"To Have And Have Not" is a highly entertaining movie that combines drama and romance. The script and story is very good, and the cast is excellent, stocked with many favorite actors from the 1940s.
Humphrey Bogart is an entrepreneur in Vichy-controlled Martinique, making a living renting his fishing boat. His sidekick is lovable drunkard Walter Brennan. He lives in a hotel owned by Frenchy, a Free French loyalist. Hoagy Carmichael tinkles the ivories in the hotel bar, where Bogart befriends pickpocket Lauren Bacall. Bogart and Bacall get mixed up with the Free France movement, leading to encounters with the local authorities led by Dan Seymour.
There are many similarities to "Casablanca".
Bogart plays the same tough guy with a tender
heart. He fights the agents of the Nazis. His
love interest is a much younger blonde. He spends
time in a bar with a piano player. Dan Seymour is
in both films. "To Have and Have Not" is not
quite in the same class, however, as the script
is not as great and the direction is much looser,
with several filler scenes that are fun but
reduce essential dramatic tension.
The chemistry between Bogart and Bacall is
remarkable. Of course, they became married in
real life. In this film, however, it seems odd
that Bogart's character, a jaded but honest sort,
would put so much faith in a young pickpocket.
This was Bacall's first movie.
The more interesting relationship is between
Bogart and Brennan. Bogart respects Brennan
despite his constant begging for drinks. Brennan
is fond of asking strangers whether they've been
bit by a dead bee, and both Brennan and Bogart
listen closely to the tone of the stranger's
answer. It is a quick character test, and if the
stranger is annoyed by the question, he fails the
test.
The 1940s seem to have a higher percentage of
great films than other decades. Usually a glance
at the cast is all that is needed to tell whether
the film is fluff or substantial. "To Have and
Have Not" demonstrates that a good story and a
strong cast can make a very good film, without
the emphasis on action, stunts and special
effects that more recent films have. (77/100)
A 40-something Humphrey Bogart and a novice named Lauren Bacall might have seemed like an odd pairing on paper but their chemistry in TO HAVE AND HAVE...More at Family Video
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