To Have and Have Not (1945)

A great noir movie. Full of obvious plot and snappy dialogue, this movie is especially memorable as Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogarts first movie together, and they are both in their primes.Her as a beautiful siren and him as a man's man, full of fair play and banter, with the odd knuckle sandwich thrown in. Well worth it.

Probably best described as Casablanca on water. The attraction is of course Bogart and Bacall who spend quite a bit of time teasing each other. Walter Brennan is good as usual too. 3.5 stars

The French island of Martinique in the Carribean was administered by the Vichy government during the Nazi occupation of France during WW2, with the French underground active there as well as in France. Harry (Humphrey Bogart), an expatriate American, earns a living taking tourists deep-sea fishing out of Fort-de France. His client that day, a supposedly wealthy American, is inept enough to lose his rod and line overboard and ends up owing Harry $825, which he will hand over when he goes to the bank in the morning. But his wallet is neatly taken off him that evening in the hotel restaurant where everybody socializes, by a young American woman, Marie (Lauren Bacall). Harry sees it happen and confronts her, but on examining the contents, discovers the tourist has an airline ticket to fly out early next morning and had no intention of paying him. Harry buttonholes the tourist and forces him to write a traveller's cheque, which brings him to regard Marie rather more kindly, especially when she tells him she's desperate for money so that she can fly home. While they are enjoying a drink in Harry's hotel room, Free French activists pay a visit and try to persuade him to rescue two important resistance fighters stranded along the coast. Harry doesn't want to get mixed up in any political standoff but, as the French are willing to pay, sees a way of raising money for Marie's airline ticket. Apart from it being a darn good yarn, adapted very freely from the Hemingway novel, this movie also has the huge impact of two of Hollywood's greatest stars acting in romantic roles on screen, at the same time as they are falling in love in real life. Lauren Bacall's first feature film, her performance is nothing less than mesmerizing. There is also wonderful footage of that fascinating musician, Hoagy Carmichael, as Cricket, performing in the hotel restaurant. With a slightly similar story, this movie is a worthy successor to Casablanca, made two years earlier. (Note that Harry addresses Marie as 'Slim', and Marie addresses Harry as 'Steve', names, so it is said, that the director, Howard Hawks and his wife called each other).

Very enjoyable film, if you like Casablanca (and who doesnt) then you will like this. The story is quite similar in that it is set during WW2, in an exotic French colony and stars Bogart as an American ex-pat who doesnt want to get involved in helping the resistance but of course does. The movie boasts some pretty heavy weight talent, directed by Howard Hawks, the great Hoagy Carmichael as the piano player, Walter Brennan as the drunken sidekick, based on a Hemmingway story and adapted for the screen by William Faulkner, whew! But of course the reason everyone remembers this film is for the stunning debut of beautiful, 19 year old Lauren Bacall and the hot, hot, hot chemistry she had with her leading man and future husband, Humphrey Bogart. Definitely a must see.

Electric chemistry between two superstars of Hollywood's golden era. Great for a romantic night in. And don't miss the DVD extras - the cartoon spoof of the movie is very funny.