To Have and Have Not Reviews

To be honest, even though I’m a huge movie buff, I'm not really familiar with Humphrey Bogart. I mean, I have seen a couple of his movies but not that many. Anyway, I try to catch his movies every time I get the chance and this time, I was really not disappointed. Indeed, this movie is really the stuff of legend. First of all, it was the first movie starring Lauren Bacall and back in those days, she was only 20 years old when she made it and it was also the first movie she made with her future husband, Humphrey Bogart. Furthermore, it was directed by the great Howard Hawks and it is an adaptation of a novel written by Ernest Hemingway. Basically, it doesn't get more prestigious than this, does it? Anyway, the acting was off the charts, the directing was very good and I just really enjoyed the story, basically one of those typical film noir they used to make back then. I mean, it was a rather typical film noir but it was full of awesome one-liners and the tone was just really well set and I thought it was completely entertaining. To conclude, it is really a good classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

"You know Steve, you're not very hard to figure, only at times. Sometimes I know exactly what you're going to say. Most of the time. The other times... the other times, you're just a stinker."

Director Howard Hawks once bet Ernest Hemingway he could make a good film using one of the author's worst books as the source material. Needless to say, Hawks won the bet after creating this exquisite, classy, stylish, slick piece of screen entertainment. The legacy of Bogey and Bacall (i.e. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall) was established in director Howard Hawks' To Have and Have Not.
By the early 1940s, Humphrey Bogart had become a firmly established screen star and a near icon thanks to a string of major movies, including genuine classics such as High Sierra and the unforgettable Casablanca. Betty Perske was a fresh-faced, 19-year-old model from New York who managed to convince Warner Bros. executives to give her a shot at acting. Betty Perske later had her name changed to Lauren Bacall...and the rest is history.

In order to capitalise on the success of Casablanca, Warner Bros. demanded Bogart be returned to his café setting, or something similar. Original script drafts for To Have and Have Not bore many resemblances to Hemingway's novel. But as more drafts were turned in, the script was steadily transformed into an essential Casablanca facsimile. A magnifying glass would be needed to find the crumbs of the novel that remain. Considering the panning taken by Hemingway's novel (even the author reportedly described it as a piece of junk), these changes were wise.

Even with the names of Howard Hawks and Ernest Hemingway slapped onto the film, no-one really cares about that anymore. Now the film is recognised for being the first filmic pairing of Bogey and Bacall. The twosome have become such an iconic and legendary screen couple over the decades. Their chemistry is sizzling. In the original screenplay for To Have and Have Not, Bacall was assigned a reasonably minor role. However, once it was apparent that Bacall and Bogart were burning up the screen together, Hawks re-wrote the script himself to bolster the screen-time of Bacall's character. Following the success of this movie, Howard Hawks went on to direct The Big Sleep featuring the impeccable duo of Bogey and Bacall once again. Hawks decided to emphasise the Bogey and Bacall element in The Big Sleep. Fans of that delicious film noir have often noted that the plot frequently doesn't make sense, but the interaction between Bogart and Bacall is compelling enough to keep even the most inattentive viewer from losing interest.
While filming To Have and Have Not, the two commenced their mutual liking for each other. After production of The Big Sleep wrapped up, Bogey & Bacall married. Bacall was Bogart's fourth wife, and the two remained married until Bogart's death in 1957. The legacy of Bogey & Bacall was preserved in four movies: To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage and Key Largo.

Harry Morgan (Bogart) is an adventurous fishing boat captain operating out of Martinique. He offers his boat for rental, making his living by taking usually tourists out for fishing expeditions. With World War II transpiring around them, Harry and his alcoholic partner Eddie (Brennan) are forced to violate their preferred neutrality when a group of French resistance fighters enter the picture. At first he doesn't want a scrap of it - Harry is not wanting into the politics. However circumstances change when Harry's latest client fails to pay a hefty sum he was looking forward to receiving. (Unfortunately, an unexpected case of death prevented any further dealings between Harry and said client.) Harry also meets French sympathiser and nightclub singer Marie Browning (Bacall), who influences Harry's decision on getting involved with French resistance. When local Gestapo-like officer Captain Renard (Seymour) offers Harry a handsome reward for turning over the French resistance fighters he decided to harbour, Harry must choose between money and principals.

To Have and Have Not is essentially Howard Hawks' answer to Casablanca. There are striking similarities between the two, such as the setting and the nature of a number of the characters. Humphrey Bogart is of course Humphrey Bogart: he's gruff and heroic, and only a female can influence his decisions. Surprisingly, Hawks' film actually stands up when compared to Casablanca. By no means does Hawks even get close to rivalling the 1942 masterpiece, but he's crafted an extremely entertaining and classy film with To Have and Have Not. That said, the film isn't without faults. For its duration the film is fairly uneventful. Where Casablanca moved from one fascinating scene to the next as characters spouted memorable dialogue, To Have and Have Not encompasses a thin premise that is seldom extended. At times the story is fairly feeble. Be that as it may, Howard Hawks' touch is a valuable one. The director knows how to keep an audience riveted. Even with exciting happenings being so few and far between, the dialogue is well-written and the actors are sublime. The black and white photography still looks fantastic. Hawks also keeps things slick and fast-paced, with the infrequent action quite entertaining.

The script combines serious dialogue with subtle comic inclusions and witty lines. Where Casablanca had the piano-playing Sam responsible for the immortal As Time Goes By, Hawks includes American song-writing legend Hoagy Carmichael. Where the actor playing Sam only pretended to play the piano, this is the real deal! We get plenty of his catchy, enjoyable music and have the opportunity to listen to his delightfully laconic, laid-back style.

Humphrey Bogart places forth a trademark performance. He had this style of character down pat by now. The actor was in his 40s at the time, but he still possessed an irresistible charm.
Lauren Bacall was a teenager when the cameras started rolling. At times she appears to have trouble acting. She looks delightful and youthful, but she's occasionally contrived. Bogart appears to take a backseat position as the young Lauren Bacall shines here. It takes no imagination to determine why she so captivated the older Bogart. Only very few actors have had the pleasure of such a memorable screen debut. Her immortal image in the first scene was just a mere hint of the presence that she was to exert in the rest of this film.
Hawks' rewrite of the script was to boost Bacall's role and diminish that of Dolores Moran (at the time apparently the lover of Howard Hawks). Bacall couldn't actually sing, so her singing scenes were dubbed; using the voice as Andy Williams as a replacement.
Bogart's Harry and Bacall's Marie never call each other by their proper names. Instead, they are known as "Slim" and "Steve" - the endearments by which Hawks and his wife addressed each other in real life.
Walter Brennan is suitably irritating as the drunken mate. There are other additions to the cast worth mentioning, but it goes without saying that they are all overtaken by Bogey and Bacall's scorching chemistry.

To Have and Have Not is a generally underappreciated and overlooked entry to Humphrey Bogart's filmography. It's noted mostly for conceiving the legacy of the Bogey and Bacall partnership, but remembered for little else. The film bears little resemblance to the novel that spawned it; however it doesn't matter. This is a highly entertaining movie and an enduring classic. Not quite the calibre of The Big Sleep or Key Largo (the other Bogey/Bacall flicks), but it's of adequate quality. It might be fairly similar to a raft of other Bogart films - most notably Casablanca with which it does have some obvious superficial elements and similarities - yet this one is superior to most. The sheer chemical overload between the leads just adds that additional level of "stuff" that makes the film very memorable and entertaining indeed. A film worth seeing!

8.2/10