Movie Essays - Romanticism in the Film Version of The Big Sleep

Romanticism in the Film Version of The stupendous Sleep In Raymond Chandlers novel The Big Sleep, he presents both sisters, Vivian and Carmen. These women become the central characters, excursus from Philip Marlowe, and they control much of the action in the novel. The 1946 film version of The Big Sleep, however, manipulates Chandlers characters considerably. Aside from playing with the dialogue of the novel, the screen-writers change the very essences of Vivian and Carmen. Perhaps it is the mold of the film which forces changes from the novel, or perhaps the Production Code keeps the writers from developing the women in the way that Chandler does either way, the film version of The Big Sleep makes the point romantic and often cliche. Vivian and Carmen, sisters, are presented by Chandler as psychotic and austere women. Vivian, is described in detective Philip Marlowes thoughts as tall and rangy and strong-looking...Her cop was sour and wiry and parted in the m iddle and she had the hot black eyes of the portrait in the hall(Chandler 17). She is cool and manipulative, instantly rummy of Marlowes presence in her world, and she plays her suspicions off as insults. When she meets Marlowe, she says, So youre a confidential detective,...I didnt know they really existed, except in books. Or else they were greasy miniscule men snooping around hotels(Chandler 18). Marlowe plays right back at her, countering every lordly remark with one of his own. When Vivian tells Marlowe she doesnt like his manners, his response is, Im not crazy just about yours...I didnt ask to see you. You sent for me. I dont mind your ritzing me or beverage your lunch out of a Scotch bottle...I dont mind if you ... ...ynamic together, the script is allowed to be less than what the novel created. This is exactly what happened with The Big Sleep. Marlowe and Vivian took a backseat to Bogart and Bacall. The sisters, Vivian and Carmen, had to be modify to cre ate the effect of romance and intrigue. There was really no otherwise way to go within the restrictions of the Production Code, as Carmen couldnt be contend up to her full potential, so the director took Vivian and made her the leading lady. The essences that Chandler created for these two women were dynamically altered for the film in order to create two women without the demons or psychoses that he had intended. Works Cited Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. New York Random House, 1939. memorable Quotes from Big Sleep, The (1946). IMDB. Internet. Accessed April 1999. Address http//us.imdb.com/