‘The Big Sleep’ (Hawks, Howard. 1946.)
me: “This plot isn’t making any sense at all!!”
Andy: “That’s Chandler for ya.”
Conclusion? Don’t watch a Chandler story with a Hammett fan.
Other notes: Andy ultimately concluded that the film made more sense than the novel (which amused me, because Faulkner was a co-script-writer, and when has Faulkner been known for being less complex??). It’s hilarious how often Marlowe gets an assist from a pretty, flirty lady (me to Andy: “It’s a story about a man with a super power. His super power is that he’s Humphrey Bogart.”1). Lauren Bacall is an incredibly sexy woman.
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Seriously, no other super power is necessary.
I actually really love ‘The Big Sleep’, but I find that with a lot of noirs (maybe especially Chandler?), it’s not the plot so much as the overall tone/mood/character interplay. I think part of the whole point of film noir is often that the world is a ridiculously complex place where nothing much makes sense, we’re all just sort of caught up in it. (This is probably a REALLY OBVIOUS statement, but hey.)
“Humphrey Bogart” is a superpower that would work on me. [cough]
Andy did point out that one doesn’t really watch noir for the plot — one watches noir for the witty repartee.
Don’t forget that the other writer on the screenplay was Leigh Brackett, who deserves as much credit as Faulkner, if not more. He of course tended to disappear for days at a time on drunken benders.
I wasn’t familiar with Leigh Brackett, tho’ i know the name. I will now wander off to read more about her. Thank you, sir!