Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Key Largo (1948)
"Life on land has become too complicated for my taste." Frank McCloud
Discharged Army Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) stops on his way South to pay his respects at the Largo Hotel, one of his deceased troops' home, and finds more than he bargained for in the classic film noir adventure Key Largo.
The Largo Hotel has been commandeered by racketeers led by Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) who, with his mob, is holding the innkeepers hostage waiting for a connection in his counterfeit money scheme. Meanwhile, a hurricane is brewing and the inhabitants are forced to wait it out in each others' company.
For those who have not been introduced to Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), he was one of our greatest actors, while those who are long-time fans will be happy to know that some of his greatest films are at last available on affordable DVDs. Key Largo will delight both old fans and attract new viewers to this hardboiled genre. Bogart is ambivalent here, something like "Rick" from "Casablanca" - "I stick my neck out for nobody," seems to be his attitude. He had appeared in several previous films with Edward G. Robinson, but as a supporting player; this time Bogart gets star billing, along with Robinson and Lauren Bacall. Robinson's is a true star performance, with his introduction suitably delayed to add tension. We hear much about the mysterious visitor in Room 11 before we meet him, and once he enters the picture, Robinson dominates every scene, gleefully menacing the women and men alike.
Adapted from a stage play by Maxwell Anderson, Director John Huston chose an all-star cast to put his story across. Claire Trevor (Stagecoach) won a best supporting actress Academy Award for her portrayal of the alcoholic gun moll "Gaye Dawn" who takes a liking to drifter Bogart. Lionel Barrymore (Treasure Island) and Lauren Bacall (The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not) are the innkeepers, "James" and daughter-in-law "Nora Temple;" Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar, Soylent Green) - one of our most memorable actors, chews the scenery with aplomb as washed up gangster "Johnny Rocco," while Humphrey Bogart (The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen) one of our greatest actors plays the reluctant hero, as he did in Casablanca and so many other films. When goaded to fight to the death with Rocco, he says, "One Rocco more or less is not worth dying for" as he chucks his gun aside. Nevertheless, Bogart does come through when the chips are down, but he does it HIS WAY. Supporting cast includes gangster Marc Lawrence (Cloak and Dagger), Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis, and Dan Seymour as Rocco's goons, and Jay Silverheels (Tonto from The Lone Ranger) as a Seminole Indian on the lam from the local police. One minor con I noticed was the supporting cast, including Bacall and Barrymore were not allowed to flesh their characters out due to the overwhelming performance of Robinson and, to a lesser extent, Bogart. Of course, the hurricane itself is a character in this film, creating turbulence on the outside akin to the stormy atmosphere inside the fateful Largo Hotel as the personalities clash and jockey for position.
Huston really turned up the tension here using all the film noir lighting and camera angles, courtesy of the masterful lenser Karl Freund (Dracula, The Good Earth) and dramatic musical score by Max Steiner (The Searchers, The Caine Mutiny). A film crew don't get any better than this!
The Warner Bros. DVD is presented in well-preserved Black and White, in 1.33:1 (4X3) theatrical format. The running time clocks in at 101 terse minutes. Only the trailer, a credits list, and French and English subtitles and language choices are included as extras which is a pretty poor package for such a classic film.
Join your family and friends to watch a classic film and see why Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were such dynamite. As the song goes, "They had it all, at Key Largo."
A notorious gangster Edward G. Robinson holds the residents of a hotel hostage during a tropical storm. This captivating cinematic adaptation of the p...More at Family Video
A hurricane swells outside, but it s nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robi...More at Buy.com
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