Sadly Over-hyped

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Howard Hawks 'To Have And Have Not' feels to much like Casablanca and the familiarity is to its disadvantage. Set in the French island of Martinique, the film has Humphrey Bogart as the cynical boat skipper, Steve Morgan who underneath has a heart of gold. Along with his drunken mate Eddie (Walter Brennan) while low on cash Steve gets drawn into helping the French resistance to smuggle people on to the island that runs him on a collision against Nazi controlled police captain Renard.Romance comes in the shape of Lauren Bacall who plays the streetwise sultry lounge singer Marie Browning at the local hotel and both have the hots for each other. Piano music and some excruciating songs come courtesy of Hoagy Carmichael who plays Cricket but I noticed he seemed to have played similar acting roles in other movies.Apart from the chemistry between Bacall and Bogart which also contains the now famous lines about 'knowing how to whistle' the film is too much of an inferior carbon copy of Casablanca for me.

This is not a great movie, not another Casablanca, but it is certainly a fun one to watch.The black and white cinematography is worth the price of admission itself. That is truly first-rate.The dialogue - as distinct from the plot - is also good, intelligent. There are some good lines in it, and the two main characters come alive.And, of course, Bogart and Bacall do a wonderful job of creating those two characters.But the rest of the movie is not at the same level. The other characters are all paper thin, whereas in Casablanca they too were interestingly developed.And the plot here isn't particularly interesting. The character of Eddie is annoying more than anything else.Still, if you ignore the negatives, there are a lot of positives here to enjoy.

It's the island of Martinique in the summer of 1940 just after the fall of France. American captain Harry 'Steve' Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) operates a small fishing boat for tourists. He's reluctant to take on risky jobs for the resistance. Marie 'Slim' Browning (Lauren Bacall) is new to the island and a pickpocket. When his client gets shot before paying him, he loses all his money to the new Vichy cops while Slim gets slapped around. He decides to help the resistance.Newcomer Lauren Bacall was just 19 when this was shot. And soon after she will be married to her co-star Humphrey Bogart. Nobody has a cooler look than Bacall. She's made to be in the movies. She makes this 'Casablanca' copy more than just a copy. It has a more noirous ultra-cool look mostly due to Bacall highlighted by the line "You know how to whistle, don't you Steve. You just put your lips together and blow".The story isn't quite as good as 'Casablanca'. I prefer that more than this movie. This still moves along fine although it doesn't flow as well. The last third of the movie after the boat ride isn't quite as compelling.

Set in the French colony of Martinique during the war fishing boat captain Steve Morgan finds life is getting more complicated under the local Vichy supporting authorities. He doesn't want to get involved in any conflict though; he just wants to get on with his life… he flat out refuses to help when members of the resistance try to employ him. All that changes though when his wealthy American client is killed before he can pay him and the police confiscate his money and his passport. Around this time he also meets another American; Marie 'Slim' Browning; a part time lounge singer and part time pickpocket who he wants to help leave the island; she however wants to stay with him. When he eventually takes the job for the resistance he has the somewhat unwelcome assistance of his friend Eddie; a man who isn't happy unless he is having a drink and thus potentially unreliable.This film is inevitably going to be compared to 'Casablanca' given that it stars Humphrey Bogart as a reluctant American in French territory during the war who gradually is forced to take sides. This is unfortunate as it inevitably suffers in comparison; 'Casablanca' is of course one of the greatest films ever made. If you can put that aside though this is rather enjoyable; Bogart is great as Capt. Morgan and Lauren Bacall does a fine job, in her first role, as Slim. Given her chemistry with Bogart it is no wonder they went on to star in more films together. Walter Brennan is good as Eddie; managing to make what could have been a cliché drunk a sympathetic character. The story itself is fairly routine but it is well told and there are some decent enough action scenes as well as a degree of tension. After quite a bit of tension the ending seemed a little anticlimactic; almost as if the last few minutes were missing… we see the bad guys defeated and the heroes walking away but it felt like we should have at least got to see them sailing away on the boat. That is a minor complaint, and perhaps just a matter of taste, overall I found this to be enjoyable and I'm sure any fan of Bogart or Bacall will like it too.