Lauren Bacall Is Luminous In “The Big Sleep”

Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep is on the shortlist of essential noirs: it’s fast-paced, cynical and razor-sharp, with a very young Lauren Bacall playing Vivian Rutledge, whose half-sister Carmen (Martha Vickers) has fallen in with a den of pornographers. Humphrey Bogart plays Raymond Chandler’s world-weary private eye Philip Marlowe. As… Continue reading

Raymond Shaw Is the Kindest, Bravest, Warmest, Most Wonderful Human Being I’ve Ever Known In My Life

  All white-knuckle paranoia and crisply-photographed Cold War flop sweat, John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate jangles nerves by diving into the heart of mid-century America’s deepest fears. Chinese operatives capture an American patrol that’s been lured off the beaten track during the Korean War. The soldiers are brainwashed, provided with… Continue reading