The Big Sleep is a crime novel that was written in 1939 by Raymond Chandler. During the time of its publishing, the Motion Picture Production Code, also known more popularly as the Hays code, was implemented and continually working to virtually sensor every film that came out during its reign. Because the Hays Code was a set of industry moral …show more content…
In short, it seems that the answer is yes, and also no. In The Big Sleeps defense, it was frankly impossible to truly remain faithful to the book, so that should be noted when talking about fidelity in the first place. Can we necessarily argue for the fidelity of a film when it was simply impossible to do so? If an adaption, though different in aspects from the book, can still manage to go on and not only claim a title such as itself, but also be a pioneer in a cultural movement within film, it can be argued that adaptations don’t necessarily need to remain faithful to its book counterpart, but maybe in some sense hold a responsibility to bring something new to the table whether it’s through cinematic style, making a political statement, etc. In concerns to the conscious decision to depart from the book, while the romance was a new addition to the plot, it seems that without it, the film would have fallen apart. The Big Sleep presents a fairly confusing narrative, however Bogart and Bacall’s relationship presents a sense of familiarity and perhaps comfort. In some ways as an audience, we can understand at least how this situation [their romance] will go, allowing us to hold onto something throughout the