...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
Sheila posted about The Big Sleep last month, and raved about it. i was always put off by the movie, although i love Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Raymond Chandler. It was the fact that i couldn't follow the plot that bugged me. But even the writers, including William Faulkner and Chandler himself, couldn't figure out what was going on.
So when it came on TCM yesterday afternoon, i gave myself permission to watch it without trying to understand the story and just enjoy the great film noir dialogue. Like this:
MARS
(threateningly)
Just a minute. The girl can go. I'd like to talk to you...
MARLOWE (Bogart)
Suppose I don't wanna talk to you.
MARS
I've got two boys outside in the car.
MARLOWE
Oh. It's like that, eh. Mm-hum. Run along, angel.
MARS
Your story didn't sound quite right.
MARLOWE
Oh, that's too bad. You've got a better one?
MARS
Maybe I can find one.
(looks under the rug.)
Blood. Quite a lot of blood.
MARLOWE
Is that so?
MARS
(pulls out a gun.)
You mind?
MARLOWE
No. I'm used to it.
. . .
MARS
Convenient. The door being open when you didn't have a key.
MARLOWE
Yeah. Wasn't it? By the way, how did you happen to have one?
MARS
Is that any of your business?
MARLOWE
I could make it my business.
MARS
And I could make your business mine.
MARLOWE
You wouldn't like it. The pay's too small.
MARS
I think you'd better get out here.
MARLOWE
Oh, by the way, how's Mrs. Mars these days?
MARS
You take chances, Marlowe.
MARLOWE
I get paid to.
MARLOWE
You alone, Joe?
BRODY
(pulls out a gun.)
Yeah. Except for this.
MARLOWE
My, my, my. Such a lot of guns around town, and so few brains. You know, you're the second guy I've met today who seems to think a gat in the hand means the world by the tail. Put it down, Joe.
When Bogey and Bacall were on screen together, in The Big Sleep, Key Largo, To Have and Have Not and Dark Passage they were doubly riveting. Everybody knows the "you know how to whistle" scene from To Have and Have Not (one of the greatest scenes in movie history), but this dialogue from The Big Sleep is just as electric:
VIVIAN (Bacall)
I'm very grateful to you, Mr. Marlowe. I'm very glad it's all over. Tell me, uh, what do you usually do when you're not working?
MARLOWE
Mm. Play the horses, fool around.
VIVIAN
No women?
MARLOWE
Well, I'm generally working on something most of the time.
VIVIAN
Would that be stressed to include me?
MARLOWE
I like you. I told you that before.
VIVIAN
I liked hearing you say it.
MARLOWE
Mm.
VIVIAN
But you didn't do much about it.
MARLOWE
Neither did you.
VIVIAN
Well, speaking of horses, I like to play them myself. But I'd like to see them work out a little first to see if they are front runners or come from behind, find out what the whole card is, what makes them run.
MARLOWE
Find out mine?
VIVIAN
I think so.
MARLOWE
Go ahead.
VIVIAN
I'd say you don't like to be rated. You'd like to get out in front, open up a lead, take a little breather in the backstretch and, and come home free.
MARLOWE
You don't like to be rated yourself.
VIVIAN
I haven't met anyone yet who could do it. Any suggestions?
MARLOWE
Well, I can't tell 'til I've seen you over distance of ground. You got a touch of class but... I don't know, how far you can go?
VIVIAN
That depends on who's on the saddle, Marlowe. I like the way you work. In case you don't know, you're doing all right.
MARLOWE
There's one thing I can't figure out.
VIVIAN
What makes me run?
MARLOWE
Uh huh.
VIVIAN
I'll give you a little hint. Sugar won't work. It's been tried.
Big Sleep is all about atmosphere, characters and attitude. With all that, who needs a plot?
Howard Hawks was the director of the two films you mentioned in your post. Hawks discovered Lauren Bacall and had a huge crush on her. He cast her in her first movie "To Have and Have Not" and was looking forward to having Lauren as his mistress.
Lauren had other ideas after she met Bogart on the set. They immediately fell for each other. This made Hawks very angry with both of them.
Posted by: Jake on Jun. 12, 2005Bitches be like dat.
Posted by: Casca on Jun. 12, 2005I've been thinking of what present day actress could carry off that bit of Bacall dialogue, and no one comes immediately to mind. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that modern day actresses who carry movies are usually written as super-empowered action characters. They hold amazing jobs, they live in amazing residences, and they are sometimes amazing Moms and expert computer hackers on the side. There's not enough hours in a week for what they supposedly accomplish each day.
As a result, these female characters exude very little classical sexuality. Often we learn that these women have amazingly sexy husbands/boyfriends, or they are amazing talented in the boudoir - but these are sort of side categories - additional skills, which are mentioned only as plot points.
These women characters affect tough as nails personas in their day to day activities. They relish emasculating men with verbal samurai swords. Its obvious that men only approach them and flirt with them because men are pigs. The women characters rarely enjoy lively man/woman banter/repartee - that is so passe'! And would so lead to sexual harrassment lawsuits.
So, other than the fact that they have breasts and vaginas(which, sadly for my gender, is enough), one wonders why any man would WANT to approach a modern day female movie character. And not just approach her sexually - why would a man want to become friends with these characters at all? These characters are usually uninteresting, self-involved workaholics. Who needs em?
In this type of national climate, reflected in this type of Hollywood screenwriting climate, there are few graciously sensual women characters like Bacall played in these noir movies. And that, finally, is part of the reason that its hard to think of modern lead actresses who could pull off Bacall's dialogue in that scene.
Posted by: gcotharn on Jun. 13, 2005It makes me feel better that you said that you couldn't follow the plot of the movie, bc I've been trying to read the book for about nine months now and just get a hold of it.
Posted by: ginger on Jun. 13, 2005Annika:
Did you stay up Saturday night to see the original, pre-release cut? It was followed by a brief documentary by a UCLA prof. who explained the re-shoot scenes. Pretty interesting.
And Lauren Bacall is my all-time favorite screen actress, even if she wasn't in a lot of films and didn't have the range of some actresses. She was absolutely exquisite in her day.
Posted by: SWLiP on Jun. 13, 2005Must find that one particular pic of Bacall and Harry Truman. Oh yes, here, I knew Sheila would have it:
http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/001945.html
Just phenomenal.
Posted by: Dave J on Jun. 14, 2005