The Big Sleep

Private eye Bogart, hired to investigate a simple blackmail ploy, runs into a series of murders as he falls for Bacall, his client’s somewhat-bad-girl daughter who knows more than she’s letting on.

In a rare case of studio-mandated retakes paying dividends, the dictum from studio head Jack Warner that Hawks play up Bacall and her chemistry with Bogart takes a very good movie and makes it perfect.

Hawks adds two dynamite sequences with the two stars, reshoots a few others (with Bacall’s veil now gone), and then to make room for these scenes, trims all the fat present in the original cut.

The result is even more sexually charged dialogue and a breakneck pace that makes for an immensely entertaining ride. Sure, it’s not completely clear who committed one murder (even Chandler wasn’t sure) but the dangling mystery only adds to the film’s charm and repeat value.