FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT: KEY LARGO!

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With all of the rain Florida's Lake Okeechobee needs, I thought I'd set this up as an omen. No, wait! Just kidding. I have held this movie fairly "close to the vest", as 'they' say. KEY LARGO is a curious film to curl up with a blanket (and some diet caramelized popcorn) if you happen to find yourself shut in by an actual storm (or have some diet caramelized popcorn on hand that is any good!). This is a very interesting film made in 1948 when Bogart's star was beginning to eclipse Robinson's. Ever the good hearted guy I've read about, Bogart insisted that Robinson retain star-billing. Humphrey Bogart is war hero Frank McCloud who decides it's time to pay a visit to Lauren Bacall and her father-in-law, because he served with her husband, who died in action. Bacall is a breathtaking beauty in this film--as ever. Shortly after McCloud arrives, it's obvious that the only other guest at the hotel is a notorious, exiled gangster "Johnny Rocco" (played by Edward G. Robinson and interestingly modeled on real-life gangster Lucky Luciano, who had just been deported to Cuba) who's trying to get back into the business. Robinson's a small time hood who's glamor days are well behind him. But that doesn't stop him from raising the psychological stakes with his two-bit buddies and taking everyone hostage just as a hurricane is about to make shore. Bogart is the hard-bitten realist here and the film gradually builds up tension as the storm approaches. Edward G. Robinson's "Rocco" is a piece of work. Amusingly, he offers Bogart an empty gun to shoot it out with him, when he's actually a man who is terrified for his own safety with the impending hurricane. He hates McCloud as a war hero----mocking and taunting him because his courage is something more reminiscent of a gaping hole in Rocco's own pathetic life. The Frank McCloud character that Bogart creates is at once disillusioned and complacent, but like co-star Claire Trevor they have their limits. And McCloud doesn't like how Rocco is abusing her.

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I learned by chance that this was the fourth and final Bogart-Bacall movie pairing for the real-life married stars. As the true story goes, Claire Trevor wanted the part of Gaye Dawn. But she was nervous and asked Bogart to pinch-hit for her and ask Jack Warner if she could have it. Why was she nervous? Because in her big scene, she had to sing and reportedly wanted to rehearse it. Director John Huston would stall her by saying "there's plenty of time". Then one day after lunch, he suddenly told her to get into her costume, he'd decided to shoot the scene! He stood her in the middle of the room, an off-screen pianist played one note, and he told her "Go." She was hugely embarrassed and commented later, "I was supposed to be embarrassed, I thought the day would never end. That was torture. But that's what got the effect", she later said. Immediately thereafter, one of the actors playing Rocco's henchmen turned to another and actually whispered, "She's going to get an Academy Award for this." And she did win the 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress! It was interesting to note that the violence of the wind outside underscored the tensions inside the wooden hotel. And I say this because the film was shot during the unfortunate House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) meetings that were taking place in Washington, D.C. The proceedings ruined many actors careers. The Cast: Humphrey Bogart as Frank McCloud; Edward G. Robinson as Johnny Rocco; Lauren Bacall is Nora Temple; Lionel Barrymore is James Temple and Claire Trevor is Gaye Dawn.

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ENJOY!