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Post by topbilled on Feb 13, 2024 21:23:40 GMT
Humphrey Bogart had been a stage actor on the east coast who tried his luck in Hollywood during the early 1930s. He appeared in a few hit films, not as the lead, and with his screen career going nowhere, he went back to Broadway. But a stage success with THE PETRIFIED FOREST led to his return to Hollywood to make the film version. It was a hit for Warner Brothers, and the studio signed Bogart to a long-term contract due to his memorable portrayal as gangster Duke Mantee in the story. Bogart was typecast in these parts for the rest of the decade and into the 1940s. He did not achieve his breakthrough as a leading man until he appeared in the heist film HIGH SIERRA in 1941 which had been written by John Huston. He followed this up with another hit, the remake of THE MALTESE FALCON, which Huston directed. And from here on out, Bogart’s stardom was never in question—especially when he was soon teamed opposite Ingrid Bergman in what is his most well-known film, CASABLANCA.
Check out:
THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936)
ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1942)
CONFLICT (1945) |
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Post by gerald424 on Feb 14, 2024 3:19:12 GMT
He had to rebuild his career twice. He came from a well off family and when he came to Hollywood, he was typecast as the preppy rich kid with the sweater over his shoulder. Other actors would laugh at him. He left Hollywood and went to the stage. That's where he met Leslie Howard doing a stage version of Petrified Forest. When they brought it to the screen, they wanted an established actor for his role. Howard said: "If Bogart doesn't do the movie, I don't do the movie". Bogart did the movie. Bogart named his daughter Leslie after Howard.
But, then he was typecast again, this time as a gangster. Until George Raft began turning down starring roles that Bogart scooped up and soon Bogart was far above Raft in stardom. It was then he finally became the Humphrey Bogart we all know. He was no overnight sensation.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 14, 2024 13:16:52 GMT
He had to rebuild his career twice. He came from a well off family and when he came to Hollywood, he was typecast as the preppy rich kid with the sweater over his shoulder. Other actors would laugh at him. He left Hollywood and went to the stage. That's where he met Leslie Howard doing a stage version of Petrified Forest. When they brought it to the screen, they wanted an established actor for his role. Howard said: "If Bogart doesn't do the movie, I don't do the movie". Bogart did the movie. Bogart named his daughter Leslie after Howard.
But, then he was typecast again, this time as a gangster. Until George Raft began turning down starring roles that Bogart scooped up and soon Bogart was far above Raft in stardom. It was then he finally became the Humphrey Bogart we all know. He was no overnight sensation.
I did like THE BIG SLEEP, though there were some script problems. I was most interested in it from the Bogey-Bacall standpoint, seeing how her character was developed in relation to his as the story progressed. Also, I could tell which parts must have been reshot and/or added on later, because their chemistry changes noticeably in scenes...and sure enough, when I read the production notes, the parts that I figured were done after their marriage versus the parts filmed before they were wed, were exactly as I suspected. So just seeing their relationship develop and evolve both on and off screen makes that film fascinating to me, much more than the plot or the other performers' roles.
After watching THE BIG SLEEP, I was eager to re-watch DARK PASSAGE which I hadn't seen in awhile...since it was their first full movie as a married couple, even if they were not playing a married duo on screen. I really came to appreciate both their styles more. Previously, KEY LARGO was my favorite Bogey film, but I am now thinking it is DARK PASSAGE. It has a bit of an art-film feel with the experimental camera work in the beginning. I think Bacall's close-ups are fantastic...and interestingly, I feel as if Bacall's jewishness comes through more in this role, so she feels like she's giving a performance that conveys her authentic self, more than she does in KEY LARGO and her later pictures. |
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Post by gerald424 on Feb 15, 2024 22:07:00 GMT
Recently I have been catching up on a few Bogey classics that, believe it or not, had eluded me for years. I had never seen THE BIG SLEEP...parts of it, yeah, but not the whole thing all the way through. Also, I had never seen THE MALTESE FALCON all the way through. So it was fun to basically discover them for the first time. I think THE MALTESE FALCON is overrated, it was a bit too dragged out in spots for me, and I was expecting more with Gladys George's character, so her limited involvement disappointed me. I did not care for Mary Astor's character, all of her lying seemed endless and contrived. Yes, yes, I know people love this movie and will take it with them in the afterlife, but it just didn't do much for me.
I did like THE BIG SLEEP, though there were some script problems. I was most interested in it from the Bogey-Bacall standpoint, seeing how her character was developed in relation to his as the story progressed. Also, I could tell which parts must have been reshot and/or added on later, because their chemistry changes noticeably in scenes...and sure enough, when I read the production notes, the parts that I figured were done after their marriage versus the parts filmed before they were wed, were exactly as I suspected. So just seeing their relationship develop and evolve both on and off screen makes that film fascinating to me, much more than the plot or the other performers' roles.
Actually, it wasn't after their marriage. Their first film together To Have and To Have Not (1944), was in theaters while this was filming. And audience response to their on screen chemistry led the studio to add scenes of the two together, which you noted. Problem was, this made the film too long. So they cut out parts that help understand the plot. So many viewers liked the film but, were confused about the story. Robert Osbourne explained all this years ago. TCM actually added all the missing parts for their showing of the film.
And I would agree, you can easily see the sparks between Bogart and Bacall in THaTHN. If you're interested in how their relationship progressed, this is a movie you should also see.
Maltese Falcon (1941), is considered the first noir. To understand it's significance, you would have to look at what films existed before it. Looking back, of course it might feel dated because so many films after it were influenced by it. So it may looks like a copy of a good noir, when in reality other noirs are copies of it.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 15, 2024 22:26:12 GMT
My not caring much for THE MALTESE FALCON is not because I felt it was dated. I think I explained the reasons why-- the lack of screen time for Gladys George, the direction they took Mary Astor's character in, which I really disliked, and the way the plot dragged in a few spots. Just because it is highly regarded by many others doesn't mean it works as entertainment for all individual viewers.
As for THE BIG SLEEP...I know that it was filmed in late '44 and early '45...but they added new material in early '46, that is what I was referring to...and that was after Bogey and Bacall were married, so you can see their relationship changing in the film...in some of those tacked on scenes, they are much more comfortable, like a married couple would be, than the stuff shot a year earlier when their relationship was much newer.
The reason the studio added material in January '46, before the picture was released later in the year is because Bacall's intervening film CONFIDENTIAL AGENT did not do well. Her agent requested that the studio beef up her role in THE BIG SLEEP to make sure that she had a prominent role alongside Bogey in case it was the big hit they hoped it would be. This resulted in some of Martha Vickers' scenes being cut, which was something Raymond Chandler disliked as he felt Carmen was the more dramatically important of the two sisters, not Vivian.
The studio went along with the request made by Bacall's agent, because her marriage to Bogey was big news and they agreed that by beefing up her role, it might increase the profitability of the film.
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Post by Andrea Doria on Feb 19, 2024 15:56:33 GMT
I will have to seek out, "Dark Passage." Until then my favorite Bogie movie remains Key Largo.
So many great performances at one time.
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