The Big Sleep

"You know what he'll do when he comes back? Beat my teeth out, then kick me in the stomach for mumbling."

"You know what he'll do when he comes back? Beat my teeth out, then kick me in the stomach for mumbling."

Written by William Faulkner. From the novel by Raymond Chandler. Directed by Howard Hawks. 1946.

In praise of style above all else here, and there's nothing but praise for this: it's nifty the way Marlowe and Ohls light up in that hallway. Marlowe tosses his match to the floor. Behind him are a cigarette bin and a firehose. Almost as nifty as a tossed salute from a doorway to the tune of "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine."