KEY LARGO
It's the largest coral reef in the Florida Keys and has the biggest stars in Hollywood to match - Bogart, Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, & Claire Trevor, too!
3 stars (out of 5/1st big screen viewing)
[B&W/(1948)USA/Warner] - (1 hr. 40 min.) - IMDb rating: 8.0 (out of 10)
Co-written & directed by John Huston
Co-writer: Richard Brooks
Source: play by Maxwell Anderson
Characters/Cast
(Major) Frank McCloud - Humphrey Bogart
Johnny Rocco (aka 'Mr. Brown') - Edward G. Robinson
Nora Temple (Hotel Largo mgr.) - Lauren Bacall
James Temple (her invalid father/Hotel owner) - Lionel Barrymore
Gaye Dawn (ex-singer/Rocco's girl) - Claire Trevor
Review:
A bit slow for today's audiences but still a compelling hostage thriller with Edward G. Robinson's ("Double Indemnity") gangster pals holding visiting war veteran Humphrey Bogart ("Casablanca") and hotel manager Lauren Bacall ("The Big Sleep") hostage until a certain transaction can be completed (amidst a Florida hurricane no less)!
Fairly small cast and single location make this a tricky story to tell for a director, but director John Huston ("The Treasure of Sierra Madre") isn't a legend for nothing. The leisurely pace of the action did have me nodding off at one point so you may want something caffeinated in front of your before you start this one up.
One of brighter spots amidst the already star-studded cast is longtime, film noir veteran Claire Trevor ("Born to Kill") as the gangster's drunken moll. Her feistiness provides a bit of comic relief in what is primarily a tense drama though she is woefully underused. Surprisingly, she was the only one in the cast to be nominated for an Oscar (and she won)!
Check it out!
[Screened in 35mm @ the MoMA-NYC Titus I theater/08-07-06: 8pm]
Additional cast:
Monte Blue ... Sheriff Ben Wade
John Rodney ... Deputy Clyde Sawyer (kidnapped by gang)
John Litel ... Radio/Dispatcher (voice only)
Alberto Morin ... Skipper of Rocco's boat
Marc Lawrence ... Ziggy ('the deal' scene only)
Luther Crockett ... Ziggy's henchman #1
Jerry Jerome ... Ziggy's henchman #2 ('the deal' scene only)
John Phillips ... Ziggy's henchman #3 ('the deal' scene only)
Felipa Gómez ... Old Indian woman
Rodd Redwing ... John Osceola
Jay Silverheels ... Tom Osceola
Joe P. Smith ... Bus Driver (opening scene only)
1948 Oscar winner: Best Supp. Actress (Claire Trevor)
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