The Big Sleep (1946)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Big Sleep (1946) -- H. Hawks

My latest theory about why Howard Hawks' version of Chandler's The Big Sleep is so rewatchable has to do with its largely incomprehensible plot.  I think the brain is tricked into not remembering (and therefore not becoming bored with) the details of the film (which I have watched year after year) because things don't add up.  Yet, The Big Sleep is still compelling as a series of snappy banters written for Bogie and Bacall interspersed between the great set-pieces that provide the noir atmosphere.  Although not as dark as the later noirs to come, for the private eye genre, this (and The Maltese Falcon) really top the heap. My highest honors.