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Dec. 9, 2005 Note: Being a fan of the film noir genre, occasionally I will do a piece on the stars of that period. This particular piece focuses on two of my favorite stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. An upcoming article will discuss Peter Lorre and Joan Crawford. “Bogie and Bacall” may have been America’s most popular movie star couple, even having their romance immortalized in Wade Driver‘s 1982 song, “Key Largo.” (Bertie Higgins wrote the lyrics which included, “We had it all / Just like Bogie and Bacall / Starring in our old late, late show / Sailing away to Key Largo.”) Bogie was the tough-guy actor known for his on-screen gangster persona, while Bacall was the rare combination of vamp and girl next door. Her dimples, almond-shaped eyes and flowing locks made her as big a female actor as her contemporaries, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. His parents were Belmont Maud Humphrey, a surgeon and a renowned commercial artist. After an uncredited bit part in “Life” (1920), Bogart appeared in 21 Broadway productions between 1922 and 1935. Bogart won his first starring role ten years later in, “Up the River.” Bogart’s film resume is second to none, having starred in the classics, “Angels With Dirty Faces” (1938), “The Maltese Falcon” (1941, 1 part turned down by George Raft), “Key Largo” (1948), “Casablanca (1942),” “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” 1948), “The Roaring Twenties” (1939, with James Cagney), "The Big Sleep" (1946), “Dark Passage” (1947), and "The Caine Mutiny(1954)." However, he won the Oscar for Best Actor just once, for his performance of a tough-talking, but soft-hearted boat captain in “The African Queen” (1951) opposite Katherine Hepburn. Bogart often played characters caught between the allure of the gangster life, but conflicted by moral concerns. This was also a concern of his in real life. His Wikipedia biography states, “Bogart was proud of his success as an actor, but the fact that it came from playing a gangster weighed on him. He once said, ‘I can't get in a mild discussion without turning it into an argument. There must be something in my tone of voice, or this arrogant face. something that antagonizes everybody. Nobody likes me on sight. I suppose that's why I'm cast as the heavy’." Bogart’s voice was often comic fodder for impressionists, Louise Brooks, author of “Humphrey and Bogart “wrote, “His handsome face was made extraordinary by a most beautiful mouth. It was very full, rosy...he both loved and hated his beautiful mouth. America, in the Twenties, was exclusively Western in its ideas of beauty and vulgar people made fun of Humphrey's 'nigger lips'.” Nonetheless, Entertainment Weekly magazine named him the number one greatest movie legend of all time. In 1997 he was ranked 9th in the British magazine “Empire” among the “Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.” Of the American Film Institute’s “100 Greatest movie Quotes”, six are attributed to Bogart. They include: “Here’s looking at you, kid” (No. 5), “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” (No. 20), “We'll always have Paris" (43rd), "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" (67), “Round up the usual suspects.” (No. 32, all from “Casablanca”); and “The stuff that dreams are made of” (No. 14, from “The Maltese Falcon”) Bogart was known as a heavy drinker and pushed himself through the making of “We’re No Angels.” He had cancer of the esophagus, having it removed in 1956, but by then the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and ribs. He died in 1957. In his eulogy of Bogie (a nickname bestowed upon him by friend Spencer Tracy), John Huston said succinctly, "He is quite irreplaceable. There will never be another like him." Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske in New York City on September 16, 1924. She is the daughter of William and Natalie Perske and is also the cousin of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. In 1942 she adapted the stage name Betty Bacall (the surname a reworking of her mother’s maiden name, ‘Bacal’). She was a model who was discovered by director Howard Hawkes, who later cast her in “To Have and Have Not.” He suggested she change her name from Betty to Lauren. During the 1940s Bacall became one of the biggest and arguably sexiest stars of the silver screen, but may be best known for being Bogart’s wife. She and Bogie worked together on 1944’s “To Have and Have Not,” where she seductively cooed one of the greatest lines in movie history: "You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow” (No. 34 on AFI’s “100 Greatest Film Quotes”, from the film “To Have and Have Not”). " While “Betty Davis eyes” might have been turned into a song, Bacall’s almond-shaped orbs enchanted many a moviegoer, and even Bogart who met her on the set of “To have and Have Not.” He divorced his wife Mayo Methot and despite being 25 years her senior wed Bacall a year later, It was her first marriage but his fourth. They also worked together in the classic, “Key Largo (1948), “The Big Sleep” (1946), and “Dark Passage” (1947). The two were married for 12 years, until Bogart’s death in 1957. It has been written that his last words to her, “Goodbye, kid." He was a leghendary boozer and once said, “The trouble with the world is that it's always one drink behind." It is rumored that his last words were, “I should never have switched from scotch to martinis." Bacall Later, she was briefly engaged to Frank Sinatra, then married actor Jason Robards for 8 years, until they divorced due to his alcoholism. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” losing to Barbara Hershey (“Portrait of a Lady“). However, she did win a Golden for her performance. Sources: Humphrey Bogart profile, Wikipedia Lauren Bacall profile, Wikipedia Louise Brooks, “Humphrey and Bogey,” Sight and Sound, Winter 1966-67, Vol. 36, No. 1 ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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