“…giggles when she sees a murder.”

PM, August 18, 1946

“THE BIG SLEEP, Humphrey Bogart’s and Lauren Bacall’s latest movie sets a new high in decadence and violence: The picture contains at least seven murders, one by cyanide poisoning, one by drowning and the rest by shooting. Characters include a private detective, who was kicked off the police force for insubordination; two ex-rum runners; a dealer in pornographic books and pictures; a chauffeur who once fought in the Irish Republican Army; a homosexual murderer; a big-time gambler; three blackmailers; a girl, who was the mistress of three murdered men; the operator of a stolen car racket; the faithful wife of a gangster; a girl who sucks her thumb and giggles when she sees a murder; an old, dying man who says of his daughters: “Vivian is spoiled and exacting… Carmen is a child who likes to pull wings off flies… I presume they both had and still have all the usual vices.”