested in Rusty.
That night Marlowe goes to the Cheval Club. Reg lets him in to see Mars. Mars says that Charlotte is gambling inside and doing well. Mars tries to pay Marlowe for leaving him out. Marlowe asks if he killed Rusty. Mars asks if they are still friends. Marlowe asks Mars if he is behind the guy following him. Mars says no. Charlotte is doing great on the roulette table. Charlotte wants to bet past the limit, and Mars gives her authorization. She wins 22,000 pounds.
Marlowe leaves the club and walks down the alley towards his car. He sees the shadow of a man hiding behind the corner. Charlotte comes down with her money, and the man steps out to rob her. Marlowe gets the jump on him. He knows the robber Lanny (Dudley Sutton). Sutton was in the not to miss film Cockneys vs. Zombies (2012).
Charlotte is thrilled by the danger and licks her lips like a hungry dog looking at a bone. Marlowe sends Lanny away. She asks about his visit with Mars. He and Charlotte go to a fancy pub. He asks her what Mars is holding over her and introduces a noir term, lugen, or to be on the wrong side of the fence. She thinks Marlowe is a cold-hearted killer.
Charlotte starts kissing Marlowe and wants to go to his place. He kisses her and asks what Mars has over her. She gets super mad and says she would kill him if she could. He drops her at the estate as Norris watches.
When Marlowe gets home, Camilla is naked in his bed. He forces her to get dressed and leave. She is mad and has the same urge to kill Marlowe as her sister does.
In the morning, the man that had followed him earlier is watching. At his office, he gets the payment from the General. Harry Jones (Colin Blakely) comes in and admits that he is a friend of Joe Brody. Jones says Agnes sent him. He says he has information that would help him find Rusty.
Jones tells the story of the night Charlotte was out with Mars, Rusty was at the bar, and Mars’ wife Mona (Diana Quick) was singing on stage. Jones says Rusty was seeing Mona because his marriage to Charlotte was going poorly.
At last, Jones talks about Lash Canino (Richard Boone), a man who wears all brown, has a brown car, and a brown girlfriend. Canino has a cast because he had been shot in the foot. Mars comes to Canino to take care of a big problem.
Jones had told Brody about Canino. Brody then trailed Canino and saw him paid off by Charlotte. Brody was expecting to sell the location of Mona to Mars and the General. Jones says Mona is in hiding. Jones says when Agnes gets the money, she will give the location of Mona.
Later Marlowe goes to a low-rent office building where Brody had an office. He hears Jones and Canino inside the office. Marlowe picks the lock and goes into the back office. Canino wants to know where Agnes is located. He pours a drink and gives it to Jones. Jones dies immediately from the poison in the glass.
Canino leaves, and the phone rings. It is Agnes. She agrees to meet Marlowe at a park. That night he pays her, and she tells him the out-of-town location where Mona is located. Agnes says Brody saw Mona in a blonde wig driving with Canino.
He drives to the location of Mona. Just before he arrived, two of his tires are flatted by a spike someone left in the road. He walks to a conveniently located garage. A man with a double-barrel shotgun lets him inside but doesn’t want to fix his tires. Canino comes out of the back and says to fix the tires. Canino gives him a drink, and Marlowe hesitates to drink it.
When the mechanic comes back, he and Canino jumps and beat Marlowe. When he wakes, he is tied up in a house, and Mona is his guard. Mona reveals that the plan was for her to hide out so the police wouldn’t know that Rusty was murdered. When Mona leaves the room, Marlowe tips the chair over and knocks the phone down. When Mona returns, Marlowe convinces her that the police are on the way and she will be implicated in two murders. She cuts him loose but can’t remove the handcuffs.
Marlowe makes it to his car and gets another gun just as Canino returns. Marlowe stuffs his tie in Canino gas tank, while inside, Canino roughs up Mona. Marlowe fires two shots at the door with his revolver, and Canino returns fire with a machine gun. Canino comes outside holding Mona as a shield. Marlowe hits the car with a rock, and Canino opens fire on his own car. Marlowe lights the gas-soaked tie, and the car explodes. Mona escapes. Marlowe kills Canino with six shots. Six plus two is six.
Inspector Carson briefs Marlowe and takes his statement. Mars has also made a statement, and he gets away. Marlowe and Carson see Mars go free with Mona.
Marlowe goes back to his apartment to get some rest, but he gets a call from Norris that the General wants to see him. When he gets to the estate, the General is sick and in bed. The General tries to pay Marlowe to find Rusty. Marlowe says he will try to find Rusty.
Outside, Camilla was shooting darts. He returns her gun that she left at Brody’s place. She asks for a shooting lesson. They travel to some old Roman ruins and set a can up on the wall. The thought of firing holes into historic fabric actually offends my archaeological sensibilities.
Camilla aims the gun at Marlowe and begins firing. He is not hurt because he had previously loaded the gun with blanks. He takes Camilla back to the house, and Charlotte starts chewing him out for not caring about her family.
Marlowe says that Camilla tried to kill him. Charlotte says that he can’t prove that she tried to kill him. He says he is not interested in the attempt on his life and only cares about when Camilla used the exact location to kill Rusty for the crime of refusing her sexual advances.
Charlotte admits she paid Mars to make up the story about Rusty and Mona running away. Canino was paid to get rid of the body. Marlowe says he doesn’t want money, and she has three days to commit Camilla to a mental hospital. Marlowe wants the General to die without knowing how bad his daughters were.
He thinks death is the big sleep, and the General will be fine as he dies.
I’ll be back with the conclusions and World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.
Summary – The Big Sleep (1978)
I have made no secret how I feel about this movie. Robert Mitchum will always be tops for me. I will be reviewing Farewell, My Lovely (1975) soon, with Mitchum playing the same character. These films are important to the rise of Neo-Noir as they are among five Raymond Chandler stories that were made during this period and are part of a significant body of film work, including Gumshoe (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), Chinatown (1974), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Yakuza (1974), The Black Bird (1975), and The Late Show (1977)[6].
I did get a little curious about the name Scotland Yard. Searching on Wikipedia.org, I found that it is a metonym. That is “the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant.”[7] The original police station was at 4 Whitehall Place, but the rear entrance was on Great Scotland Yard. Most people entered for the Scotland Yard side, and over time the police were called by this name.[8]
World-Famous Short Summary – Private investigation is a young man’s job
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Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077234/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1002353-big_sleep
[3] https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-sleep-1978
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/15/archives/film-winners-version-of-big-sleepshowroom-piece.html
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart#Military_service_(1941%E2%80%931945)
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart#Military_service_(1941%E2%80%931945)
[7] https://www.google.com/search?q=metonymy+definition
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart#Military_service_(1941%E2%80%931945)
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