Key Largo (Keepcase)
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Movie Reviews of Key Largo (Keepcase)
Movie Review: Key Largo
Summary: 5 Stars
The fourth & final pairing of Bogey & Bacall is a real treat. Also, it's another pairing for Bogey & Eddie G. but this time Bogey got the top billing. This Bogey & Bacall pairing doesn't smolder on screen like the earlier efforts though one would have to be blind not to see anything.
The story mostly takes place at the Largo Hotel on Key Largo. The proprietor is James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) who's been confined to a wheelchair for reasons not specified. He's assisted by his daughter-in-law, Nora Temple (Lauren Bacall). The hotel has been taken over by some gangsters though we don't know who they are until later in the film. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) arrives on the scene via a bus. McCloud is a world war two veteran who's down on his luck. He's there at the request of Temple who wanted to know more about his son who had served with McCloud in Italy. The unseen Temple had been killed in action & they just want to know more about him before he was killed.
There's tension the moment McCloud arrives at the hotel. The three men there, Curley (Thomas Gomez), Toots (Harry Lewis) & Angel (Dan Seymour), make it very plain that McCloud isn't wanted on the premises. Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor in an Oscar winning performance) intercedes in his behalf so that he can get a drink. Dawn is the boozy girlfriend of Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) who's the leader of the gang.
The tension is thick throughout this well made film. To further complicate things a hurricane is coming in. This causes the group of people to be isolated & shut in which only makes things worse.
Rocco, who had been deported eight years earlier, is back in the country illegally. He's planning to return to Chicago to get back in the "business". He's got a large sum of counterfeit money & he's waiting for Ziggy ((Marc Lawrence) to come in from Miami to make the deal on the phony money. The hurricane plays havoc on this plan & Ziggy doesn't want to go down there. Rocco makes it plain that if he's not there in two hours the deal is off.
Rocco is a tough & the tension between McCloud & himself is immediate. But Rocco is in control with his other gang members around. It's a typical role for Robinson but he does it with zeal. He's a big man who had been wronged by the government. He's going to return to Chicago & being bigger & badder than ever. But the hurricane changes things, we see Rocco realizing there's something even bigger & badder than him. We see his confidence melt away as the fury of the hurricane hit the hotel.
Rocco convinces McCloud to return them to Cuba by boat. Everyone knows that McCloud isn't going to return from the trip. Gaye manages to get Rocco's gun from his coat pocket & slips it to McCloud before they depart. The scene on the boat where McCloud makes his play is a great one.
Key Largo is presented in the full screen format & is in very good condition. The screenplay is by Richard Brooks & John Huston, Huston also is the director. There are a few extras such as cast & crew thumbnail sketches & trailer. There's a French audio track & subtitles in French & English.
Movie Review: taut drama with lots of suspense
Summary: 5 Stars
Key Largo is easily one of the best films from the 1940s. The plot moves along at a very good pace and although I had an idea of how things might turn out it still held my attention every step of the way. The cinematography works well and the choreography was especially good in the scenes filmed in the hotel during the hurricane. The casting was terrific and it resulted in some very convincing acting.
When the action starts, we quickly meet former Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) who is on his way to Key Largo. Frank wants to pay a visit to the wife and father of a wartime buddy who died in battle as a man in Frank's regiment, George Temple. George's wife Nora Temple (Lauren Bacall) is a somewhat aloof woman who hides her innermost feelings; but as the movie progresses we come to know what truly makes her tick. We also get an outstanding performance by Lionel Barrymore as George's father James Temple who is confined to a wheelchair because of a medical condition.
But once Frank arrives at the hotel he meets more people than just Nora Temple and her father. There's also the gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) and his thugs holed up at the hotel while they wait for another group of gangsters to make a "transaction." Richard 'Curly' Hoff (Thomas Gomez) has already installed himself as the bartender; and there's the snooty young kid Edward 'Toots' Bass (Harry Lewis) who thinks he's got the world at his feet. We also meet Johnny's rather alcoholic girlfriend Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor).
It isn't long before the battle lines are drawn, all up against the backdrop of a raging hurricane that mirrors the storm of people clashing inside the hotel. Deputy Clyde Sawyer (John Rodney) gets involved trying to take Johnny and his gang in; and that in and of itself is quite a drama. The main event, however, is the clash between Johnny and Frank. Frank professes not to care about saving the world and ridding it of people like Johnny Rocco--but he doesn't seem willing to do much about it, at least at first.
Of course, from here the plot can go anywhere. Will Frank ever stand up to Johnny Rocco and his gang--and how will that actually play out? What happens when Johnny insists that Frank take command of a small boat and sail the gangsters to their refuge in Cuba? What about the Native Americans who want safety during the hurricane--will they find it at the hotel? Watch and find out!
In addition, the DVD has the theatrical trailer.
Key Largo is a film you cannot afford to miss. It's worth every cent you'll spend on it; this is truly one of the best films of the entire twentieth century. Claire Trevor won a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing the role of Gaye Dawn as well. I highly recommend this film for fans of classic drama and the actors who star in this movie.
Movie Review: Trapped by a Hurricane
Summary: 5 Stars
"Key Largo" is an excellent suspense thriller directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Becall, and Edward G. Robinson, among others, in a well-casted movie. Bogart is Frank McCloud, a burnt-out and disillusioned WWII veteran come to pay his respects to a dead Army buddy's widow (Lauren Becall) who minds her father's small hotel on Key Largo. Robinson is pitch-perfect as gangster Johnny Rocco, on the lam with his henchmen and gun moll and on his way to Cuba.
Everyone is trapped in the hotel by a hurricane. The tension of the devastating storm strips Rocco of his cool and he begins to torment and humiliate everyone else in the hotel. McCloud, played with understated suffering by Bogart, attempts to shield the others, especially the widow and the gun moll. As the storm breaks, Rocco and his henchmen make a break for Cuba by small boat, forcing McCloud to pilot the vessel. At sea, McCloud and Rocco will have a final and deadly confrontation.
This movie is highly recommended as a small classic, featuring excellent performances by several actors in a taut and suspenseful drama. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her performance as the abused and spurned gun moll.
Movie Review: Bogie, Bacall & Barrymore, Plus Robinson & Trevor. What A Cast. What A Movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
John Huston's "Key Largo" reunites him with his "Maltese Falcon" star Humphrey Bogart, and he assembles a star cast for this movie as well, in addition to Bogart: Lauren Bacall (Humphrey Bogart's real-life wife, and fresh off their successful pairings in "To Have And Have Not" & "The Big Sleep"), Edward G. Robinson ("Double Indemnity"), Claire Trevor and Lionel Barrymore (Mr. Potter in the Frank Capra classic "It's A Wonderful Life"). The score was written by the Academy Award winning composer of "Gone With The Win" and the equally stirring "Casablanca," Max Steiner. The writing is clever, and the tension well maintained. I love that these old movies had no graphic violence, no language and no sex. Now-a-days, you have gratuitous sex, language and graphic violence. THIS movie and all the films from the early days of cinema up to the mid 1960's are proof that you do not need sex, language or violence to be clever. Also, all the movies from Walt Disney Pictures are very clean. However, I digress.
This film is engaging from the get-go. Very well done movie. I highly recommend it. Not Rated.
Movie Review: Eddie Robinson at his best
Summary: 5 Stars
Naturally the entire movie is terrific and John Huston was one heck of a director. But the outstanding performance in the movie is Edward G Robinson. Here he is at his malevolent, gangster best. I would love to know if his performance was part Huston or all Robinson because it's masterful. As gangster on the run Johnny Rocco ( a typical 30's and 40's movie mobster name), Robinson portrays him as rage barely under control, eyes flashing, and ready to lash out at the slightest provocation. The chemistry between him and Bogart is great as Boggie eyes him warily and intercedes to deflect Roco's explosive wrath from innocents Barrymore and Bacall. Or he attempts to calm Rocco by getting him to talk about his favorite subject: himself. Robinson should have won an Oscar for this movie.
Clare Trevor however did win and deservedly so as Rocco's long suffering girlfriend. Also excellent is Roco's henchman 'Curly' played by Thomas Gomez. This is without doubt one of the great film noir movies and in my opinion Huston's best.