Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not)

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Yes, it's true: you can virtually see Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall falling for each other in To Have and Have Not (1945), Howard Hawks's variation on Casablanca but adapted from--as legend has it--Ernest Hemingway's self-declared "worst novel." (The story goes that Hawks told Hemingway he could make a movie of the author's least work, and Hemingway gave him the rights to this story.) The script by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman actually makes this one of Hawks's and Bogart's most interesting and often exciting films. Bogart plays a boat captain who reluctantly agrees to help the French Resistance while wooing chanteuse Bacall. Hoagy Carmichael, wry at the piano, adds a delicious accent to an already wonderful mood.

Bogart and Bacall were never more popular than in The Big Sleep, the 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks. Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay.

Dark Passage (1947) is a gimmicky film noir starring Bogart as an escaped criminal who undergoes plastic surgery and holes up at the home of Bacall's character while healing and preparing to prove his innocence. If you can last through the first half-hour of this thing--which is shot entirely from the subjective view of Bogart's bandaged face, which we don't see until later--you might find ample reason in the stars' performances to stick around for the conclusion. But director Delmer Daves (A Summer Place) tests a viewer's endurance with such an obvious, attention-getting ploy.

John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) directed Key Largo (1948), a smart thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to To Have and Have Not this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

Description

They met on the WB lot. The year was 1944. "I just saw your screen test," Bogart said to Bacall. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun together." And so it began... Listed as the Greatest Male Star of All Time and one the Greatest Female Legends by the American Film Institute, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in the all new Bogie & Bacall: The Signature Collection. This giftset includes all four films that starred one of classic Hollywood's noted couples.

Customer Reviews:

How can you not like this?.......2007-09-07

A great package with great quality and professionally done. If you're a Bogey and/or Bacall fan, you're gonna love having this in your collection!

If You Want Them, This Is It.......2007-06-15

"Bogie and Bacall -- The Signature Collection," brings us the four movies the near-legendary Hollywood stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, made together, from first, Howard Hawks's 1944 "To Have and Have Not," in which the couple, just meeting, literally fall in love on screen, through probably their best together, 1946's "The Big Sleep," again directed by Hawks; their strangest, 1947's "Dark Passage," written and directed by Delmar Daves; and their last, the 1948 "Key Largo," directed by John Huston.

All four films are made by Warner Brothers, in black and white; all but "Dark Passage" made entirely on studio back lots, despite the ostensible tropical settings of "To Have and Have Not," and "Key Largo." In most, Bogie plays a character that will be familiar to his fans from his previous work, particularly the great wartime hit "Casablanca" that directly preceded "To Have." We see some of the familiar Warner Brothers company of supporting players in these films, and some well-known, highly-esteemed actors, but the pictures belong to Bogie and Bacall, as they fire up the screen, as lovers and then newly-marrieds.

"To Have and Have Not," supposedly resulted from a bet between Hawks and Ernest Hemingway, famed American author of the book on which it's based. Hawks said he could get a good movie from Hemingway's worst book, which this was. Hawks did so, with a screenplay by another famed American novelist, William Faulkner, and Jules Furthman. The picture, however, is an effort to remake "Casablanca," without Ingrid Bergman, or the earlier movie's sterling supporting cast. Set on a French-speaking Caribbean island, with Vichy French and Free French at war. Almost-heroic Free French fighter, and his wife. Bogie as Henry (Steve) Morgan, hardboiled antihero who sticks his neck out for nobody. Hugely talented American singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael as Cricket, singing piano player. Despite his many beautiful compositions, he just doesn't hold the screen as did Dooley Wilson, playing Sam, singer of "As Time Goes By," in the earlier film. Walter Brennan thrown in playing his stellar drunk, Eddie, asking people "Was you ever stung by a dead bee?" He's treated with romanticizing kid gloves by all concerned. And the breathtaking 19-year old Bacall, as Marie (Slim) Browning, who's just landed on the island because she's run out of money. She's given a snazzy check suit, and some snappy dialogue. Remember "You know how to whistle, don't you?" She even sings; legend says she was dubbed by Andy Williams, but that's not necessarily true. They say her part was beefed up when the studio execs saw what was happening onscreen. Sid Hickox's noirish cinematography also contributes greatly to a sexy, old-fashioned, rather routinely plotted, World War II thriller, combining romance, faraway adventure, and a macho Hemingway hero.

"The Big Sleep," 1944, was the second film made by the golden trio, Bogart, Bacall and Hawks. The screenplay, again, was by novelist Faukner, based, this time, on a detective novel of the same name by the Californian author Raymond Chandler. This noir mystery thriller also casts a backwards eye at "Casablanca." Here, Bogie plays Philip Marlowe, Chandler's existential, street-smart, courageous private eye, called to investigate efforts to blackmail the aging, incapacitated, wealthy General Sternwood about one of his daughters. Both the General's daughters, the old man admits, are wild, and have the vices of their class, but Carmen, played by Martha Vickers, is most troublesome; Vivian, played by Bacall, gambles, and seems, carelessly enough, to have recently misplaced her husband, of whom the General was fond. Still, in this picture, Vivian has great rooms and clothes, and a nifty white coupe convertible. Supporting players include Dorothy Malone, Peggy Knudsen, Bob Steele, Lash Canino, and Elisha Cook. Max Steiner contributed the atmospheric score. The notoriously complicated, difficult to follow plot is frequently interrupted by girls admiring Bogie, and stopped dead so Bacall can sing. The screenplay cleans up its source material considerably, still, it was considered an unusually violent and amoral movie for its time. Treatment of Los Angeles is moody; night scenes are shadow and fog, daylight scenes slightly, menacingly overblown. Nobody played harried and world-weary better than Bogart.

1947's "Dark Passage," noir thriller, was written and directed by Delmar Daves, based on a novel by David Goodis, who wrote the novel on which "Shoot The Piano Player" is based. It's set in San Francisco of the 40's, and may be the best screen treatment of that city at that time. Once again, Sidney Hickox's noirish cinematography takes full advantage of its flavorful setting, hills, bay, staircase streets. The building in which Bacall's character, Irene Jansen, supposedly lives, and its glass elevator, and her duplex apartment, are masterpieces of the "moderne" style then highly popular. Bogart plays Vincent Parry, a doctor unjustly convicted of killing his wife; at the film's opening, he's just escaped from San Quentin, coming home to clear himself. For the first hour, we never see him, only see everything through his eyes, then a new filmic technique. The gimmick is, he has plastic surgery so as to no longer be recognizable; he then becomes the Bogart we know. Housely Stevenson plays the plastic surgeon Dr. Walter Coley: his scenes are treated in a most Frankensteinian way. The plot takes some truly odd turns: we're to believe that Agnes Moorhead, who is surely riveting, could give Bacall a run for her money in the Bogart stakes. As if. Bacall doesn't sing, but she looks sensational, and has, in addition to that apartment, some stylish clothes and jewelry -- note the Mexican opals. She's also got an eye-catching, memorable "woody" station wagon.

"Key Largo," 1948, directed by John Huston, was the last screen pairing of our two leads. It's based on a stage play by Maxwell Anderson, nominally set in the tropical Florida Keys. A wheelchair-bound Lionel Barrymore plays James Temple, owner of the island hotel; Bacall plays Nora, his widowed daughter in law. Bogart plays Frank Mc Cloud, who fought the Italian campaign alongside the Temple boy until he was killed. Mc Cloud goes to visit the Temples off-season, and discovers that a powerful hurricane's coming. And that they are being terrorized by Edward G. Robinson, one of the great movie villains, playing gangster Johnny Rocco. Clair Trevor, playing Gaye Downs, Rocco's moll, former nightclub entertainer, gets to sing this time. She does an acapella "Moanin' Low," a song popularized by Libby Holman in the early 30's, and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for it. Bogart plays an unusually quiet version of his "I stick my neck out for nobody character." But, such are the burdens of marriage, Bacall is uncharacteristically demure. She doesn't appear to be wearing makeup, her eyes are downcast, and her wardrobe seems to consist of one --dowdy-- outfit. She doesn't have those lines, either: Barrymore and Robinson get them this time.

These four films are the components of this collection. There will be no more by our two great leads, and they were certainly among the screen's most incendiary lovers. If you want them, this is it.

Classic Bogie & Bacall.......2007-05-14

As a writer, I find it interesting to study classic movies that gripped our imaginations, found - and sometimes lost - romance, and always produced suspense. These Bogie & Bacall movies did it without the non-stop action of today's movies, the dynamite, the explosions, the sex, and the questionable language. And they all have withstood the test of time. Well worth watching.

What's not to like?.......2007-02-18

Well, really, this is it, one of the ultimate film collections out there. They are definitely good for what ails you. Have the flu? Settle in with these until it goes away. Three feet of snow outside? These will help you hold out until spring. Tired of special effects and mindless violence? Remind yourself of something truly special, the sparkle in Bacall's eyes when she goes after Bogart, and of a time when only bad guys met a bad end. Recovering from a breakup? Settle in and remind yourself of how relationships are supposed to work!

They are also good if you just want to be entertained. The movies are better together, because you can just keep going from one to the next and chances are, you will. The chemistry between those two is so good that you could completely fail to realize that these finely crafted story-driven films are pretty well written, too. If I had to choose some "desert-island movies," at least two of them would be from this collection and maybe all four.

the big sleep.......2007-01-29

Just when you think he's figured it out, he hasn't, but he does! I wish I'd lived then.

Average customer rating:

Still one of the best
Another classic hard-boiled detective flick
Excellent
Fantastic movie
Light another cigarette

The Big Sleep
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FFJYA2
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Amazon.com essential video

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom Keogh

Description

L.A. private eye Phillip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case...and a trail peopled with murderers, porographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Humphrey Boart plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary gumshoe and director Howard Hawkes serves up snappy character encounters (particularly involving Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore in the certified classic.

Customer Reviews:

Still one of the best.......2007-09-06

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. However, I just finished reading Raymond Chandler's novel, "The Big Sleep," and I am astounded by how much the screen version deviated from the original story. Apparently, most of this was done to provide a bigger and better part for Lauren Bacall. And, of course, a film made in the 40's could not be as sexually explicit as Chandler's novel which meant that Carmen Sternwood could not be accurately portrayed. I will just say that the original Chandler story is so much tighter and more believable than the screen version. Another thing I realized after reading the book is that Humphrey Bogart probably wasn't the best choice for a Phillip Marlowe. Marlowe was 33 in "The Big Sleep," very tall and good looking. While Bogart nailed Marlowe's cynicism and wit, he lacked all of the physical attributes. Dick Powell's Marlowe in "Murder, my Sweet" is a much closer match. Either way, "The Big Sleep" is a great, classic movie and the book is even better.

Another classic hard-boiled detective flick.......2007-09-01

Philip Marlowe is called upon by a wealthy widower to investigate a blackmail scheme involving one of his daughters. Draw into a complex web of blackmail, shady gambler and a mysterious disappearance of a former IRA soldier. Marlowe trades quips with the older daughter who is trying to find out what her father hired him for. Murder and murder leaves a trail to a shoot-out with the gamblers hired guns. A top-notch detectiver yarn.

Excellent.......2007-08-27

"The Big Sleep", based on the detective novel of the same name by Raymond Chandler, is one of those old classic movies that everyone knows about but very few people seem to have actually sat down and watched. But take it from me, this movie is definitely worth watching.

In addition to being based on Chandler's classic hard boiled novel, the movie stars film giants Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. And the screen play was written by none other than William Faulkner himself (during his Hollywood writing phase).

Not having read the original novel, I'm not sure how much of the screenplay is Faulkner and how much is original Chandler, but the dialogue is crackling with wit. Brilliant one liners are flying around so fast it's difficult to keep track of them all. And Bogart does a great job delivering them as the wise cracking detective.

My only complaint about this movie is it seemed to go one a bit too long for my attention span. But maybe that's my failing instead of the movie's. Like a lot of detective stories, just when you think you have everything all wrapped up, a twist gets thrown in and it turns out the story is only half over.

Still, 60 years later this film can hold its own with any of today's Hollywood blockbusters. If you haven't seen this film yet, check it out. It's one of those classic films that doesn't feel at all like a stuffy classic film when you're watching it.

Fantastic movie.......2007-08-09

Ordinarily I don't care for mystery or detective movies or TV shows. The rhythms and conventions of the genre are unfamiliar to me, so I usually miss the shorthand in such films, and get lost in the plots. "The Big Sleep," however, has the amazing quality that it is at once supremely convoluted and simply direct. Perhaps that's because it's a great Chandler novel adapted for the screen by Leigh Brackett (writer of "The Empire Strikes Back," the best of the "Star Wars" movies) and William Faulkner (!). With writers like that, how can you go wrong? The special features note that the two of them wrote the film in 8 days, each writing half. That does explain the fact that something like an ending happens halfway through this movie. Hey, I said it was convoluted.

The stars aligned for this film, with fantastic performances all around, a great screenplay, and the trademark Howard Hawks direction of fast dialogue with no surplusage. Of course, Bogart and Bacall have their usual magic - perhaps because they were married by the time the film was done shooting. The special features on this DVD are not extensive, but they are interesting and worthwhile.

Even people who are not film noir mavens or devotees of all films black and white, but who just enjoy good film, will like this movie. "The Big Sleep" is at least worth a rent.

Light another cigarette.......2007-08-01

It's got 1940's cars, offices, clothes, phones, cabs, guns, clubs, dames, rain, fog, hats. It's got Bogart and Bacall. It's got Elisha Cook Jr (in a small but effective role). It's got a long convoluted story that allows Bogart to be Bogart scene after scene. And Bogart IS in charge of every situation. Every dame, EVERY dame, in the film throws him a look that he feels in his left front hip pocket. There is the omniscient Max Steiner score that tells us how Bogart feels, and how we feel about every scene/situation. The terse tought bantering conversations. There is a restaurant scene with Bogie and Bacall, where ostensibly they are discussing race horses. But we realise they are actually revealing to each other their love making styles/preferences. It is sexier then any between the sheets body double close ups of body parts "love scenes" we experience nowadays. This is Warner Brothers, Bogart, Bacall, Hawks etc in top form.

Average customer rating:

Its a Big Big World - The Big Big Sleep
Starring: It's a Big Big World
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000RJO53M
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Product Description

It's a Big Big World, created by three-time Emmy®-winner Mitchell Kriegman, is set in a lush rainforest, where Snook, a giant dancing sloth, lives in the World Tree with his diverse group of animal friends. Together they investigate the world around them and learn about science, nature, and environmental stewardship.

The Big Big Sleep shows how and why the characters of the World Tree get their rest.

Go to Sleep Wartz: Wartz has so much fun playing with his marmoset friends that he decides he wants to play all the time and never sleep again. Snook isn't so sure about this, however, and brings the little frog to visit different animals in the tree, learning how each one gets their rest. Wartz is still convinced that he is one frog that doesn't need to sleep, but when he and Snook sit down at the end of the day, Wartz finds out that the nighttime sounds of the forest are a perfect lullaby, and drifts off to a long-overdue slumber.

Sleepover:When Wartz hears that a storm is coming, he thinks he'd rather stay in his own log than go to a sleepover at Smooch and Winslow's hut. He doesn't want the marmosets to laugh at him for being afraid. After Oko reminds Wartz that everyone gets scared sometimes and Snook explains what causes lightning and thunder, Wartz decides to go to the sleepover after all. When he arrives and the thunder begins, he learns that Smooch and Winslow are also a bit scared, so he shares Snook's explanation of the weather and everyone settles in for a fun night!

Sounds of the Forest: Wartz moves into a new log, but after his first day there he is exhausted - he keeps hearing mysterious whistling and knocking noises and he can't sleep. Madge explains the cause of the whistling (wind passing over holes in the log), and later Wartz discovers the source of the knocking noises - it's Winslow! He was making music by hitting wooden blocks together. After Wartz explains that he learned about sound and vibrations from Madge, the two entertain Snook and Madge with a jungle vibrations concert.

Hot Enough For You?: There is no breeze in the hot World Tree and Winslow hypothesizes that if he can find out who in the tree is cool, he will know who has taken the missing breeze. He goes to visit the other animals, learning how everyone handles the heat, but he can't find the breeze thief anywhere. Finally, Snook explains that if there isn't air moving from one place to another as part of the weather, there isn't any wind to make a breeze. But there is something they can do to beat the heat - take a nap!

Sloth Lessons: After Winslow tells Bob that he should try being more carefree, Bob decides that since Snook is the most laid back animal he knows, he is going to become Bob the sloth. But, after spending some time with Snook eating, moving, and sleeping like a sloth, Bob realizes that he isn't made to be a sloth, and there are some really neat things about being an anteater.

Average customer rating:

Still one of the best
Another classic hard-boiled detective flick
Excellent
Fantastic movie
Light another cigarette

The Big Sleep (Snap case)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00002E227
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Amazon.com essential video

Description

L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case...and a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Humphrey Bogart plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary gumshoe and director Howard Hawks serves up snappy character encounters (particularly involving Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore in the certified classic.

Customer Reviews:

Still one of the best.......2007-09-06

Another classic hard-boiled detective flick.......2007-09-01

Excellent.......2007-08-27

Fantastic movie.......2007-08-09

Light another cigarette.......2007-08-01

The Bogart Collection (Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon/To Have and Have Not/The Big Sleep/The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

Average customer rating:

Simply the best collection you can hope for.
It would have been perfect with African Queen
THERE IS NO DELETED SCENE IN THE MALTESE FALCON
Good collection, but wait

The Bogart Collection (Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon/To Have and Have Not/The Big Sleep/The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000TG48S
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Customer Reviews:

Simply the best collection you can hope for........2006-10-06

You can't get a better combination of films from Bogart than this collection. True, 90 dollars is a bit extreme, but if you shop around and find it for a little less than it's a steal. For instance I just purchased this same collection at Costco for 65 dollars. All releases are good, any problems with Maltese Falcon or Big Sleep is nay unrecognizable from my standpoint. One of the few collections I have ever seen that has actually made a conscious effort to pit together truly the best films from a given actor.

It would have been perfect with African Queen.......2005-03-12

This collection would have been awesome if only it included The African Queen...it definitely has 5 of his best movies, but with African Queen, you get the best 6 movies of his career in one single pack! Now that, I would call his signature collection.

This is not bad though. Most of the so-called signature collections have so-so movines mixed with good ones. At least all the movies in this set are great gems. All 5 movies are very important movies of probably the greatest actor of Hollywood, 3 of the movies make AFI top 100 list (Cassablanca at #2, Maltese Falcon and Treasure of Sierra Madre, both in top 30) and the rest of the 2 are real close and are considered the part of classic film-noir. So if you don't mind spending 80 bucks for 5 DVDs and love the classic golden age of Hollywood, go for it.

THERE IS NO DELETED SCENE IN THE MALTESE FALCON.......2004-10-21

There are no scenes deleted in The Maltese Falcon dvd. This patron also posted for TMF dvd itself. I quote: 'The deleted scene is the one whereby Lorre is given back his gun by Bogart, lorre then points it at Bogart yet again-and the dvd fades to black to prepare for the next scene. What is deleted is Bogart laughing at Lorre and saying "Go right ahead (laugh, laugh), You go right ahead" THEN fade to black.' That scene is most definitely in there. I just watched it to check.

This dvd set features five ESSENTIAL Bogart films. It's true that The Big Sleep, To Have And Have Not, and The Maltese Falcon could all do with some restoration --but I'd say that the flaws don't detract that much from the films themselves, and until that day comes this set is a must for the Bogart fan.

Humphrey Bogart is still considered by many to be the greatest movie star of all time. These five films are a brilliant testament as to why. I advise you to score.

Good collection, but wait.......2003-12-13

All good movies, of course. Maltese Falcon and Big Sleep editions will probably be re-released as two disc sets in the future, the current dvd of Maltese Falcon has a messy look to it, and also has a missing scene ( inexcusable, really).

Product Description

Robert Mitchum is back as the legendary private investigator, Philip Marlowe. This adaptation of Raymond Chandler's classic hard-boiled detective mystery features an all-star cast.Marlowe is hired by a retired general (James Stewart) to find out who has been blackmailing the old man's wild daughters (Sarah Miles and Candy Clark). At the same time he has to try to locate the missing husband of one of the daughters. Marlowe's search leads through a dangerous thicket of murder and suicide in the seedy criminal underworld straight to the headquarters of the notorious nightclub owner and gangland boss, Eddie Mars (Oliver Reed). Expert storyteller Raymond Chandler spins a masterful web of deceit, creating an intricate, spellbinding mystery full of bare-knuckle action and heart-pounding suspense.

System Requirements:

Running Time 102 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Robert Mitchum IS Philip Marlowe.......2007-09-06

Unhampered by Production Code restraints, this 1978 version of Raymond Chandler's novel is more faithful to its source material than the 1946 classic with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Viewed today, the contemporary London setting works in director Michael Winner's favor. Of course, the film's raison d'être is Robert Mitchum's second go-round as Philip Marlowe -- an iconic portrayal that perfectly captures the world-weary spirit of Chandler's famous detective. An excellent supporting cast includes a poignant turn by James Stewart as General Sternwood. The 1978 "Big Sleep" will not erase memories of Bogie and Bacall, yet it makes a surprisingly effective companion piece.

A Bloody Good Rendition.......2007-07-09

I've watched this film a dozen times or more, and each time I find more things to recommend it as an adaptation of the book. Read that carefully: It's an adaptation of the book. It's got some clinkers, and it has indeed been transferred from pre-1940s Los Angeles to late 1970s London. Strangely, however, Chandler's novel proves as sturdy as Shakespeare, in terms of being re-adapted in a new setting.

Much of the dialog comes directly from the book, which is a fascinating and huge "plus" to the film. Despite various nuances that clearly put it into modern times, there is a strong sense of the original Philip Marlowe here. Remember that "The Big Sleep" didn't have nearly the amount of gunplay that other hard-boiled detective stories had; therefore, placing it in England, where the general population is less likely to carry a gun around than our own NRA-poisoned America, wasn't a bad idea at all.

Another point: Part of the film's plot revolves around pornography, which doesn't make anyone in this country even blink anymore (we get language and near-nudity on prime time, these days). In England, where there is still something of a caste system whether it's admitted or not, the porn becomes a bit more of a big deal -- which makes it sensible for Marlowe to be called in on the case.

Some reviews have blamed the movie for being confusing. I suggest that those reviewers go back and read the book, which is the source of the highly entwined plot twists. Considering how much the book weaves in and around itself, Michael Winner is to be offered some serious kudos for doing so well with the film.

It's great to see so many stars and well-known actors appearing in the film. Oliver Reed makes an interesting Eddie Mars, a character who thinks he's more dangerous than he really is. Harry Andrews as Norris (the butler) is quintessentially British in his attitude, showing a quiet approval of Marlowe's (Robert Mitchum) rough nature. Sarah Miles and Candy Clark play the troublesome Sternwood daughters with the right amount of faintly (or fully) drugged vacuousness; the former is trying to keep a secret by constantly hinting about it, and the latter is completely crazy.

A flawed gem, but a gem nonetheless. Highly watchable (repeatedly), and somehow every bit worthy of Chandler -- much more so than DiCaprio's mildly psychotic version of "Romeo and Juliet" is worthy of Shakespeare.

So It's Not Bogie and Bacall; It Still Works.......2007-03-04

The American movie star Robert Mitchum headlines the 1978 English-made adaptation of Californian Raymond Chandler's famous noir novel, "The Big Sleep," generally considered an inferior remake of the 1946 American-made adaptation of the same novel, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In any case, the plot centers on private investigator Marlowe, called to the aid of a rich family, the Sternwoods, who are being blackmailed. It then meanders to many highways and byways.

The 1946 American version is a classic of film noir, and an enduring entry in the Bogie/Bacall canon. But can we look at it a bit more closely? It's a Howard Hawks production, from Warner Brothers Studios. It is, of course, in black and white: Warners' made everything in black and white. And who says a noir film can't be done in color? What about the later "Body Heat," "Against All Odds," or "The Long Goodbye?" Or the famous trio of noir pictures from the far side of the pond, "Mona Lisa," "Get Carter," and "The Long Good Friday?"

Hawks and Warners' did spring for famous novelist William Faulkner as head screenwriter on the picture. But it could hardly be more obvious that what all three wanted was simply a follow-up vehicle for Bogie and Bacall, who'd just burned up the screen in "To Have And To Have Not." From looking at the picture, a case can be made that any story would have done them, as long as it showcased the studio's new golden couple, and they sure didn't throw money up on the screen. Black and white. Filmed totally on the back lot: General Sternwood is supposed to be rich, yet we never see the exterior of his house, only interiors. In fact, almost the entire movie is shot in interiors. The picture had Bogie and Bacall, all right; Martha Vickers and Dorothy Malone in important supporting parts. Beyond that, you'll notice Warners' didn't even send over their usual suspects on the A list of supporting players, the people you see in "Casablanca." Only supporting players you've ever heard of are Elisha Cook and Bob Steele. However, Warners' did send over a half-dozen young studio starlets, whose sole purpose seems to be making eyes at Bogie, as if they needed to underline his attractiveness to the female sex. And the studio stops the movie cold so Bacall can sing a sexy song: hey, it worked in "To Have and To Have Not."

Let's take a closer look at the English version. Sir Lew Grade did spend money on the picture. He moved it to England, well, okay. He filmed it in color, horrors. He and Michael Winner, the director/screenwriter do open the story up, showing us exteriors, the English countryside, scenes of London. Nothing wrong with that. It's not as claustrophobic as the '46 version-- must film noir be claustrophobic? Some elements of the book and the Bogart treatment don't play as well as they did; the child pornography in the bookstore, the porn its owner is making of Carmen Sternwood, the bookstore owner's gay lover. They were hardly earth-shattering in 1970's England. In fact, it's popularly thought that England was awash in that stuff at that time. So the movie loses some force there.

Many people consider Mitchum too old to play Marlowe, and he was, by a couple of decades. But the humanity of his lived-in fact adds a dimension of feeling to the picture. His fancy car, suits and Rolex watch? It's a puzzlement. Many people also consider Sarah Miles to be no Lauren Bacall, and she wasn't. Furthermore, if there's a hairdressers' hell, that's where her hairdresser belongs; her clothes are kind of clunky, too. But Charles Waldron, who played the General in '46, is no Jimmy Stewart, who played the General in '78. The Warners' butler, Charles D. Brown, was no Harry Andrews, the British. The Warners' Eddie Mars, John Ridgely, was no Oliver Reed. The Warners' Mona Mars, Peggy Knudsen, was no Diana Quick. The Warners' Bernie Ohls, Regis Toomie, was no Sir John Mills. The Warners' Joe Brody, Louis Jean Heyd, was no Edward Fox. The Warners' Agnes, Dorothy Malone, in fact, was no Joan Collins. The Warners' Bob Steele, as Lash Canino, sorry, but he was no Richard Boone. The Warners' Jonesie, actually, Elisha Cook, was no Colin Blakely, either. And then there's Richard Todd as the English Commander Blake. Candy Clark in the English Carmen role, well, she gets naked, and Martha Vickers' is the class act.

Basically, these are two different pictures, made with different aims, and by different philosophies. The Mitchum picture has stood up to the test of time, as has Bogart's. A lot of people will tell you the English take is truer to Chandler's book than is Hollywood's. (Though neither movie can solve the mystery of Owen Taylor, the Sternwood family chauffeur, found in the family limo, in the water, dead) Then again, the author Chandler, who cobbled together three short stories to make this book, never did solve that bit himself. In sum, the English ending is much truer to the book's than is Hollywood's. After all, the book and movies are called "The Big Sleep," and they are, at their heart, about the disappearance of Rusty Regan, and where he might be.

Some reviewers missed the point with their negative reviews.......2006-08-01

After seeing and loving Farewell my Lovely, I went to see this in theaters back in the 70's and thought it was terrible. I had seen the better reviewed Bogart Bacall version and never cared for it beyond the lead performance. Well, I decided to read the novel, and that totally turned me around and also on to Raymond Chandler's writing. For all its problems, this movie captures the story of the book terrifically. The plot is complicated but does pay off, and Mitchum, while really too old for the part, does well with it regardless. So don't dismiss it out of hand, especially if you are a fan of the Philip Marlowe books. On a side note, the recently discovered original cut of The Big Sleep with Bogey was a big improvement over the Bogey/Bacall lovefest that was available for so long, and is recommended as a double sided disc, on amazon. One side is the original cut and the other side has all the extra lovey dovey crap added, so you can see both and judge for yourself.

Who on Earth thought this would be a good idea, and how drunk were they at the time?.......2006-02-20

The Big Sleep has to be the most bizarre pitch of the 70s: giving Michael Winner carte blanche to transfer Philip Marlowe from LA's mean streets to the Green Streets of suburban England. With so many of the stellar supporting cast just so terribly wrong for their parts - a drunken Richard Boone with his leg in a cast as an unintentionally comical Lash Canino, Sarah Miles with the worst wardrobe and the biggest Afro you've ever seen on a white woman displaying all the sex appeal of a decomposing antelope in the Lauren Bacall role, Edward Fox as a bookie, John The Thief of Bagdad Justin as a glass-eyed gay blackmailer and Richard Todd as the police commissioner - it's only Robert Mitchum who keeps the thing afloat, even managing to keep a straight face when confronted with such dangerous characters as Dudley Sutton and Derek Deadman. On one level it is perversely watchable without ever being gleefully bad, but like almost all of Winner's films it shows his amazing ability to flatten any material he gets his hands on. Still, at least Mitchum amused himself on the set telling any passing Arabs he saw that Michael Winner was forcing the cast to give 25% of their salary to Mossad and then giving them the director's home address - "You can't miss it, it's the one with the effigy of Yasser Arafat hanging from the chimney."

The Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)

Average customer rating:

Great collection
quintessential Bogie...
Bogart collection
Bogart The Best
Got more than i bargained for

The Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks , John Huston , and Michael Curtiz
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004XMRW
Release Date: 2000-09-05

Amazon.com

The Maltese Falcon
Still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trendsetting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute

Casablanca
A truly perfect movie, Casablanca (1942) still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

The Big Sleep
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom Keogh

Key Largo
John Huston directed this smart 1948 thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

Description

A great giftset with four of Humphrey Bogart's most classic films. These include: The Big Sleep, Casablanca, Key Largo, and the Maltese Falcon.

Customer Reviews:

Great collection.......2007-08-29

Has any other actor played in so many great, genre-defining films as Humphrey Bogart? Three of the four films in this collection are certainly among the best films ever made, and the fourth (The Big Sleep) is a solid, if complex, Bogie/Bacall film. I was born long after these films were made, and after Bogie passed away, but I view these films as old, sure friends. They can be watched over and over again and you'll never get tired of them. If you're reading these reviews and thinking about buying this collection, I'm sure you don't need plot reviews, you've probably seen them all a thousand times already. These are the types of films that make me cringe when I look at the product being made in Hollywood today. Whatever happened to acting, dialogue, and atmosphere? Hollywood today puts too much emphasis on fast action and shallow, trite love affairs. My only negative comment is that some of the films in this collection are duplicated in some of the other Bogie collections, forcing one to buy multiple copies of the same film. This isn't really a problem if you are looking for just the Bogie classics as these can also be purchased individually, but for some of the harder to find Bogie films in the other collections, it is rather foolish to have to buy two or three copies of The Maltese Falcon. Bottom line though is that this is a great collection from a simpler time when Hollywood actually knew how to make films.

quintessential Bogie..........2007-06-01

A great collection for any Bogart lover. My 2 personal favorites are included in this package, Casablanca and Key Largo. The Big Sleep directed by Howard Hawks, with Bogie and Lauren Bacall is a film classic. The Maltese Falcon with an incredible cast including Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Ward Bond. Enjoy this incredible collection of four films that deserve to be placed on anyone's Top 100 list.

Bogart collection.......2007-05-18

I thought the movies would be presented in their original format, however they appear in standard TV format. For those with widescreen TV's (like me)you will be disappointed.

Bogart The Best.......2006-11-10

These are some of the best acting films of Bogart's career!, plus some of the finest supporting actors
you will ever find.

Got more than i bargained for.......2006-08-25

I originally bought this set for Casablanca, and I wanted to get an idea for his other movies.

I got quite a lot more than i expected though... I learned that oldschool movies are just plain better than the new ones.

There may be many explanations for this, but the main differences I observed were different mannerisms/speech patterns, and more complicated plot-lines.

Maltese Falcon is a particularly wonderful story, much more complex than today's typical blockuster, and Big Sleep/Key Largo were classics in their own right.

Bogie & Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not) (1946)

Average customer rating:

How can you not like this?
If You Want Them, This Is It
Classic Bogie & Bacall
What's not to like?
the big sleep

Bogie & Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not) (1946)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks , Delmer Daves , and John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EMGCV0
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

How can you not like this?.......2007-09-07

A great package with great quality and professionally done. If you're a Bogey and/or Bacall fan, you're gonna love having this in your collection!

If You Want Them, This Is It.......2007-06-15

Classic Bogie & Bacall.......2007-05-14

What's not to like?.......2007-02-18

the big sleep.......2007-01-29

Just when you think he's figured it out, he hasn't, but he does! I wish I'd lived then.

The Blue Dahlia [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]

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The Blue Dahlia [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]
Starring: Alan Ladd , Veronica Lake , and William Bendix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ASIN: B000O0D0YY

Product Description

This neat, fast-paced perfectly cast film noir reflects the hard-boiled, grim wit of the author of its screenplay, Raymond Chandler. Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) returns from the war to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) having a party and in the arms of another man. Johnny and Helen have a terrible fight, and later Helen is found dead. Johnny must prove his innocence and he enlists the aid of Joyce Haywood (Veronica Lake), the ex-wife of Helen's lover. Pursued by the cops, and never sure if he is being set-up for the murder, Johnny finally solves the murder and clears his name. Alan Ladd is at his hard-boiled, no-nonsense best as Johnny and Veronica Lake is, as always, the perfect noir femme-fatale, mysterious and alluring. Nicely directed by George Marshall, the film moves with great pace to an exciting, satisfying conclusion. The screenplay, the only one written by Chandler directly for the screen, was nominated for an Academy Award.

Best of the 40s (Adam's Rib / The Big Sleep / The Maltese Falcon / Mildred Pierce)

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Best of the 40s (Adam's Rib / The Big Sleep / The Maltese Falcon / Mildred Pierce)
Starring: Joan Crawford , Jack Carson , Zachary Scott , Eve Arden , and Ann Blyth
Director: Michael Curtiz , Howard Hawks , and John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video