To Have and Have Not (1944)
Genre: Thriller / War
Duration: 100 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Howard Hawks
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Walter Brennan
IMDb score:
7,8 (41.726)
Releasedate: 20 January 1945
To Have and Have Not plot
"TALK ABOUT T.N.T! THIS is IT!"
On the island of Martinique, American captain Harry 'Steve' Morgan, along with his loyal and alcohol-addicted friend Eddie, rent out his sea-fishing boat to tourists. Steve has a tempestuous love affair with young Marie "Slim" Browning, who works as a singer at his favorite bar. But things haven't gone so well for Steve since World War II broke out. When a customer doesn't pay, Steve gets into trouble with the local police and has to give up his neutrality when he takes on a dangerous job for the French Resistance in order to earn income.
Actors and actresses
Harry Morgan
Eddie
Marie Browning
Mme. Hellene de Bursac
Cricket
Lt. Coyo
Paul de Bursac
Gerard 'Frenchy'
Fishing Customer Johnson
Capt. M. Renard
Reviews & comments
Kiekerjan
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- 119 messages
- 106 votes
A minor war drama/romantic comedy with a story that doesn't begin until the film ends. The story is set in Martinique, an island in the Caribbean under the rule of Vichy France. The central 'hub' is a Hotel-Café, where the rebels hatch their plans. Naturally, an inevitable 'lady' is thrown into the story who enters into a rather muddled romance with ex-pat Bogart. It is not an uninteresting history, but I generally felt little involved. Many characters feel caricatured or insufficiently developed. There is (too) much inappropriate comic relief in it; not only drunk Eddie, but also the corrupt police chief is more likely to laugh. Bogart himself is a little less rigid than usual, but his nonchalant attitude also dispels any form of tension and empathy. I never got the impression that anything was really at stake. The attention seems to be more focused on the shaky romance between the two protagonists. However, I didn't think their bizarre back-and-forths showed extraordinary chemistry. The dialogues now and then tend to the ridiculous and seem more at home in a screwball comedy. Hawks may not have been the ideal person for this job. Although the sets are atmospheric and somewhere there must be a good story, I thought it came across a bit too farcical to count on any interest.
Translated from Dutch · View original
IH88
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- 9903 messages
- 3205 votes
“By the way, what are your sympathies?”
“Minding my own business.”
Superb classic with Bogart and Lauren Bacall in her debut role. The chemistry between Bacall and Bogart is immediately apparent, and it doesn't surprise me that a love affair has developed on set. The story of To Have and Have Not is also interesting, and the combination of suspense, humor, romance and adventure is perfect.
Director Howard Hawks has made a film in which we see the danger and consequences of the Second World War, but where there is also enough room for humor, light scenes and razor-sharp dialogues. The last scene with Bacall is exemplary for the entire movie. Nice music, Bogart, Walter Brennan as the constantly drunk Eddie and the beautiful Bacall… Enough to enjoy.
Translated from Dutch · View original
starbright boy (moderator films)
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- 22749 messages
- 5356 votes
As noted here before, this was a Hemingway film adaptation with Faulkner as the screenwriter. In terms of plot, the film seems to deviate strongly from Hemingway's novels and to be one of the reasons that he did not have a high opinion of film adaptations of his stories. He once said that only The Killers captured the essence of what he wrote and all the other films did not.
Let's be honest, this film is mainly intended to have Bogart play a Casablanca-like role two years later with Bacall in the Bergman role. Boagart again as an American in an exotic place in role that suggests a man with a complicated past. There is a cafe, a nice pianist and the French Resistance. Bacall (discovery of Hawks and his wife) debuts here. Bogart and Bacall fell in love during the shooting and it shows. The chemistry drips off the screen. Bogart would divorce his wife and eventually marry Bacall and according to everyone and everything they were a very happy couple until Bogart's death.
I find that despite that chemistry the two have this less than Casablanca. That's mostly a plot thing. Despite two Nobel prize winners, that is not great and the film mainly gets its strength from dialogues and atmosphere.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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