Review of Key Largo (1948) by Ben L — 09 Mar 2015

Key Largo is the story of a small hotel in the Florida Keys which is over-run by gangsters who take everyone else in the building hostage during a hurricane. The movie is very compact, and feels like it is merely a stage play captured on camera.

Almost every scene takes place on one of 2 sets, and most of the film is built around verbal sparring rather than physical action. As a result I felt the film was a bit uninteresting, because I never felt much escalation in tension.

However, what holds it together and kept me engaged was the acting performances. Surprisingly the 2 biggest names, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, offered the mildest performances. It was really Edward G.

Robinson as the perfect image of a 1940s gangster, Lionel Barrymore as the big-talking old man, and Claire Trevor as the alcoholic gun moll that stole the show. I particularly liked how this film played with the concepts of what makes up real strength, by showing scenes where the guys with the guns are not the strongest individuals in the room.

If they had played with that more, and even used that in the final climax I think this could have been an even more effective film. Instead they added a strange side plot about the Native Americans that lived in that region, which I didn't feel worked all that well in combination with the rest of the story.

I can see why Key Largo was a classic that resonated with 40s audiences, but aside from some solid acting, I would say this is a film that doesn't really stand the test of time.