To Have and Have Not (1944)

Director: Howard Hawks

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Moran, Hoagy Carmichael, Sheldon Leonard, Walter Szurovy, Marcel Dalio, Walter Sande, Dan Seymour, Aldo Nadi

More info: IMDb

Tagline: At Last! Bogart makes love his kind of woman!

Plot: Harry Morgan and his alcoholic sidekick, Eddie, are based on the island of Martinique and crew a boat available for hire. However, since the second world war is happening around them business is not what it could be and after a customer who owes them a large sum fails to pay they are forced against their better judgement to violate their preferred neutrality and to take a job for the resistance transporting a fugitive on the run from the Nazis to Martinique. Through all this runs the stormy relationship between Morgan and Marie "Slim" Browning, a resistance sympathizer and the sassy singer in the club where Morgan spends most of his days.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

If it sounds like a loose remake of CASABLANCA (1942), you're not far off the mark.  It looks and feels like it sometimes.  There's a bar, we're dealing with WWII Vichy France, and Humphrey Bogart is asked to get some people out of the country.  Hell, there's even a piano player that sings some tunes.  But if you haven't seen it and you like CASABLANCA, don't let all of this stop you.  It's a fun flick loaded with great dialogue and fun performances.  You've probably heard this bit before...

MMMM mmmmm MMMM!  Smokin'!  What an iconic scene!  This is Warner Bros. and everyone else in high form making a tight, interesting, fun picture that's driven by great performances, lots of witty lines and an upbeat pacing that will surely leave you with a smile on your face.