The Big Sleep
written by:
Raymond Chandler
Jared Pieck
Sean Stout
Ashlie Thomas
Topics to be Discussed
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The Biography of Raymond Chandler
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“Film Noir”
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The development of Los Angeles during the
1930s.
Biography of Raymond Chandler
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Born July 23, 1888 in Chicago, Illinois.
Lived in England with his mother from 1896
to 1912.
Served with the Canadian Army and Royal
Flying Corps during World War I.
Biography Continued
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Moved back to California in 1916 and
served as a petroleum company executive
until Great Depression in the 1930’s
Chandler lost his job due to drinking and
absenteeism and therefore turned to writing
as a career.
Biography Continued
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His first short story, “Blackmailers Don’t
Shoot,” was published in a science fiction
magazine called The Black Mask. He
become a screenwriter in 1943.
Altogether he published a total of 7 novels
and 19 short stories, along with several
screenplays.
Biography Continued
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Chandler died on March 26, 1959.
He passed away before finishing his
current novel, Poodle Spring.
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The Big Sleep (1939)
Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
The High Window (1942)
The Lady in the Lake (1943)
The Little Sister (1949)
The Long Goodbye (1953)
Playback (1958)
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The Big Sleep was Chandler’s first novel.
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Los Angeles
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“In 1932, with population
surpassing one million, the
city hosted the Summer
Olympics.”
(Wikipedia)
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“Los Angeles's literary side
includes Raymond Chandler,
whose hard-boiled detective
stories were set in pre-war
and immediate post-war
L.A.”
(Wikipedia)
Raymond Chandler’s Influences
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“Chandler’s short stories
and novels are evocatively
written, conveying the
time, place, and ambience
of Los Angeles in the
1930s and 1940s. The
places are real such as
Bay City which is Santa
Monica, Gray Lake which
is Silver Lake, and Idle
Valley a synthesis of rich
San Fernando Valley
communities.”
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-california/SantaMonicaPier-
(Wikipedia)
600.jpg
Film Noir
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Defines a “style” or “genre” of cinematography
and story-telling from the early 1920s through the
1950s. Some analysts theorize that “Film Noir”
never disappeared, only changed with technology
and trends.
Characterized by intense shadows (often from
surrounding architecture,) mystery, and “realism”
The Big Sleep

Philip Marlowe untangles the
web of deceit laid by Vivian
Sternwood Rutledge and
casino-owner Eddie Mars
while scouring the maze of
underworld L.A. for a missing
bootlegger and Vivian’s wild
and unpredictable younger
sister, Carmen.
http://steerforth.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/big_sleep1.jpg
The Big Sleep
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Co-written by William Faulkner
The second film starring Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall, who had married in 1945
Based of Raymond Chandler’s novel, but
adapted for screen, including additional scenes
not present in the original text.
Provides a full glimpse into the slurry of
questionable individuals within criminal
underworld, including blackmailers, bootleggers,
hitmen, pornographers and drug dealers.
Double Indemnity
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The tragic tale of an insurance
salesman and corrupt wife of an
unappreciative middle-age man,
marked for murder
“William Neff” and “Phyllis
Dietrichson” carry on an affair,
killing her husband and framing
the death as an accidental fall
from a train, resulting in “double
indemnity” compensation from the
company Neff represents;
however, insurance fraud
investigator “Keyes” remains
suspicious…
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yNWpAzy8L.jpg
Double Indemnity (1947)
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Co-written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder
The twisting plot largely concerns the internally
“noir” struggle of William Neff, a man fallen in love
with a married woman and the desires they hold
for a new start.
Killer’s Kiss
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“Davey Gordon,” a
washed-up boxer meets
“Gloria Price,” a dancer
controlled by the heavy
hand of her lover Vincent
Raphello
Climaxes in the most
famous scene, an
axe/spear fight in a dark
mannequin warehouse
http://www.kqed.org/assets/img/arts/blog/killerskiss.jpg
Killer’s Kiss (1955)
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Co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick
This being Kubrick’s second film, and first sold
for world-wide distribution, it is the beginning of
his legacy, although he later regarded the film
as amateurish and cliché.
Kubrick later went on to participate and direct
such classics as:
“A Clockwork Orange”
“The Shining,”
“Full Metal Jacket”
“2001: A Space Odyssey”
“Eyes Wide Shut”
“Lolita”
“Spartacus”
“Dr. Strangelove”
References

Pierce, Kingston, J. "Raymond Chandler." Authors and Creators, Raymond
Chandler. 21 Oct 2008
<http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/chandler.html>.
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"Raymond Chandler." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. 21 Oct 2008
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105426/Raymond-Chandler>.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Chandler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_culture_of_Los_Angeles
References
Chapman, M. (n.d.). Biography for Stanley Kubrick. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Internet Movie Database:
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000040/bio>
Col Needham. (n.d.). Plot Summary of Double Indemnity. Retrieved Novemeber 1, 2008, from Internet Movie Database:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/plotsummary>
Stephan, E. (n.d.). Mini-Biography of Humphrey Bogart. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Internet Movie Database:
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000007/bio>
Wolters, L. (n.d.). Summary of Killer's Kiss. Retrieved November 01, 2008, from Internet Movie Database:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048254/plotsummary>
Killer's Kiss (1955) 2.JPG. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2008, from The Distracted Globe:
<http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/01/15/killer%E2%80%99s-kiss-1955/>
Killer's Kiss, .JPG. (2006, December 18). Retrieved Novemeber 1, 2008, from KQed:
<http://www.kqed.org/arts/movies/article.jsp?essid=12740>
http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/01/15/killer%E2%80%99s-kiss-1955/