To Have and Have Not

(USA - 1944)

Cast:	Humphrey Bogard, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael, Sheldon Leonard, Marcel Dalio
Genre:	Romance/War/Adventure
Director:	Howard Hawks
Screenplay:	Jules Furthman & William Faulkner from Ernest Hemingway's novel
Cinematography:	Sidney Hickox
Composer:	Franz Waxman & William Lava
Runtime:	100 minutes

In an effort to convince his buddy to test his hand at screenwriting, Howard Hawks bet Ernest Hemingway he could turn his worst novel into a good movie. That should be about as difficult as a decent writer turning Eric Rohmer’s worst film into a good book. It’s true Hemingway doesn’t translate because his style is based on economy of works, spareness, understatement, and directness, all of which are lost on Hollywood screenwriters, who transform this into a bunch of characters talking about the plot. Hawks won the bet, because he didn’t try to be faithful.

Hawks only used the first fifth of the novel, scrapping the framing device of two disconnected characters in favor of focusing on Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart). The Office of Inter-American Affairs objected to screenwriter Jules Furthman maintaining the original setting and background. Morgan ran booze from Cuba to Florida, the negative light such corruption shined on Cuba was not in keeping with FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy.” William Faulkner took over the screenplay, and while you might not agree that he isn’t 1/10th the writer Hemingway is, certainly they are polar opposites. By the time Faulkner was done we had Casablanca 2. Similarities include the exotic (Martinique) World War II bar setting where a jaded seemingly amoral political neutral winds up helping the good guys against the Nazis while falling in love with a younger woman. The politics are never really explained and the whole thing is not the least bit believable or realistic, but it’s good entertainment thanks to the sharp witty dialogue and erupting sexuality.

Casablanca was the turning point in Bogart's career because the action was secondary to the romance. Bogart began breaking out of the gangster mold in the early 1940's through the film noirs of Raoul Walsh (They Drive By Night, High Sierra) and John Huston (The Maltese Falcon), but with Casablanca they figured out his rough exterior could shelter a tender interior, beginning a quick transformation from tough guy to romantic lead. Aside from being in the midst of his third marriage he couldn’t have picked a better time to fall in love on the set. When people talk about the leads having chemistry, they are talking about Bogie and Bacall.

Lauren Bacall was a 19-year-old model making her screen debut. She wasn’t much of an actress in most senses, but she must have been a very good model because she exuded sexuality, knew how to carry herself, and looked at a man in a way that made him more likely to fall for her. If they had more time they would have worked on her trademark husky voice until it was as generic as everything else in Hollywood. What makes her performance legendary is its authenticity. Her roles with Bogart are by far her most memorable because here she’s falling in love with him, and later they are married and still in love, so you are getting the real deal. To Have and Have Not is not the best movie they did together, but it’s their most unforgettable collaboration not because it’s their first, but because in many respects they were in the same spot as the characters they were portraying.

Bogart is a perfect Hawks actor because he’s the reluctant hero amidst the corrupt. Morgan is the typical Hawks male lead, operating on his own strict moral code that he talks against, if anything, because the measure of a man lies in his actions. In the end, a Hawks lead will always act responsibly. I always find his male leads contradictory because they are individualists, yet they value their friends (and lovers) above all else.

Walter Brennan is Harry’s sidekick Eddie, a kindly well-intentioned clueless drunk. He’s the kind of character that gives you a lot of laughs in a film, but would drive anyone crazy if they had to put up with him day in and day out. Morgan’s value of friendship forces him into the war. He wants to protect Eddie and gain Slim (Bacall) by giving her the opportunity to leave so she’ll choose not to. Once he knows you he’ll help you if you are a good person (apparently he can see your heart since he trusts Slim even though she’s a petty thief), even if he’ll say he’s just a mercenary.

Hawks was originally set to direct Casablanca, and this film shows he could have done it more or less as well as Michael Curtiz. Both films are collective films anyway. I’d rather see the worst film by a good personal filmmaker, but Casablanca and To Have and Have Not should at least keep you from flipping around to discover there’s nothing good on the other 200 channels.

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