Classic Movie Review

Classic Movie Review

Classic Movie Review
Star of the Month - May

by Kim Everett

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born December 25, 1899. His father was Dr. Belmont DeForest Bogart, a surgeon. His mother was Maud Humphrey, a famous children's illustrator. He had two sisters, Kay who died at 34 from peritonitis and Frances Rose who had a breakdown during a difficult 27 hour childbirth. Both his parents were addicted to alcohol and morphine, and his mother, who made as much as $50,000/year doing illustrations of children for advertisements and magazines, was incapable of showing any affection. Consequently, Bogie's (nickname given to him by friend, Spencer Tracy) childhood was terribly unhappy.

Bogart was expelled from Andover in 1918 and joined the Naval Reserve. After his honorable discharge, he made his professional debut as a Japanese butler in a 1921 play in Brooklyn. He would go on to appear in over 20 Broadway productions during his early career and in eleven films between 1930 and 1934.

In 1934, he appeared in a hit play called, "The Petrified Forest" with Leslie Howard. He played the role of Duke Mantee, a ruthless, escaped killer. When Warner Brothers bought the rights to turn it into a film, they wanted Leslie Howard to reprise his role from the play, but they did not want Bogart. Howard refused to do the film unless Bogart was signed. The role won him a contract with Warner Brothers and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This 1936 film turned out to be his big break.

Bogie would battle with Warner Brothers about film and director choices until 1943 when he starred as the unforgettable Rick Blaine in "Casablanca." The success of this film resulted in a new contract with Warner Brothers that would pay him $200,000 per film and give him the freedom to make decisions about roles.

During production of several of his movies in the forties, Bogart's personal problems caused problems on the set. At the time, he was married to Mayo Methot, and their relationship was reported to be volatile and violent. He had been married twice before, first to Helen Menken from 1926-1927, then to Mary Phillips from 1928-1937. In 1945, he finally found happiness when he divorced Methot and married Lauren Bacall. He and Bacall met and fell in love on the set of "To Have and Have Not," the film debut of the nineteen year old Bacall.

The marriage to Bacall produced two children. In 1945, Stephen Humphrey Bogart was born and named after Bogart's character in "To Have and Have Not" because it was the movie his parents were filming when they met. In 1952, Leslie Howard Bogart was born and named after Leslie Howard, Bogart's friend who had played such an important role in the advancement of Bogart's career.

In 1947, he formed Santana, his own production company. The company produced many films, some memorable, and some not. In 1954, Santana was sold to Columbia for one million dollars.

Bogart's most memorable roles were those of Duke Mantee in "The Petrified Forest," Rick Blaine in "Casablanca," Fred C. Dobbs in "The Treasure of Sierra Madre," Charlie Allnut in "The African Queen," and Captain Queeg in "Caine Mutiny." His only Academy Award win was for "The African Queen," a great 1951 film made with Katharine Hepburn.

Humphrey Bogart died on January 14, 1957 after a battle with cancer. He was a legend while he lived, and now after more than fifty years since his death, he is not only still a legend, but he is larger than life. Many believe that he was the greatest actor to ever grace the screen, and I agree.

Source: Bogie, A Life In Pictures by Judith Schlesinger

Filmography

Broadway's Like That, 1930
A Devil With Women, 1930
Up the River, 1930
Body and Soul, 1931
Bad Sister, 1931
Women of All Nations, 1931
A Holy Terror, 1931
Love Affair, 1932
Big City Blues, 1932
Three on a Match, 1932
Midnight, 1934
The Petrified Forest, 1936
Bullets or Ballots, 1936
Two Against the World, 1936
China Clipper, 1936
Isle of Fury, 1936
Black Legion, 1937
The Great O'Malley, 1937
Marked Woman, 1937
Kid Galahad, 1937
San Quentin, 1937
Dead End, 1937
Stand In, 1937
Swing your Lady, 1938
Crime School, 1938
Men Are Such Fools, 1938
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, 1938
Racket Rumors, 1938
Angels With Dirty Faces, 1938
King of the Underworld, 1939
The Oklahoma Kid, 1939
Dark Victory, 1939
You Can't Get Away With Murder, 1939
The Roaring Twenties, 1939
The Return of Doctor X, 1939
Invisible Stripes, 1939
Virginia City, 1940
It All Came True, 1940
Brother Orchid, 1940
They Drive By Night, 1940
High Sierra, 1941
The Wagons Roll At Night, 1941
The Maltese Falcon, 1941
All Through the Night, 1942
The Big Shot, 1942
Across the Pacific, 1942
Casablanca, 1943
Action in the North Atlantic, 1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars, 1943
Sahara, 1943
Passage to Marseille, 1944
Report from the Front, 1944
To Have and Have Not, 1944
Conflict, 1945
Hollywood Victory Caravan, 1945
Two Guys From Milwaukee, 1946
The Big Sleep, 1946
Dead Reckoning, 1947
The Two Mrs. Carrolls, 1947
Dark Passage, 1947
Always Together, 1948
The Treasure of Sierra Madre, 1948
Key Largo, 1948
Knock on Any Door, 1949
Tokyo Joe, 1949
Chain Lightening, 1950
In a Lonely Place, 1950
The Enforcer, 1951
Sirocco, 1951
The African Queen, 1951
Deadline USA, 1952
Battle Circus, 1953
Beat the Devil, 1954
The Caine Mutiny, 1954
Sabrina, 1954
The Barefoot Contessa, 1954
We're No Angels, 1955
The Left Hand of God, 1955
The Desperate Hours, 1955
The Harder They Fall, 1956