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| Key Largo
Classification: Drama
Actors/Actresses:
- Edward G Robinson
- Lauren Bacall
- Humphrey Bogart
Gangsters. A hurricane. Danger. Fine acting. Wonderful!
I've heard a lot about this 1948 film and had never seen it. I sure was in for a treat. Filmed in black and white, the tension starts right at the beginning and doesn't let up till it runs its full 101 minutes. It's the story of an ex-GI who visits a Florida Keys hotel run by the father and widow of a former buddy who was killed in action. The hotel, however, has been taken over by gangsters. And there's a hurricane brewing. Add some great directing by John Huston from a play written by Maxwell Anderson. Then throw in the stars of the day. What a mix! What a film!
I'm not a big Humphrey Bogart fan. I usually find him stiff and wooden. But he's better in this film, showing real emotion and animation on his face. Maybe it's because his leading lady is Lauren Bacall, cast as the widow. She fresh and young and beautiful and there is real chemistry between them. And then there is Edward G. Robinson. His gangster screen presence sure is real. He's the best of the best in this kind of role. All the performances were great but Lionel Barrymore, cast as the crippled owner of the hotel, is one of the best actors I've ever seen. With all this talent and terrific screenplay, though, the only academy award winner in the lot was Clare Trevor. She's cast as the gangster's girlfriend, aging and alcoholic. There's one scene in which she's forced to sing in order to get a drink. She's lost her voice but she pushes through the song as her small audience exchange knowing looks between them. It was more than an outstanding performance; it was absolutely sensational.
And then there's the hurricane. And a scene on a boat. All this was done so well that I didn't miss any high-tech special effects. The mood was set. The danger was there. There's even a great theme about good and evil and willing to put your life on the line. And it was all combined perfectly with the screenplay, the directing and some of the best acting to come out of that era.
I give this film one of my highest recommendations. It's a real treat. And a classic that has not only stood the test of time, but has aged like fine wine. Don't miss it.
sweltering film noir classic
KEY LARGO sits right beside THE BIG SLEEP as a very entertaining film noir classic. It features Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in one of their most memorable pairings.
Based on the play by Maxwell Anderson, KEY LARGO tells the story of ex-GI Frank McCloud (Bogart) who travels to a hotel in Key Largo owned by his old army buddy's widow Nora Temple (Bacall) and her crippled father-in-law (Lionel Barrymore). Also staying at the hotel is notorious gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), his cronies and his good-hearted moll (Claire Trevor).
As Johnny holds Frank and Nora hostage in the hotel, a vicious storm rages outside, rivalled only by the storm of passions and tempers inside the hotel at Key Largo.
Claire Trevor won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress here. Her heartbreaking performance includes singing the song "Moanin' Low".
The DVD includes the trailer.
Edward G. Robinson at this best
Key Largo is just one of John Huston's many memorable films that somehow always seem to transcend the intention--the Hollywood intention being to make a few bucks--and to this day still plays very well and indeed appears as something close to a work of art. It features what I think is one of Edward G. Robinson's finest performances as Johnny Rocco, a sociopathic gangster holding the off-season personnel of a seaside hotel hostage as he concludes a counterfeit money deal.
The story begins as Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) pays a visit to the family of one of his G.I. buddies who was killed in Italy during WWII. He finds the welcome from the hotel's only "guests" chilly except for Gaye Dawn (a funny and perhaps prescient Hollywood stage name) played by Claire Trevor who is drunk and befriends him. After a bit McCloud discovers that the hotel's owner Nora Temple (Lauren Bacall) and her invalid father-in-law James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) have been tricked into allowing Rocco's gang to stay and now, as a tropical storm begins to blow, are being held at gunpoint. McCloud's delicate task is to keep the megalomaniac and murderous personality of Rocco under some control so that he doesn't murder everyone.
Note that this is a splendid cast, and they all do a good job. Note too that Huston adapted this from a play by the versatile American playwright Maxwell Anderson. So the ingredients for a good film are clearly in place; and aside from some self-conscious mishmash with the Seminoles of Florida, this is a success. Anderson's desire to explore the psychopathic personality (some years later he adapted William March's novel The Bad Seed into a stage play) finds realization in Huston's direction and especially in Robinson's indelible performance. The utter disregard for the lives of others and the obsessive love of self that characterize the sociopath reek from the snares and callous laughter of the very sick Johnny Rocco. I especially liked the crazed and thrilled grin on his face when he emerges from the hold of the boat in the climactic scene, gun in hand, imagining that he has once again fooled his adversaries and is about to delightfully shoot Humphrey Bogart to death. What I loved about this scene was that Huston did not think it necessary to contrive a fight in which the good guy (Bogart) beats the bad guy by fighting fair. What happens is exactly what should happen, and without regard for the fine points of Marquis of Queensberry-type rules. Also good is Rocco beginning to sweat in fear of his life as the storm moves in while Bogey gives us his famous laugh and grin as he assesses the essential cowardice of the petty gangster.
Lauren Bacall, in one of her more modest roles, does a lot without saying much, and Lionel Barrymore is very good as the cantankerous old guy in a wheelchair. Claire Trevor actually won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her work, and she was good as the alcoholic moll with a heart of gold. R
Buy Key Largo at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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