KEY LARGO (1948)

Bogart versus Robinson with an all-star supporting cast!

World War II vet Humphrey Bogart travels to Key Largo to visit the family (father: Lionel Barrymore, widow: Lauren Bacall) of one of the soldiers he served with.  The guy was killed in battle in Italy, so Bogart is hoping to give them some closure.  The family owns a hotel and even though it's off season the entire hotel is rented out...by one mysterious, unseen guest and his hoodlum crew.  There's some tension in the air, but things seem to be going alright, until a hurricane warning is issued and the coppers start snooping around.  Next thing you know some bad shit goes down and it's up to Bogart to do some quick thinking or ain't nobody gettin' out alive.

Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Harry Lewis (doing an impersonation of Richard Widmark in KISS OF DEATH), Marc Lawrence, William Haade, Dan Seymour and Thomas Gomez all directed by John Huston...how cool is that?!  I really enjoyed KEY LARGO, especially the scenes with Robinson holding court and being an asshole.  Yeah, the film has some blemishes (the outdoor shots by the dock were obviously shot on a man made pool and not the ocean, boom microphone reflection, dead body moving, visible wires used to pull the palm trees during the special effects shot, etc.), but the acting out shadows all of that.  Edward G. Robinson is wonderful as the aging gangster who's too proud to realize that his brand of gangsterism is over and he's now a dinosaur.  On the other end is Humphrey Bogart as a ex-military guy with personal demons who has to use his wits save the day.

Good story, great supporting cast (it's always a joy to see Lionel Barrymore), quick pace, hilarious facial expressions by Robinson.  KEY LARGO is a must see.  And "No." I don't consider it to be a film noir even though I often see it listed as one.

HIGH SIERRA (1941)

Aging gangster, "Mad Dog" Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart), is sprung from prison by a governor's pardon that was paid for by kingpin, Donald MacBride.  MacBride wants him to knock over an exclusive resort motel.  He can't do it alone, so MacBride hires him some help.  Unfortunately, they're just a bunch of punk kids green behind the ears.  On the way to the meeting place, Bogart nearly has a wreck with a dirt poor family that happens to have a very attractive (and manipulating) daughter.  Bogart falls for her.  At the same time, a girl that came with one of his crew members (Ida Lupino) falls for him.  You can probably see where this is going.

George Raft and Paul Muni both passed on the role of "Mad Dog" Roy Earle, but lucky for us the lesser known Bogart picked it up and he's great.  His co-star from the previous year's THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, Ida Lupino might have gotten the top-billing, but he's clearly the star here as the worn down gangster with a noble heart.  That's not to say that Lupino isn't great also, cause I think she's always awesome.  Anyway, great movie, somewhat dated, excellent supporting cast, quick pace and Bogart's real life dog, Zero, is cute as a button!

Remake 1 - Colorado Territory (1949)
Remake 2 - I Died a Thousand Times (1955)