The 1946 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that is based on a Raymond Chandler novel is The Big Sleep.
Directed by Howard Hawks, the film stars Bogart as private detective Philip Marlowe and Bacall as Vivian Rutledge. Marlowe is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood to investigate blackmail involving his daughter, but the case expands into a maze of disappearances, corruption, blackmail, and murder.
The screenplay was written by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthman, adapting Chandler’s 1939 novel. The film is famous for its complicated plot, and even its participants reportedly disagreed about some details. Its atmosphere, sharp dialogue, and Bogart-Bacall chemistry became more important to audiences than solving every mystery.
Production finished in 1945, but Warner Bros. delayed release and ordered reshoots to capitalize on the pair’s popularity after To Have and Have Not. The film was finally released in 1946 and later entered the National Film Registry in 1997. It should not be confused with the 1978 adaptation starring Robert Mitchum.