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The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
Yes. The Big Sleep (1939) is a pulp crime novel written by American-born author, Raymond Chandler. It is the first novel to feature Chandler's famous detective, Philip Marlowe.
The "big sleep" is a euphemism for death.
Those who have both seen the movie and read the novel say that the movie was confusing to them until they read the book, so it seems likely that the book provides a lot more detail than the movie. Whether to read the book first and then see the movie or vice versa seems to be personal judgment.
Neither the movie nor the book tells. It's rumored that even author Raymond Chandler had no idea when that question was put to him by the screenwriters. Those who have seen the movie and/or read the book are split over it being (1) Brody, (2) Lundgren, or (3) that the chauffeur killed himself.
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