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

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.

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.

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."

Howard Hawks' 1944 "To Have and Have Not" would have been a first rate movie by most measures, but owes much of its continuing notoriety to the smouldering filmwork of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, paired in the movie and soon to be paired in real life.

"To Have and Have Not" is set in Martinique in 1940. France has fallen to the Germans, and the locals in this French colony are picking sides. Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart), a stubbornly independent boatman who does fishing charters and a little gunrunning on the side, is too world-weary to get involved in politics. He and his alcoholic sidekick Eddie (in a superb supporting role by Walter Brennan) resolutely stay on the sidelines, until Harry gets involved with the young, sultry, and mysterious Marie (a 19 year-old Becall in her first movie role). The on-screen chemistry between Bogart and Becall is worth the movie all by itself, especially the famous scene in which Marie instructs Harry on how to whistle if he needs her. Thanks to Marie, Harry will finally pick sides and take a stand with the Resistance, leading to an exciting conclusion.

This movie is very highly recommended as an atmospheric thriller and one of Humphrey Bogart's better movies, made all the more enjoyable by the racy banter with Lauren Bacall.