THE BIG SLEEP

SYNOPSIS: Summoned by the dying General Sternwood, Philip Marlowe is asked to deal with several problems that are troubling his family. Marlowe finds that each problem centers about the disappearance of Sternwood's favoured employee who has left with a mobster's wife.

BOTTOM LINE: Another classic film noir/murder mystery where the actual outcome isn't half as interesting as the characters and events that one encounters along the way. Bogart plays Philip Marlowe, a clever, sarcastic private detective who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, even if it's something his clients don't want him to know. He has no time for liars, loves the ladies and doesn't scare easy. He's also smarter than he looks. It's clear to him from the beginning that the Sternwood sisters Vivian and Carmen, played by Bacall and Vickers, are hiding something serious. Their father may have hired him, but they're the ones pulling the strings. What begins as a seemingly simple case of blackmail turns into a tangled web filled with corruption, pornography and murder. The crux of the plot centers on the very bad behavior of Carmen and the sudden disappearance of Sean Regan, a close friend of her father. The film is so convoluted it's hard to figure out who's who and why they're being murdered. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter. The fun of this flick is watching Bogey untangle the mystery while trading double entendres with Bacall in a two-player game of seduction. The sexual tension is high, the action enthralling and the truth a real doozy. Bullets, broads and wicked one-liners, what more do you need?