Key Largo

Key Largo is a remote island off the coast of Florida. It's connected to the mainland by a concrete causeway. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) goes there to visit the father of a dead army buddy. He meets him (Lionel Barrymore) and his buddies widow (Lauren Bacall). He also discovers criminal Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson) is holed up there with his gang and alcoholic girlfriend (Claire Trevor). A hurricane hits and they're all stranded on the island together...and Johnny and his gang have guns and nasty tempers...

Bogart and Bacall's last movie together and a good one too. This was based on a play and it sometimes shows. Characters tend to give long speeches explaining who they are and their motivations. Still it's well-written and acted and beautifully directed by John Huston. When the hurricane hits the special effects are actually pretty good with cool sound effects too.

The acting is (with one exception) good. Bogart seemed incapable of giving a bad performance and he's just great here. Robinson doesn't show up until nearly 30 minutes in--but you always know he's there. He's OK but I think he played the gangster role once too often. Barrymore is given little to do but he is good. Trevor is superb in her small role--she understandably won a Best Supporting Actress award for this. Surprisingly Bacall is terrible! She's stone faced throughout and gives a bad performance. Maybe she didn't click with the director (Huston was not known for his tact and tended to be a screamer).

Still it's a good solid drama--worth catching. I give it an 8.