The Big Sleep (1946) was the first movie version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. It starred Humphrey Bogart as the hard-boiled private-eye Philip Marlowe and his real-life wife Lauren Bacall as the femme fatale. The film was directed by Howard Hawks. William Faulkner cowrote the screenplay with Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman . The movie is fondly remembered for its extremely convoluted plot. A famous story tells that, during filming, the director and screenwriters could not figure out who had killed the character of Owen Taylor. They sent a cable to the author, who replied saying "I'm damned if I know!"
Marlowe is hired by the elderly General Sternwood, who is being blackmailed by a purveyor of dirty books. The trouble seems to be centered around his two daughters, Vivian Sternwood (Lauren Bacall) and the simple, enigmatic Carmen.
The movie set the standard for film noir for years to come and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
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