THE BIG SLEEP (1946) Greenhouse and Plot

The Big Sleep - Analysis

The greenhouse scene within the Sternwood mansion could represent the “world” Marlowe is about to enter when agreeing to take on the blackmail case. The humid heat of General Sternwood’s greenhouse reflects the sort of hellish nature and corrupt ways in which the individuals carry on in this film. The trail of lust, greed, and crime within the film’s plot is translated by the cruel environmental conditions of the greenhouse. From the very moment Marlowe walks into the mansion he is tempted and seduced by vices. When Carmen meets Marlowe in the hallway, she tries to peak his sexual curiosity. Alas, Carmen’s character is only an introduction to the perverse world he is about to uncover.

General Sternwood may have seemed innocent and nonthreatening to Marlowe, but I feel that the General is an example of what happens to strong-willed men when their integrity is challenge. Although the movie does not indicate how the General became so feeble and ill, I feel that the General is a reflection of what Marlowe will become if he falls to the many temptations which plague him throughout the film. General Sternwood pushes Marlowe’s vices to the surface by immediately offering him to drink heavily upon meeting him. Marlowe even comments about the sweltering heat of the sauna-like greenhouse and suggests “It’s too hot in here for any man who has blood running through his veins.” Although he was joking, Sternwood agrees with Marlowe and says, “That man is already dead who must indulge his own vices by proxy.” I think that Sternwood has hired Marlowe to solve a case, but the subtext suggests that the General wants to experience this case (and all the “evil” that follows) through Marlow. Just as the General hired Regan for companionship, yet he was more interested in sharing his vices. Thus, if Sternwood could carry himself on his own two feet, he probably would have no need for Marlowe. I don’t think that General Sternwood was leading with evil intentions, but I do believe that General Sternwood did represent a shell of a man who was once tempted by the common vices which Los Angeles’ dark sided nightlife had to offer. This film purposely tries to confuse the audience and eludes us from seeing the inner core of the narrative, situations within the plot and the intentions of all the characters.

Everything within the Sternwood mansion’s at first appearance is obliviously luxurious, clean, and magnificent. Alas, every turn within the mansion, Marlowe is faced with seductions that create a darker narrative subtext within the film. Both Carmen and Vivian are dangerously beautiful, extremely enticing but suspicious, which is like the allure of the wealthy “underworld” life in LA. I believe that the greenhouse Marlowe soon enters in after meeting Carmen represents the subtext of the underworld which exists for our affluent characters. The hot and humid environment of the greenhouse scene expresses the “evil” and “despair” in a hell-like place known as LA; it encompasses gambling, perverse fetishes, alcohol, murder, adultery, and blackmail for the elite of the city. Marlowe soon become entangles within the vicious world of murder, where human life means so little to our characters, and no person is safe.

The Big Sleep’s plot seems to be deliberately confusing because audiences learn clues just as Marlowe is learning them. Marlowe learns from Mars that Carmen killed Regan due to her obsession with him; we finally discover the mystery behind Regan’s disappearance. The film’s use of heavy dialogue early on in the film doesn’t help explain much about WHO does WHAT and to/with WHOM. It is almost impossible to follow each “door” of clues that reveals itself to Marlowe, which always leads to yet another murder. I think there is more of an emphasis on the communication that exists between the characters and how they react to no another within the narrative. Thus, The Big Sleep seems to be an examination of the characters within the film which focuses their relationships with one another rather than a search for the murder(s). Marlowe shows a lack of appreciation for, or disconnection to, human life and he shows little compassion for those who are murdered. Marlowe almost seems like he feels that those that died actually deserved it (except for Regan) for “playing with fire”. This is displayed when Marlowe’s reaction to Harry Jones’ death is nil. Although Marlowe has a bit of respect for Harry Jones’ character because he sees him as an honorable guy (unlike any other character in this “underworld” version of LA), Marlowe is only slightly unmoved by Jones’ murder. Throughout The Big Sleep, our protagonist continues to search for truth in the face of the antagonists threats. In the end, Marlowe’s plan to pin Eddie Mars is fueled by his love for Vivian.

This movie reminds viewers not to dig to deep into the unknown because what you may experience there may never allow you to be the same again. What started out as a simple chase for the blackmailing culprit soon became a search for Regan, a quest for truth, a battle against temptation and evil, a struggle to survive, and a fight for love. Eventually, Marlowe finds himself in a situation where he has killed someone and must cover for a gal whom he is unsure of, Vivian, from the police. Although Marlowe finds himself in a deep hole, I believe his saving grace was the relationship that developed between him and Vivian. Without Vivian, Marlowe would not have escaped the house where Canino kept him captive. In my opinion, it is a bit odd that Marlowe has fallen for a woman who is the spitting image of him in a dress, only “a little dumber”, as Marlowe put it. At any rate, I’d like to believe that it was his love for Vivian that allows him freedom from the pits of “the greenhouse”, and returns him to his former world where ordinary people aren’t involved in so much seediness. One thing that does hold true throughout this film is the idea that “when you’re digging up dirt, all you get is dirty.”