Key Largo | Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson | "When your head says one thing and your whole...

Key Largo | Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson | "Stor-my Weather. . ."

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Key Largo

	Key Largo Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson MGM (Video & DVD), 1997 average customer review:based on 68 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) directed this smart thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

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"When your head says one thing and your whole life says another, your head always loses."

Aaaahhh ... Bogey. AFI's No. 1 film star of the 20th century. Hollywood's original noir anti-hero, epitome of the handsome, cynical and oh-so lonesome wolf; looking unbeatably cool in his fedora, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Endowed with a legendary aura several times larger than his real life stature, and still admired by scores of women wishing they had been born 50+ years earlier, preferably somewhere in California and to parents connected with the movie business, so as to have at least a marginal chance of meeting him.

"Key Largo" (1948), directed by John Huston, is the last of four movies starring Bogart and real-life spouse Lauren Bacall (after their legendary collaborations in, first and foremost, "To Have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep," as well as in "Dark Passage"), by this time firmly established as one of Hollywood's new leading ladies in her own right. At the same time, it also constitutes a reversal of roles between Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, opposite whom Bogart had appeared in 1930s movies like "Bullets or Ballots," "Kid Galahad," and "Brother Orchid:" Whereas in the earlier films, the complexer parts had been Robinson's (while Bogart's characters had had little or no redeeming qualities whatsoever), here it is Bogey's world-weary and reluctant WWII veteran Frank McCloud who finds himself -- half acting on his own accord, half propelled by Bacall's sharp-tongued hotel keeper Nora Temple -- ultimately facing up to Robinson's ruthless gangster Johnny Rocco in the sultry, Hemingwayesque setting of the Florida Keys, under the onslaught of a hurricane; with great supporting performances by Lionel Barrymore as Bacall's father-in-law and Claire Trevor as Rocco's disillusioned, alcoholic lover.

When looking at this movie's and, even more so, its leading actors' almost mythical fame, it is difficult to imagine that, produced at the height of the studio system era, "Key Largo" was originally just one of the roughly 50 movies released over the course of a single year. But mass production didn't equal low quality; on the contrary, the great care given to all production values, from script-writing to camera work, editing, score and the stars' presentation in the movie itself and in its trailer, was at least partly responsible for its lasting success.

All in all, "Key Largo" may not be quite on same the level as those movies which, by the time of its release, had already bestowed on Bogart, in particular, his everlasting legendary status (such as "Casablanca," which would, a few decades later, end up second only to "Citizen Kane" at the helm of the AFI's Top 100 20th century movies list, with Bogey's Rick Blane, at the same time, ranking as one of the 20th century's Top 5 film heroes; "The Maltese Falcon," at No. 23 not far behind on the AFI's Top 100 20th century movies list; and "The Big Sleep," which solidified not only the chemistry between Bogart and Bacall -- who had married even before its 1946 release -- but also Lauren Bacall's own Hollywood standing as well as her sassy, mysterious aura, while also making for yet another entry of Bogey's in the AFI's Top 50 20th century film heroes list as the incarnation of Raymond Chandler's cynical gumshoe Philip Marlowe). Yet, all of this ultimately says more about those other movies (and Bogart's and Bacall's careers as a whole) than it does about "Key Largo" itself. Taken on its own, this is without question still one of the finest hours Old Hollywood ever saw -- and one of the most stellar examples of classic noir film making.

Also recommended:
Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 1 (Casablanca Two-Disc Special Edition / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Two-Disc Special Edition / They Drive by Night / High Sierra)
Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)
Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not)
Brother Orchid
Bullets or Ballots

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"Stor-my Weather. . ."

Bogie and Bacall at their simmering best. You can see their special chemistry emerging right on film. The semi-tropical atmosphere with a building hurricane in the wings is an analogy for the building storm caused by Rocco, diabolical gangster that Bogie must neutralize in some way. I do not view this beautiful noir film as a movie, but as ART, and as ART it gets five stars.

edward g. robinson's best role ever, great supporting cast

if bogie was the star of this film, and he was, well, it looked as though the script was tailor made for edward g. robinson, little caesar reborn as johnny rocco, see?

great direction, well paced story, character driven with an interesting plot, execellent photography, lighting, music score, never loses your attention. a must for your dvd collection.

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OLD MEMORIES

I LIVED IN SUMMERLAND KEY FLORIDA - THIS VIDEO BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES THAT I HAD FORGOTTEN - I'M GOING BACK TO LITTLE PALM ISLAND THIS SUMMER - THE DVD WAS EXCELLENT - THE BLACK AND WHITE VIDEO WAS SO CLEAR AND BRIGHT - IT LOOK LIKE IT WAS JUST PRODUCED.

HEMINGWAY, THERE'S BEEN A DELAY

Imagine Hollywood fielding a team of Oscar winners like L.Barrymore, Bogart, Trevor, director Huston, along with Bacall, and E.G.Robinson today! And you think the Yankees have payroll problems? Bogart pays a visit to Key Largo to visit the father of one of his best WW2 soldiers, only to discover that former mob leader (Robinson) and his men have taken over Barrymore's Hotel. With a hurricane approaching, Bogart senses correctly that Robinson is fearful and vulnerable without a gun. Bogie intentionally plays coward to help insure the safety of the hostages, then agrees to take the entire gang of counterfeiters back to Cuba, once the hurricane has passed.Trevor is left behind as a has-been, and Bacall is both chagrined and heartbroken by Bogart's apparent desertion. Improbably, Bogie succeeds in killing all of the gangsters aboard ship,in a totally believeable sequence;something that James Bond would be proud to imitate 17 years later. Movie was aided by a rock song years later(with false lyrics). The movie is very dated, but also very well done. Look for Jay Silverheels in a minor role, 2 years before joining Clayton Moore on television's 'The Lone Ranger".

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