Key Largo (1948)

A man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Richard Brooks (screenplay), John Huston (screenplay)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Frank McCloud
Edward G. Robinson	...	Johnny Rocco
Lauren Bacall	...	Nora Temple
Lionel Barrymore	...	James Temple
Claire Trevor	...	Gaye Dawn
Thomas Gomez	...	Richard 'Curly' Hoff
Harry Lewis	...	Edward 'Toots' Bass
John Rodney	...	Deputy Clyde Sawyer
Marc Lawrence	...	Ziggy
Dan Seymour	...	Angel Garcia
Monte Blue	...	Sheriff Ben Wade
William Haade	...	Ralph Feeney

Storyline

Frank McCloud travels to a run-down hotel on Key Largo to honor the memory of a friend who died bravely in his unit during WW II. His friend's widow, Nora Temple, and wheelchair bound father, James Temple manage the hotel and receive him warmly, but the three of them soon find themselves virtual prisoners when the hotel is taken over by a mob of gangsters led by Johnny Rocco who hole up there to await the passing of a hurricane. Mr. Temple strongly reviles Rocco but due to his infirmities can only confront him verbally. Having become disillusioned by the violence of war, Frank is reluctant to act, but Rocco's demeaning treatment of his alcoholic moll, Gaye Dawn, and his complicity in the deaths of the Osceola Brothers and a deputy sheriff start to motivate McCloud to overcome his Hamlet-like inaction.

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Plot Keywords:

florida noir | gangster | widow | moll | wheelchair | 

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Taglines:

A storm of fear and fury in the sizzling Florida Keys !

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a classic case of a director being emotionally manipulative, John Huston did not inform Claire Trevor about when she was to perform her song solo until the very day it was shot. Trevor was not a trained singer, and she had not even rehearsed the song yet. She also felt very intimidated that she had to perform the song for the A-list actors seated directly in front of her. The result was a hesitant, nervous, uncomfortable rendition--exactly the feeling Huston was hoping to get.

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Goofs

Frank says that Rocco's boat anchored just offshore "ought to be away from those reefs with this blow coming up". The coral reefs are much farther offshore.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sheriff Ben Wade: [to the driver after pulling over a bus] Hello, Eddie.
Bus Driver: Hi, Ben. What gives?
Sheriff Ben Wade: We're lookin' for a couple Indians broke out of jail. Young bucks in fancy shirts. If you see anything of 'em, telephone my office at Palm Grove.
Bus Driver: Okay.
[after the sheriff and deputy leave, he turns to Frank McCloud in the first passenger seat]
Bus Driver: Those Indians they're lookin' for must be from around here. They always head for home.
Frank McCloud: Home being Key Largo.

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Crazy Credits

At the southernmost point of the United States are the Florida Keys, a string of small islands held together by a concrete causeway. Largest of these remote coral islands is Key Largo.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart (1988)

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Soundtracks

Moanin' Low
(uncredited)
Music by Ralph Rainger
Lyrics by Howard Dietz
Sung by Claire Trevor

User Reviews

Superb cast and taut drama

While chiefly remembered as a Bogart/Bacall vehicle, this story of expatriate gangsters commandeering a sleepy tropical hotel is, in actuality, a tightly directed ensemble piece with acting chops to burn.

There's Edward G. Robinson as Johnny Rocco--the brash, boisterous, sleazy gangster whose frailties (cowardice and a yearning for better times) gradually unfold before us. There's Lionel Barrymore as James Temple, the delightfully feisty and crusty hotel owner overcome with revulsion at Rocco's presence. There's Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis, Dan Seymour and William Haade as Curly, Toots, Angel and Ralphie--Rocco's colorful but hard-edged thugs who are presences unto themselves. There's Claire Trevor as Gaye, Rocco's declining, alcoholic moll who symbolizes more than anything how far Rocco has fallen.

That's an awful lot. Too much scenery-chewing from Bogart or Bacall would push it over the top--and director/screenwriter/demigod John Huston knows it. He coaxes remarkably restrained and subtle performances out of his star couple. The romantic tension between them is suggested but never shoved in the audience's face. Bogart's wandering war vet Frank McCloud keeps his lips tight and plays his cards close to the chest--a streetwise outsider through and through. Bacall's Nora Temple lets her anger and distaste pour out through her smoldering eyes more often than her mouth.

Ultimately, the subtlety is so well-hidden between the gigantic performances of Robinson and Barrymore that you might miss just how sophisticated Frank's story is. Disillusioned and drifting since the war, he stops in to visit the wife (Nora) and father (James) of a fallen comrade whose bravery he admired. Implicit in his visit is an unspoken apology that it is he, and not their loved one, who is returning home. The fallen soldier is a constant unseen presence in the film--his bravery and honor mocking what Frank sees as his own cowardice and inability to stand up to Rocco (Bogart's fast-talking explanation of why he didn't shoot Rocco when he had the chance is classic and rare--a protagonist lying to his friends and his audience--"One Rocco more or less isn't worth dying for!"). Frank's eventual decision to take on Rocco and his hoods is a victory against the fear that plagues and shames him.

In a larger sense, this is a true period movie about a generation of men returning home from the greatest conflict the world has ever known. Most of our national memories of World War II are proud and triumphant, but, as with any war, it left countless people scarred physically and mentally. Though Frank is a decorated soldier, he feels somehow that what he did wasn't enough (because he lived and his friend did not?), and he returns back to a country in which he has no place with no real pride or satisfaction. The confrontation with Rocco affords him a chance (perhaps only possible in Hollywood or on the stage, where the story of "Key Largo" was first performed) to make things right with his world.

While it has not aged as well as the better-known films of Bogart's and Huston's careers, "Key Largo" is a film that, for a little investment of attention and thought, will pay big dividends to anyone that really and truly loves movies.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

31 July 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Key Largo

Filming Locations:

Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,017,420

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,524,420

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1