Reel 7 of the 1945 version of the film contains a scene at the
the District Attorney's office that provides a recap of the movie's events.
The scene occurs just after Marlowe
apprehends Lundgren for the shooting of Brody. Marlowe is taken to the
DA's office by his pal Chief Inspector Bernie Ohlhs (Regis Toomey). The
key events of the movie are perfectly encapsulated in this scene. Deleting this
scene from the 1946 film contributes to the narrative confusion.
What follows is the infamous veil scene. The following day, Marlowe
returns to his office and is confronted by Vivian wearing a veil. Their
conversation lacks gusto; the chemistry from previous scenes is lost.
This was the main scene that prompted Feldman to request the retakes and
its deletion doesn't hurt the 1946 version. Both the DA's office and
the veil scene were replaced with the famous bar scene between Bogart
and Bacall which is one of the highlights of the 1946 version of The
Big Sleep.
When Vivian leaves Eddie Mars' gambling house in reel 8, another retake
was inserted. The scene where Marlowe rescues Vivian from a robbery exists in both the 1945 and the 1946 versions, but in the 1946 version, both Bogart and Bacall are more relaxed and the
scene plays better. Reel 9 of the 1946 version has a scene between
Marlowe and Carmen that is priceless; she sucks her thumb and attempts
to bite Marlowe. The true manic and childish nature of Carmen is shown.
The final retake happens near the end of the film in reel 11. Marlowe
has been captured and tied up by Eddie Mars. He wakes up to find
himself in a room with Vivian and Mona Mars (played by Patricia Clark). In
the 1945 version, the conversation between Marlowe and Mona is a fairly
straightforward reading of lines. Vivian is poorly posed and on her
knees beside Marlowe. In the 1946 retake, a different actress plays
Mona (Peggy Knudsen) and their dialogue is charged with excitement.
Also, Vivian now has better lighting and
more close ups as she sits beside Marlowe. This retake is defintiely superior to the 1945 version.
Ultimately the changes made in 1946 did result in a better film. After
all of these years, the sizzle between Bogart and Bacall still singes.
However the deletion of a plot summarization scene at the District
Attorney's office, helped to make the plot of The Big Sleep a
convoluted muddle.
The DVD transfer of The Big Sleep is less than perfect. For many
scenes the contrast is too dark in the upper left hand corner and too
light on the lower right. The actual labeling of the DVD ranks among
the worst. The versions are indicated by running times only and there is
no way to discern which side should be up. And to make matters worse,
the menu selections on each side are identical! The DVD features a
documentary by Robert Gitt (Preservation Officer at UCLA Film and
Television Archives) who details the differences between the two
versions, production notes, scene access, language selection and a
theatrical trailer.