Review of Key Largo (1948) by Kylie P — 26 Jan 2010
From January 1, 2007:
Key Largo is classic 40s noir, a drama with dark undercurrents but remiss of any witty repartee between Bogey and Bacall. This was strictly a drama without romance. There were shared looks that sizzled but none of those crackling one-liner exchanges that characterized some of their other flicks.
Claire Trevor won an Oscar for her supporting turn as Gaye, Rocco's booze-hound of a girlfriend. She was an excellent addition to the cast because her obsession with alcohol and drunken remarks provided the comic relief.
Ultimately, this was a story about purpose and self-forgiveness. The trouble is, this story unfolded very slowly, and some of the scenes were highly verbose. Rocco had lots of big speeches to make, and he seemed to have more lines than any other character.
This film was also about heroism and making a difference, even when one thinks s/he is in whatever it is for purely selfish reasons. To that end, Frank has his day, which gives the film a satisfying ending. It took a long time to get there, though, and used quite a few speeches about the state of then-society to drive Frank's character to become involved.
This review of Key Largo (1948) was written by Kylie P on 26 Jan 2010.
Key Largo has generally received very positive reviews.
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