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The Big
Sleep (1946)
In Howard Hawks' classic private detective film:
- the opening scene of the arrival of private detective
Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) at the mansion of General Sternwood
(Charles Waldron) where he encountered flirtatious, nymphomaniacal
heiress Carmen Sternwood (Martha Vickers) in the hallway where
she first taunted: "You're not very tall, are you?" -
he gave her his name: "Reilly. Doghouse Reilly" and then
called himself a "shamus" to her amusement
- later, during his hothouse talk with General Sternwood,
Marlow described his meeting with Carmen: "She tried to sit
in my lap while I was standing up"; he was commissioned to break
up the troublesome blackmail ring that threatened Sternwood to pay
legally-uncollectible gambling debts; he also learned about Sternwood's
missing friend and confidant, Sean Regan, who suddenly disappeared
a month earlier under mysterious circumstances
- upon leaving, the scene of Marlowe's acquaintance
with Carmen's older, feisty sister Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall)
who at first suspiciously cross-examined him: "So you're a private
detective. I didn't know they existed, except in books. Or else they
were greasy little men snooping around hotel corridors. My, you're
a mess, aren't you?"; Marlowe quipped: "I'm not very tall
either. Next time, I'll come on stilts, wear a white tie and carry
a tennis racket"; when she insulted his manners, he snapped
back: "I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like
them myself"
Marlowe's Three Early Encounters With Females
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Carmen
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Vivian
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Acme Book Shop Proprietess
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- Marlowe's afternoon dalliance (during a rainstorm)
with a bookshop proprietor (Dorothy Malone) who removed her eyeglasses
and closed early: ("It looks like we're closed for the rest
of the afternoon"), and then offered two cups for their drinking;
Marlowe couldn't believe the quick transformation, and greeted
her with an exaggerated "Hello," before they enjoyed
an afternoon dalliance together - suggested by the film's fadeout
- the famous sexy, innuendo-laden dialogue between
Philip Marlowe and Vivian - a metaphoric, horse-racing, over-drinks
and cigarettes conversation: (Marlowe: "...Well, I can't tell
till I've seen you over a distance of ground. You've got a touch
of class, but, uh...I don't know how - how far you can go." Vivian: "A
lot depends on who's in the saddle. Go ahead, Marlowe, I like the
way you work. In case you don't know it, you're doing all right");
at the end of their conversation, she provided an answer to the question:
"What makes me run?" -- "I'll give you a little hint.
Sugar won't work. It's been tried"
- Marlowe's and Vivian's prank phone call to the police
department from his office: (Marlowe: "I hope the Sergeant never
traces that call"), and Vivian's observation: "You like
to play games, don't you?"
- the scene of Vivian's direct request for another kiss
from Marlowe in a car: "I like that -- I'd like more"
- the sequence - after the uncovering of the web of
secrets, leading up to the murder of kingpin racketeer Eddie Mars
(John Ridgely) by his own henchmen when Marlowe forced him to run
outside Geiger's house (he shouted vainly: "Don't shoot! It's
me, Mars!") where his own men were laying in wait for Marlowe
- and he was shot and killed at the doorway (marked by bullet holes)
- their final clinch after everything had been resolved
and the police were being summoned; Marlowe and Vivian were together
in the darkened parlor of Geiger's house and awaiting the police's
arrival; Vivian appraised the situation and noticed that there was
still some unfinished business to take care of with Marlowe; Vivian: "You've
forgotten one thing. Me." Marlowe (pulling her to him): "What's
wrong with you?" Vivian: (with a smoldering glance) "Nothing
you can't fix"
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Marlowe and Carmen: Horse-Racing Dialogue
Marlowe's And Vivian's Prank Phone Call to Police
Confronting Vivian About The Link Between Carmen and Sean
Regan (Vivian: "You go too far, Marlowe")
Vivian to Marlowe: "I
like that -- I'd like more"
Bullets Through Door Killing Racketeer Mars
Vivian to Marlowe: "Nothing you can't fix"
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