To Have and Have Not

Following the death of Lauren Bacall last week, I thought I'd take a look at the films she made with Humphrey Bogart. They were one of the great couples in all of Hollywood history, but only made four pictures together. But what four pictures they were. I've seen three of them previously, many times.

She made her film debut in To Have and Have Not in 1944. The story is famous. She was a model, and the wife of Howard Hawks, the great director, saw her on the cover of a magazine. Hawks was equally taken, and cast her in an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel. Hawks had bet Hemingway that he could make a movie of his worst novel. Hemingway, perhaps aghast and amused, and asked just which one that was. "To Have and Have Not," Hawks replied.

Bogart, after years of playing heavies, had finally broken into stardom as good guys after The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. He was married at the time, to a very difficult woman. But after filming started, he impulsively gave Bacall a kiss and it was off to the races.

Bacall was only 19. She had no film experience, and visibly shook during filming. To offset this, she lowered her chin and looked upward, which gave her "the look." Hawks advised her to lower her voice, so she drove out to Mulholland Drive and read a book aloud to the canyon.

As it became apparent that Bogart and Bacall were having an affair, Hawks was angered, as he wanted Bacall. In spite, he had an affair with the second female lead, Dolores Moran.

No one who has read Hemingway's book would recognize it. The script was heavily doctored by William Faulkner, who at that time was a drunk humbly reduced to working in Hollywood. The location was changed from Cuba to Martinique, as the U.S. government did not want films showing Cuba in a bad light. The plot was changed heavily, from bank robbers to freedom fighters. In essence, this is Casablanca in the Caribbean, as Bogart plays Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain who tries to mind his own business, but is drawn into the fight, helping the resistance. There's even a piano player (Hoagy Carmichael).

Bacall plays Marie Browning, whom Bogart calls Slim (she calls him Steve, and it turns out these were the pet names that Hawks and his wife had for each other--Bogart would forever call Bacall "Baby"). She is a pickpocket and quite possibly a prostitute, who has made her way from Brazil to Martinique. She has eyes for Bogart, and in one of the most memorable seduction scenes in all film history she lays it out pretty plain for him. "You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow."

The chemistry between the two is electric. She has a lot of great lines. In one scene Bogart is holding Moran, who has fainted. "What are you trying to do, guess her weight?" she chides him. He says "She's heftier than you think. Better loosen her clothes." Bacall replies, "You've been doing all right."

Another wonderful aspect of the film is Walter Brennan, as Bogart's drunk friend Eddie. He's a rummy, who Bogart feels great affection for, and also has the price of a drink for him. Brennan has a hitch in his walk and is fond of asking people, "Was you ever bit by a dead bee?"

The film pales in comparison to Casablanca, but will always be important in Hollywood history for the teaming of Bogie and Bacall. The "whistle" scene is known by almost everyone, even if they haven't seen the movie. It was even satirized in a Warner Brothers cartoon. That's the mark of importance.