To Have and Have Not (1945)

taut drama with outstanding, memorable performances

To Have And Have Not is absolutely an essential film for your classic movie collection. This motion picture boasts great performances by Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael. Dan Seymour is also very convincing as the Vichy government's Captain Renard; and look also for a great job by Walter Brennan as Eddie.

When the action starts we quickly meet Harry Morgan and his sidekick Eddie (Walter Brennan). Harry runs a fishing boat day trip business in the port of Martinique just after France fell to the Germans in World War II. Even though the Vichy government controls Martinique as well, Harry gets good business from an American man simply named Johnson (Walter Sande). Johnson owes Harry a lot of money and he is just about to finally pay his bill when he dies in a hotel shootout. It's at the hotel Harry meets a young runaway, the lovely and very self-assured Marie 'Slim' Browning (Lauren Bacall) who tries to help Harry get his money by "lifting" Johnson's wallet.

It's also not long before Harry and Marie (who call each other Steve and "Slim," respectively) begin a romance that was inevitably so convincing because they were falling in love with each other when they were filming this picture!

Eventually, Frenchy, (Marcel Dalio), the man who runs the hotel where they are staying, needs Harry to "do a favor" for some French resistance fighters. Harry is asked to make a dangerous night trip to pick up Paul de Bursac (Walter Szurovy) and his wife Hellene (Dolores Moran) who are on a mission to rescue somebody from Devil's Island and return him to Martinique to fight the Nazis. This request makes Harry bristle because he just doesn't want to get involved with politics. Indeed, Harry doesn't like dangerous missions either. However, Harry soon caves in and does the risky boat trip with his sidekick Eddie who snuck on board the small boat before Harry pulled out of port.

Harry and the resistance fighters don't truly get along but Harry transcends being small by helping them more and more, little by little. There's some tension between Marie when she sees that the resistance fighter's wife may be after Harry, too. Look also for Hoagy Carmichael to play the piano wonderfully and Lauren Bacall sings a couple of songs in this flick as well.

Questions arise, naturally: Will Harry become attracted to the resistance fighter's wife and dump Marie? What happens after Paul de Bursac is shot during Harry's dangerous boat trip? Will they still be able to fight off the Vichy government's Captain Renard and the rest? No spoilers here--watch the movie and find out! Yes, I know; this is not exactly the same story as it was written by Hemingway. However, the script works so well the quality of this film simply cannot be ignored. There are also comparisons between this film and the film Casablanca; but that topic has been dealt with so many times I won't trouble the reader by going into that yet another time here.

The DVD comes with some nice extras. There is a "making of" featurette and we also get a vintage "Merrie Melodies" cartoon, Bacall To Arms. There is the trailer as well.

Overall, To Have And Have Not is a wonderful addition to anyone's collection if they like the classics. It is filmed in black and white to highlight the darkness of the situation and the black and white is also very artistic.
December 28, 2008

Here, Bogie & Bacall "Have Not" got "It"

Howard Hawks' adaptation of Hemingway's TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT is, despite its popularity, a flawed work.

For one, teenaged fashion model Lauren Bacall had NO training to be an actress. She's called upon in her screen debut to sing a few times and does so in a weak, wavery low alto. And the woman had an odd face. If she was a bit younger, Bogie might've gotten arrested for pedophilia-- which is another problem the film has: their disparity in age.

The SLOW-moving story is interrupted for songs by Hoagy Carmichael; a talented composer who is ALSO unable to sing. His bar room piano player scenes seem a desperate attempt to recapture the magic of CASABLANCA-- but here, the rabbit died in the magician's hat.

Walter Brennan's drunken sidekick role is unpleasant to watch; he takes Bogie's abuse and comes back for more, like a desperate dog. Sheldon Leonard as the evil police lieutenant is uninteresting without his famous "racetrack tout" voice ("Hey!... c'mereeee...").

I love Bogart-- own 25 of his best films. This is my least favorite of all, however. The picture's one saving grace is Dolores Moran, who is a true beauty in every sense of the word: great legs, a perfect face, and excellent screen presence. If I ever watch this one again, it will only be to see her. A real disappointment overall!


Bogart does a delightful comic turn in ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1941), his follow-up to "The Maltese Falcon." Also in the cast are Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Judith Anderson, Bill Demerest and Barton MacLane.


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.

(8.1) To Have and Have Not (1944) - Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall/Dolores Moran/Walter Brennan/Hoagy Carmichael/Sheldon Leonard November 24, 2008

Lesser Bogart vehicle

I was disappointed with this filming of the Hemingway story at a number of levels. The performances of Bogart and Bacall were the only signs of life in this otherwise dull and unimaginative film. The direction of Howard Hawks is largely to blame. While his early work has a certain excitement appropriate to its subject matter, by the late 30s he was already exhibiting signs of his worst excesses in films like "Bringing Up Baby" and "Only Angels Have Wings".

"To Have and Have Not" isn't so much a bad film as just an excruciatingly dull one. Hawks made a film on the bet that he could make a film out of Hemingway's worst novel. Unfortunately, this gimmicky approach is evident in the film's story. Hawks' unerring "professionalism" is a real liability for the characters. Bogart is not allowed the moments of introspection and weakness that made his Rick Blaine in "Casablanca" such an enduring, iconic character in the cinema. Hawks plays everything at a medium pitch, unwilling to really let his characters or his camera breathe. There is, to be fair, a justifiably praised on-screen chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, though their best scenes together seem to belong in a different film. Hawks allows himself a witless comic relief character in the form of Walter Brennan, whose presence marred many otherwise good films of the period (Brennan was actually a very gifted character actor, but was dreadfully overused throughout much of his career).

Finally, one has to wonder just what it is about the film that has earned it such praise over the years. It has much to do with the auteurist cult of Howard Hawks, undoubtedly. It's not a great film, though, and not even a good one. Curtiz achieved a far wider breadth of character and emotional intensity in "Casablanca", a film that Hawks' picture tries hard to be. Bogart and Bacall were probably better-served in Hawks' "The Big Sleep" two years later, in which they had better characters to sink their teeth into.

As Hawks' work goes, it's a largely unimportant work, significantly less important than "Scarface" or even relatively minor efforts such as "The Crowd Roars" and "Barbary Coast", which at least are more successful for what they are. October 26, 2008

On My Must-Have List

No, it's not CASABLANCA - that's kinda the point. It's a smaller, more precious version of essentially the same story line, and it's got Bogie falling head over heels for Bacall right in front of your eyes. Okay okay, so she doesn't sing that well - who needs singing when you've got a face like that? A classic. An essential. July 14, 2008

To Have and Have Not

The first pairing of Bogart & Bacall is electric, the on-screen chemistry is undeniable. Of course, we have hindsight now & we know that they did have an affair & that they did get married in real life. Bacall's first performance as a mere 19 year old is fascinating & magnetic.

The movie is based on an Ernest Hemingway novel on the same name. The director, Howard Hawks, had been wanting to make a movie based on a Hemingway work for years & he finally got to do this one. The movie itself is dramatically different than the novel. William Faulkner, a favorite of Hawks, was brought in to make changes to the script to make it more acceptable, not only to movie goers but also the Roosevelt administration. It was noted early on in the filming of the movie that something magical was going on on-screen between Bogart & Bacall, so the part of Slim (Bacall) was increased while the part of the other leading lady, Dolores Moran, was decreased.

The story takes place during WWII on the tiny island of Martinique in the Caribbean. Martinique was a French possession but France had already fallen to the Third Reich at the time of this story. An agent of Free France is sent in to rescue a man from Devil's Island. Bogart is hired to pick up the agent & delivered to Martinique to institute the plan. The agent is wounded so Bogey ends up doing more than he bargained for.

The story lingers on the budding romance between Bogart & Bacall. The rest of the story becomes secondary to this. Walter Brennan is featured in a role of a drunk who nearly ruins the plans of Bogey. There are many similarities between this movie & Casablanca, fans of Bogart should know this, many of the characters are even physically similar.

Enjoy one of Bogey's best movies & remember, "You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow." April 6, 2008

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