The Big Sleep (BFI Film Classics) – David Thomson

David Thomson is often regarded as the foremost current writer on the movies, and quality of the writing in this is a step up from the other BFI Film Classics that I’ve read. He is also very insightful, making some really interesting points about the creation of Lauren Bacall’s persona, the disparities between book and film, and the impenetrable plot as a forerunner of the nouvelle vague.

The most startling point: in the novel, Marlowe wears a pastel blue suit. Surely not!