'The Big Sleep' [1978]
If you've watched the 1946 version of 'The Big Sleep' or read Raymond Chandler's novel and ever though to yourself, "I wonder if this would work if it were set in 1970's English suburbia..?", then director Michael Winner has provided you here with the answer: It would not.
Robert Mitchum plays Philip Marlowe for the second time, but with even less conviction than before. He has a sleepy look anyway, and he shows no sign that he was conscious during the filming. It's a shame, as he has a terrific cast to play with - James Stewart, John Mills, Edward Fox, Sarah Miles, Joan Collins, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, Colin Blakeley, Richard Todd and a whole host of I-know-your-face British character actors. How Winner got everyone onboard is extraordinary.
The film plays out very similarly to the more well-known 1946 version, albeit with more license to show more skin as well as delve into aspects that were only hinted at before. Geiger is unequivocally a pornographer here, although the 'dirty books' he makes seem a bit quaint even for the late 70s. The film comes across as a big-budgeted version of the old TV show 'The Sweeney'; I loved seeing the old cars, fashions and even locales of my youth, even when the story wasn't particularly gripping.
Acting is very hit and miss here. Candy Clark as the strung-out Camilla Sternwood is terribly over-the-top, and others, like Mills and Fox, are little more than cameos. Even Reed isn't shown much, although he makes it seem like he's there longer. He is in fine Reed form, brooding, tightly-wound and the most exciting presence overall. Stewart is also excellent, adding lustre to this turd; Sarah Miles is no Bacall and the chemistry with Mitchum is zero, but she's better than Collins, if that needed stating.
The plot isn't much easier to comprehend here either, although Winner at least comes up with an explanation for whatever happened to the chauffeur. Still, why on earth did anyone think this gritty 30s LA thriller could work as a contemporary English film? It's all very odd. I cannot recommend it as being a good film - it isn't - but it's so unusual and with such a great cast that it perhaps requires viewing at least once.