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The big sleep
Threat advisory: Under evaluation
Movie propaganda
Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is tipped off by a friend that a very elderly, very rich man by the name of General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) wants to hire him. Who is Philip Marlowe? He is a private detective. Though his reputation isn't the most respectable in town, he gets the job done... his own way. He decides to meet the General. He is escorted to Mr Sternwood by Norris (Charles D Brown) the house butler. On the way, Marlowe runs into the dangerously sexy, young Carmen Sternwood (Martha Vickers). She throws herself at him, claiming that Marlowe is "cute", but he remains professional, for now at least. He meets the elderly gentlemen in his garden. Marlowe has a drink as the General explains the perdicament. What is it? Blackmail. He is an old man, he doesn't want bad publicity. he fears for his two daughters, who aren't the most quiet girls in town.
Marlowe decides to take the case. On his first day, he follows a lead to a Mr Geiger, which ends at a second-hand book store specialising in rare first editions. He questions the clerk about a few books, which do not really exist, to test the store's legitamacy. She doesn't know anything; he knows there is something more than meets the eye. He tails a car leaving from behind the bookstore and it brings him to Geiger's house. He sits in his car, parked down the street, smoking a cigarette or two, waiting. As he begins to doze off, he witnesses a flash, hears a woman's scream followed by a series of gunshots. He races to the scene, only to find Geiger dead on the floor, and Carmen Sternwood high as a kite on the couch.
The plot thickens. The body count grows. Marlowe is always one step behind the real evil genius at work. The hardest part about his escapades is that he is falling in love with his client, Vivian Sternwood Rutledge (Lauren Bacall). Love partly interferes with his investigations, but he always keeps a clear head and knows just a little too much for comfort. Will he be the next John Doe with a toe tag down at the station?
Persons of interest
- Humphrey Bogart .... Philip Marlowe
- Charles Waldron .... General Sternwood
- Charles D Brown .... Norris
- Martha Vickers .... Carmen Sternwood
- Lauren Bacall .... Vivian Sternwood Rutledge
- John Ridgely .... Eddie Mars
- Peggy Knudsen .... Mona Mars
- Regis Toomey .... Bernie Ohls
- Bob Steele .... Canino
- Elisha Cook Junior .... Harry Jones
- Louis Jean Heydt .... Joe Brody
- Raymond Chandler .... Author
- William Faulkner .... Screenwriter
- Howard Hawks .... Director
Non-agency intellgence sources
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
I saw nothing. This DVD was stolen from my office but I won't name names because that won't get them back or bring the two scum-sucking culprits to justice.
Media intelligence (DVD)
- Languages (Dolby Mono 1.0): English, French, Italian
- Screen: Fullscreen(1.33:1)
- Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, English and Italian captions
- Trailer: Theatrical
Security censorship classification
PG (Low level violence, adult themes)
Surveillance time
101 minutes (1:41 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
DVD rental: 4 September 2000
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