Review of Key Largo (1948) by Anthony V — 17 Feb 2011
Key Largo (1948).
This John Huston directed movie is kind of a re-make of Bogart's "Petrified Forest" (1936) where Edward G. Robinson plays the Duke Mantee part. This is a lot better than that film though and well worth you taking a look.
World War II vet, Frank McCloud (Bogart) comes into the Florida Keys to visit the Temple family's hotel. He served with James Temple's (Lionel Barrymore's) son in the army in Italy, and Frank has heard all sorts of things about Key Largo from him. So Frank decided to come and see for himself. Frank also came to tell James and his son's widow, Nora Temple (Lauren Bacall) about what a hero the son was.
What he finds is that the hotel has been commandeered by an ex-gangster, Johnny Rocco and his men. Rocco is trying to buy his way back into The States by bringing in some counterfeit bills from Cuba. There's a hurricane approaching and the local police are sniffing about. Rocco's gangster mall, Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor) has become an alcoholic and this hasn't improved on Johnny's mood either.
Frank has no desire to be a dead hero, where the Temples seems to enjoy spitting in Johnny Rocco's face and telling him what they think of him. But, this guy and his men are dangerous characters. Is Frank going to step-up and do something about this?
This review of Key Largo (1948) was written by Anthony V on 17 Feb 2011.
Key Largo has generally received very positive reviews.
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