It was adapted for the screen by director Billy Wilder and detective novelist Raymond Chandler (who was best known for his character Philip Marlowe, played by Dick Powell inMurder, My Sweet (1944), Humphrey Bogart inThe Big Sleep (1946), and Robert Montgomery inLady in the Lake (1946), among others).Ned pulled a prank on the others, pretending to drown - as an unseen individual watched them from he shore, andAlice found a snake in her cabin, which Bill chopped into pieces with a machete.It's an Irish name.He was born in North Dakota in 1896 and never saw a big city until he came back from France in 1918.He settled in Chicago, where he quickly learned to live and die with the White Sox.Died a little when they lost the 1919 World Series, died a lot the following summer when eight members of the team were accused of throwing hat Series.The living room inside is crowded with talkative young ladies, either playing the piano, lounging around, or complaining o the maid Hattie (Phyllis Kennedy) who is singing an awful-sounding aria while sweeping up broken glass.