OK, what could there possibly be not to like about To Have and Have Not? It’s the film debut for Lauren Bacall and her first pairing with Humphrey Bogart. It’s directed by Howard Hawkes. It has some basic plot elements in common with Cassablanca in the form of an apathetic Bogie. It is based on a novel by Ernest Hemmingway and was adapted with a script co-written by William Faulkner. There is little if anything I could possibly not like about this movie.
Well, there is one thing. I’ll explain that in a minute.
Bogie stars as Captain Harry Morgan. He has a boat interested parties can charter for a wide variety of reasons in the French island colony of Martinique. Sure, the Vichy government is in charge of things, and there’s a war on, but Morgan doesn’t much care. He’s loyal to his friends like his alcoholic first mate Eddie (Walter Brennan), but as for the outside world, he’d rather not bother with it too much. As long as he can pay and his bills and no one really hassles him, he’s fine with whatever’s going on. A pal he calls “Frenchy” (Marcel Dalio) would like Harry to transport from French Resistance types from one island to another without the authorities learning anything, but Harry would just assume not bother. He does notice the local police are getting a lot more serious about things as minor as disrespecting the Vichy flag, but Harry’s “leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone” attitude seems to be keeping him out of trouble just fine.
But not long after seeing newcomer Slim Browning (Bacall) pick a man’s pocket, Harry does start to get involved. It’s impossible not to, but the only reason he approaches Slim in the first place is the man she robbed owes Harry money in the first place. Circumstances force Harry (and Slim and Eddie) to help the French Resistance after all, and it becomes a balancing act to keep everyone out of prison and alive while the Vichy police are looking for them. And all the while, Slim and Harry (whom she calls “Steve” since director Hawkes and his then-wife called each other “Steve” and “Slim”) heat up a romance of their own. Will Harry be able to keep his head attached to his neck at this rate?
OK, this is Bogie and Bacall, and for her screen debut, she clearly got one of the most memorable roles of her long career. The famous “you know how to whistle” line comes from this movie, and it wasn’t long before the off-screen Bogart and Bacall were beginning their own long-term relationship, one that only ended decades later with Bogart’s death. The two have instant chemistry together with a hint of the dangerous, most likely coming from the fact she was 18 and making her first movie here while he was clearly…much older than 18. While Slim is not attached to the French Resistance plot in any way other than through Harry, it doesn’t seem too wrong that she’s helping out here. Really, the pairing of these two is just really charming, and if the only other time I saw those two together is any indication, the movies get better with each team-up.
But there was one downside. I didn’t see this coming, but here it is: Bacall sings. When I read about the concept of the Male Gaze, it specifically said a movie can just drag to a halt for at least a minute or so to allow the male lead (and the camera) to take a moment to check out a woman, particularly if she’s going to sing a song for no clear reason other than someone wanted a song in there. Now, that in and of itself may not be that bad, but…if that’s Bacall’s singing voice, I can’t say it sounded all that good. And she actually has more than one song with a character played by singer/songwriter Hoagy Carhmichael. The movie somehow treats her singing voice like it’s a special treat, but…man, i just didn’t like the sound of her singing voice. That’s a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things, but I have it all the same.
Grade: A-
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