An inept and possibly corrupt L.A. police captain, Cronjager dislikes private detective Philip Marlowe’s involvement in the Arthur Gwynn Geiger murder case. Marlowe tells Cronjager to his face that the police are neglecting their duties by “allowing” illegal pornography stores like Geiger’s to operate in plain sight. However, the newspapers portray Cronjager as the hero captain who solved the case, highlighting the multiple layers of corruption in the city.
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Captain Cronjager – Character Timeline in The Big Sleep
The timeline below shows where the character Captain Cronjager – appears in The Big Sleep. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 18
...to a study. Inside, Wilde is smoking a cigar and drinking coffee as “cold-eyed” Captain Cronjager looks at the group. Ohls introduces the captain and Marlowe.
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Ohls asks Cronjager how he’s progressing on finding Joe Brody’s murderer. The police have picked up Agnes, and...
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Ohls tells Cronjager he has the suspect in his car right outside, and puts the gun on the...
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Helping Cronjager catch up on the situation, Ohls explains the dead man was a driver for a...
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Cronjager accuses Marlowe of allowing Joe Brody’s murder to take place by not telling the police...
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Cronjager asks why Lundgren would have hidden the body. Marlowe suggests it would have given the...
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...his client, and expects the Sternwoods’ names to be left out of the write up. Cronjager cries “Hah!” and Wilde asks Marlowe why.
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...sight, which would be embarrassing for the police if the whole story came to light. Cronjager takes that moment to leave, and Ohls follows him to hand over Lundgren.
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Wilde offers soothing words to Marlowe, excusing Cronjager’s anger. The district attorney tells Marlowe he’ll need to write statements, and asks why the...
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Chapter 19
...of the stories as agreed. Owen’s death is not connected to the other murders. Captain Cronjager supposedly solved the other cases—Brody supposedly shot Geiger and Lundgren shot Brody in revenge. Marlowe...
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