Aug. 19, 2002 - 1:25 am
this movie is awesome. i'm glad i finally figured out what the name of it was. see the entry on The Big Sleep (1946) for further details. it's number 60 on the AFI Passions list, which is why i originally found out about the film. see...sometimes great discoveries come from doing these lists. or you could just have a friend like me to do them for you and make recommendations. to each his own.
this film is sort of similar to the story of Casablanca (1942). you've got Humphrey Bogart helping two foreign rebels to get away from the local police, piano playing and a lot of the action taking place in a bar, and his reluctance to get involved with anything. but there are also a lot of other things that are great about this film in addition to these similarities. the budding romance between he and Slim (Lauren Bacall's character) is wonderful. also her jealousy of the wounded man's wife. and Steve's (Bogart's) humerous sidekick who is an incessant drinker. he's always into something.
based losely on Ernest Hemingway's dramatic novel, this is the only film ever to have two Pulitzer Prize-winning authors associated with its script. William Faulkner co-wrote the screenplay. but it's also another Howard Hawks picture. the genius at his best, yet again. and the Humphrey Bogart theory still stands. is he a detective in this film? no. do i like him in it? yes. and there you have it.
this was Lauren Bacall's first film. she's still making films today in 2002. amazing career. amazing woman. if you thought she was sexy in The Big Sleep, you have to see this film. talk about making my jaw almost drop to the floor. apparently she and Bogart actually fell in love during the making of this film and were married the following year. they stayed that way until he died in 1957. lucky man.
this movie also has a great soundtrack. very complicated music at parts that doesn't seem to really fit with the era. it almost sounds like it's from another world or something. i guess it fits with the foreign atmosphere. it's easily accepted by the audience though because Cricket, the piano player, seems to be your average American Joe. maybe a bit smarter than the rest though. and with a sweeter voice. and i thought that was him actually playing the songs. yep. Hoagy Carmichael's the name. and guess who wrote all the music he played in the film? he did.
this doesn't happen too often. after i pressed stop to turn the movie off, i wanted to rewind it and watch it all over again right then. maybe it was Lauren Bacall's exit from the film. damn. watch it and you'll know what i mean.