I just watched The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep back-to-back. The films, based on novels by Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler respectively, offer Humphrey Bogart the opportunity to set his reputation as a private dick in what would become known as film noir. They’re both excellent films.

What makes The Big Sleep memorable are several things. First, there’s the convuluted plot…no one I know can actually figure out the mystery with any certainty. But that’s certainly not the point. Instead, the detective narrative seems to be an excuse to let Philip Marlowe (Bogart) and Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall) start a romance. And what a romance it is—filled with witty banter, whisky voices, and innuendo (similar to their relationship in To Have and Have Not). They have, for lack of a better word, the chemistry lacking in so many contemporary romances. And did I mention that Bogart has a fine sense of comedic timing? Watch for his turn as an undercover book collector!

In fact, the bottom line? Just watch it. You won’t be disappointed.