Classic 40s Movie: “To Have and Have Not”
September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Felicity Flesher.
Movie Title: To Have and Have Not
Year: 1945
Writers: Jules Furthman and William Faulkner, based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway
Lead Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall
Director: Howard Hawks
IMDb Plot Summary: During WWII, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a Free French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sexy lounge singer.
Why I Think This is a Classic 40s Movie
Bogey. Bacall. Hawks. Hemingway. Faulkner. Need I say more?
I needn’t, but I will.
The original trailer for the film described it as “Adventure and romance as only Ernest Hemingway can write it! As only Humphrey Bogart can play it! Excitement as only Warner Bros. can make it!” Almost all of that is true except that the final product is barely similar to Hemingway’s original novel.
Legend has it that Hemingway and Hawks went on a ten-day fishing trip on which Hawks continued his futile efforts to get Hemingway to write scripts for him. Finally, Hawks told him, “I can make a picture out of your worst story.” “What’s my worst story?” Hemingway replied. “That god damned bunch of junk called To Have and To Have Not [sic].” “You can’t make anything out of that,” Hemingway said, so Hawks did and changed most of it. In a final effort to get Hemingway to write the script, Hawks teased, “I’ll get Faulkner to do it; he can write better than you anyway.” To Have and Have Not remains the only film based on a novel by a Nobel Prize-winning author to be adapted by another Nobel Prize-winning author.
One of the major changes made was moving the novel’s setting in Cuba to Vichy-controlled Martinique after the Roosevelt administration objected, thinking it might put a strain on Cuban-American relations. Other changes also make the film more similar to 1942’s incredibly successful Casablanca (covered earlier in this series). The head of publicity at Warner Brothers’ even described it as “not only a second Casablanca but two and a half times what Casablanca was” and a majority of reviews focused on its similarity to the earlier film. Not only do we see Bogart teamed with Hawks again, but also it is set against the war in an exotic French territory and features Bogey trying to run a business but getting involved in local politics and with a girl and even includes a lot of scenes in the café bar with an amusing piano player.
My Favorite Moment in the Movie
This scene shows a new level to the duo’s relationship. Besides that, it’s some of the smoothest dialogue between some cool characters.
My Favorite Dialogue in the Movie
I apologize; I lied to you — this is my actual favorite moment:
It includes the most famous line from the film, but the whole scene is a masterpiece and one of the sexiest in cinema history.
I love it because it’s got so many elements within individual lines. The staging only adds to it — giving Bacall the power while keeping Bogart seated and passive. It also recalls the power struggle of the fisherman (Morgan) and his catch (Slim), with the catch tugging and tugging on the line as Slim repeatedly teases and pulls away from Morgan. Like the client’s trip at the beginning, the biggest catch gets away, but now Morgan’s the one hooked. He solidifies that with his quizzical look and whistle at the end. She’s only known him a couple hours, but she’s figured this one out.
SLIM: Who was the girl, Steve?
MORGAN: Who was what girl?
SLIM: The one who left you with such a high opinion of women. She must have been quite a gal. You think I lied to you about this, don’t you? Well it just happens there’s thirty-odd dollars here, not enough for boat fare or any other kind of fare. Just enough to be able to say no if I feel like it. And you can have it if you want it.
MORGAN: I’m sorry, Slim. But I still say you’re awful good and…
SLIM: Oh, I forgot. You wouldn’t take anything from anybody, would you?
MORGAN: That’s right.
SLIM: You know, Steve, you’re not very hard to figure. Only at times. Sometimes I know exactly what you’re going to say. Most of the time. The other times… the other times, you’re just a stinker.
They kiss.
MORGAN: What’d you do that for?
SLIM: Been wondering whether I’d like it.
MORGAN: What’s the decision?
SLIM: I don’t know yet.
They kiss again.
SLIM: It’s even better when you help.
She gets up to leave, but turns back.
SLIM: (referencing the money) Uh, you sure you won’t change your mind about this?
MORGAN: Uh-huh.
SLIM: This belongs to me and so do my lips. I don’t see any difference.
MORGAN: Well, I do.
SLIM: Okay. 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.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie
CHARACTER, CHEMISTRY, CONNECTIONS
For writers, actors, and directors, it’s interesting to look for the turns within scenes, within dialogue. Pay attention to reactions and how characters listen, take in information, and form opinions of one another. We then see how they use rhythm to make sure this all goes fluidly, mixing careful pauses with snappy screwball interruptions.
This movie is a master class in establishing character. From straight off we can easily tell what kind of character Harry Morgan is. The first time we meet him we are greeted with his snark and immediate familiarity. He is the embodiment of a Hemingway hero (and a Hawksian hero). Plus, his motivations and conflicts are clear: he just wants to make enough money to get by, but gets embroiled in helping his acquaintances.
The same goes for Slim. Each is a strong character. He’s a smart guy in a loose place. But she can match him. As the film’s trailer said, she is “The ONLY kind of woman for his kind of man!”
Another brilliant aspect of the film is how the audience and the characters share in private jokes. Although Morgan wants to mind his own business, he occasionally has a sly smile for his friends, and by association, the audience. Slim sometimes does the same, showing us in another way how suited the two are. They have their own private jokes that the audience is privy to: the whistle, the matches, “Was you ever bit by a dead bee?” and “There are no strings tied to you.” Sharing these makes us more intimate with these characters. Besides that, they immediately use the nicknames “Slim” and “Steve” for each other, starting off with some intimate teasing right from the start [fun fact: Hawks devised these nicknames based on the names he and his wife called each other].
All of the one-on-one moments with Bogey and Bacall are golden. They’re quippy, full of chemistry, and progress the relationship significantly with each scene. We see them go through flirtation, scorn, infatuation, jealousy — the whole gambit, all in a couple of days, or a couple of minutes of screen time. To Have and Have Not launched both a star in Bacall in her debut role as well as a relationship between the costars. They would marry later that year and go onto star in three more films: The Big Sleep (1946, again directed by Hawks with a Faulkner/Furthman adaptation), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). Hawks later said that it was Bacall’s character that Bogart fell for, “so she had to keep playing it for the rest of her life.”
Thanks, Felicity! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
We already have a set of classic 50s movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 40s movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got 30 movies in the works, one for each day of the month!
Those who I put in bold have already sent me their posts. If you haven’t sent yours to me, please do so as soon as you can!!!
Act of Violence — Eric Rodriguez
Arsenic and Old Lace — Gisela Wehrl
Bicycle Thieves — Megaen Kelly
Brief Encounter — Emily Bonkoski
Casablanca — Paul Graunke
Double Indemnity — Susan Winchell
Five Graves to Cairo — Jeff Gibson
Foreign Correspondent — Doc Kane
Here Comes Mr. Jordan — Wayne Kline
His Girl Friday — John Henderson
It’s a Wonderful Life — David Laudenslager
Key Largo — Will King
Laura — Melinda Mahaffey Icden
Les enfants du paradis — Brendan Howley
Mrs. Miniver — Traci Nell Peterson
Notorious — Christine Henton
Now Voyager — Melissa Privette
Out of the Past — Brantley Aufill
Rope — Lance Morgan
The Bank Dick — Bob Saenz
The Best Years of Their Lives — Shaun Parker
The Big Sleep — Ipsita Barik
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir — Annie Wood
The Long Voyage Home — Vincent Martini
The Lost Weekend — Liz Warner
The Maltese Falcon — Roy Gordon
The Ox-Bow Incident — Clay Mitchell
The Philadelphia Story — Kristen Demaline
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock — David Joyner
The Third Man — Harry Cooke
To Have and Have Not — Felicity Flesher
Thanks to everyone who steps up for this ongoing project!
For the original post explaining the series, go here.
For all of the 40s movies featured in the series, go here.
Click REPLY and see you in comments about today’s classic 40s movie!
