AIt's mentioned only that Mr Rutledge was married to Vivian but that it didn't work out. Whether they were divorced or he was deceased is not mentioned. In the novel, there was no Mr Rutledge...Vivian was married to Rusty Regan, the guy who disappeared. In order to feature Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (husband and wife in real life) together romantically, it was necessary to separate the Rusty Regan character into separate individuals. Thanks to the Hays Code, which was in effect when this movie was filmed, Marlowe would not have otherwise been allowed to get involved with a married woman.
QA Note Regarding Spoilers
AThe 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.
QHow closely does the movie follow the novel?
AThose who have both seen the movie and read the book say that the movie was confusing to them. Certain things were changed for the movie. For example, the book has several scenes with nudity, which were changed/removed for the film. In the book, Geiger and Carol are homosexual lovers. This is not mentioned in the movie. Vivian is estranged from husband Rusty Regan in the book, and he is the one who had supposedly ran off with Mars' wife. In the movie, this character is broken into two separate individuals. Rutledge is the estranged husband, and Regan (now with the first name Sean) is the fellow that was friendly with General Sternwood and then suddenly disappeared. Finally, the film ends with a verbal explanation of who actually killed Regan. The book concludes with a bizarre scene involving Marlowe giving Carmen shooting lessons and then Marlowe telling Vivian to send her sister off.
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