"The Big Sleep": chiaroscuro, ingenues, labyrinthine plot

chiaroscuro [kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh]
interplay of light and shadow; of light and darkness

I just love that word. I like the sound of it: musical and beautiful. The sound is like the sounds of beautiful American Indian names - such as Tawakanee [tuh wah' kah nee], which is another word I love to say, and which I sometimes repeat several times, just for the pleasure of saying it and listening to it: Tawakanee Tawakanee Tawakanee wahkuh wahkuh wahkuh ( wahkuh wahkuh like the Pac Men in the video game).


Last night, watched "The Big Sleep" on YouTube. Lauren Bacall's profile is amazing. The women in the movie are gorgeous, and it's a running joke (or should be a running joke) that every woman is half Bogart's age and yet falls for Bogart's Phillip Marlowe, including:

Bacall's character's sister, played by the drop dead gorgeous Martha Vickers.

Dorothy Malone:



Dorothy Malone had a nice career in Hollywood. If you're my age, you might remember that she played an authoress who was one of Sharon Stone's lovers in Basic Instinct

Even Joy Barlowe, a barely known actress in a tiny, uncredited role, was charming in an American girl way. You can watch Joy at this link, at 7:45 and at 8:45.


Excellent "The Big Sleep" webpage. Identifying photos of all actors.