Review of To Have and Have Not (1945) by Bryan K — 24 Jun 2006

Just watched the confusingly titled [i]To Have and Have Not[/i], and IMDB trivia page shed some light:

[QUOTE]Ernest Hemingway had bet Howard Hawks that Hawks couldn't film this novel. Hawks did it by deleting most of the story, including the class references that would justify the title, and shifting to an earlier point in the lives of the lead characters.[/QUOTE]Anyway, it definitely has some weak moments, but in the end I can't really complain. As trite as it sounds, Bacall and Bogart's delivery, dripping as it is with chemistry, really makes the film. This is predictable, since they met/fell in love on the set. What's surprising is that the dialogue, while very good, isn't better. Why is this surprising? Because Faulkner and Hemingway collaborated on it. I expected incredible; while it's enjoyable, it was by no means mind-blowing. (There are, however, some excellent lines in Slim's reaction to Dolores Moran's character.) The dialogue has also aged somewhat over the years. The dead bee thing and Eddie himself aren't funny, and the famous whistling line isn't even that good--I think people just pin the chemistry on that moment, despite the fact that it's not [i]very[/i] different from all of the Bacall-Bogart scenes.

Bacall's "Slim" is good, and it's forgivable if her character falls too quickly for Bogart's Captain Morgan (who incidentally keeps his friend Eddie drunk throughout). What's less forgivable is Morgan's flat heroism, complete with bravery, cunning, whiny selflessness, medical knowledge, etc., and a few too many "I told you so" moments. Bogart's acting, naturally, is pretty good, though apart from Moran the support is thoroughly mediocre. In the end, though it drags a bit after the first hour, it picks up again at the end when Morgan snaps--not quite [i]Straw Dogs[/i] snaps, but still.

Also interesting, from [i]1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die[/i]:

[QUOTE]When John Huston didn't have an ending for his 1948 Bogart-Bacall thriller [i]Key Largo[/i], Hawks gave him the shootout-on-a-boat finish of Hemingway's novel that he had never got around to including in this film.[/QUOTE]Now I kind of want to see that.