Raymond Chandler's hardboiled mystery thriller The Big Sleep (1939) is the first in his famed series about investigator Philip Marlowe. The novel was turned into a film twice, initially in 1946 and again in 1978.
Various individuals double-cross each other and many secrets are revealed throughout the novel, which adds to the story's intricacy. The title refers to a contemplation in the book about "sleeping the grand slumber," which is a euphemism for death.