Back to trending
The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

Mystery · Crime · Thriller · 1946

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

Movie details

The Big Sleep

“The picture they were born for!”

1946 Mystery · Crime · Thriller 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Big Sleep?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential

Crime · 1997

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

D.O.A.

D.O.A.

Mystery · 1949

Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.

Farewell, My Lovely

Farewell, My Lovely

Crime · 1975

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.

Devil in a Blue Dress

Devil in a Blue Dress

Thriller · 1995

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

Dead Man's Folly

Dead Man's Folly

Crime · 1986

During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.

Miss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington

Miss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington

Crime · 1987

Travelling on the 4.50 from Paddington, Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a passing train - but where is the body?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Comedy · 2005

A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...

Murder Ahoy

Murder Ahoy

Drama · 1964

During an annual board of trustees meeting, one of the trustees dies. Miss Marple thinks he’s been poisoned after finding a chemical on him. She sets off to investigate at the ship where he had just come from. The fourth and final film from the Miss Marple series starring Margaret Rutherford as the quirky amateur detective.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Crime · 2014

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Kiss the Girls

Kiss the Girls

Thriller · 1997

Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Howard Hawks

Written by

William Faulkner · Leigh Brackett · Jules Furthman

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

Philip Marlowe

Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall

Vivian Sternwood Rutledge

John Ridgely

John Ridgely

Eddie Mars

Martha Vickers

Martha Vickers

Carmen Sternwood

Louis Jean Heydt

Louis Jean Heydt

Joe Brody

C

Charles Waldron

General Sternwood

Regis Toomey

Regis Toomey

Chief Inspector Bernie Ohls

Court is in session

Put The Big Sleep on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.