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Key Largo

Key Largo

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $15.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gangsters. A hurricane. Danger. Fine acting. Wonderful!
Review: I've heard a lot about this 1948 film and had never seen it. I sure was in for a treat. Filmed in black and white, the tension starts right at the beginning and doesn't let up till it runs its full 101 minutes. It's the story of an ex-GI who visits a Florida Keys hotel run by the father and widow of a former buddy who was killed in action. The hotel, however, has been taken over by gangsters. And there's a hurricane brewing. Add some great directing by John Huston from a play written by Maxwell Anderson. Then throw in the stars of the day. What a mix! What a film!

I'm not a big Humphrey Bogart fan. I usually find him stiff and wooden. But he's better in this film, showing real emotion and animation on his face. Maybe it's because his leading lady is Lauren Bacall, cast as the widow. She fresh and young and beautiful and there is real chemistry between them. And then there is Edward G. Robinson. His gangster screen presence sure is real. He's the best of the best in this kind of role. All the performances were great but Lionel Barrymore, cast as the crippled owner of the hotel, is one of the best actors I've ever seen. With all this talent and terrific screenplay, though, the only academy award winner in the lot was Clare Trevor. She's cast as the gangster's girlfriend, aging and alcoholic. There's one scene in which she's forced to sing in order to get a drink. She's lost her voice but she pushes through the song as her small audience exchange knowing looks between them. It was more than an outstanding performance; it was absolutely sensational.

And then there's the hurricane. And a scene on a boat. All this was done so well that I didn't miss any high-tech special effects. The mood was set. The danger was there. There's even a great theme about good and evil and willing to put your life on the line. And it was all combined perfectly with the screenplay, the directing and some of the best acting to come out of that era.

I give this film one of my highest recommendations. It's a real treat. And a classic that has not only stood the test of time, but has aged like fine wine. Don't miss it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not one of Bogart's better films
Review: It has its moments, but this particular movie is substandard compared to Bogart's other films. The acting is not particularly good and the dialogue isn't clever either. It is mostly cheap melodrama punctuated by a few exciting moments. Unless you are a major fan of Bogart or Bacall I would recommend avoiding this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Key Lago is a fantastic movie, I saw it on TV, both in black and white and also colorized and I prefered the black and white, the colorized version looked awful and cheesy, the skin tones looked fake and the white teeth had a blueish tint, looked like a kid took a crayon and colored over the film. I also think that the black and white, the way it was filmed had a lot more appeal and I prefer the timeless beauty of the old black and white movies. Key Largo is about a returning WW2 war veteran (Humphrey Bogart) who goes to a Florida hotel to visit a dead war buddy's father (Lionel Barrymore) and widow (Lauren Bacall) only to find them taken hostage by a vicious gangster (Edward G. Robinson) and his gang, it is one of my favorite movies and I think it's just as good as Casablanca, well actually I think it's better then Casablanca which is also a fantastic movie! Everyone was wonderful in Key Largo, Bogart, Bacall, Barrymore and Robinson were outstanding and, and so was Claire Trevor who was very good as the alcoholic girlfriend of the gangster played by Edward G. Robinson. I have to agree with the person who commented that even people who don't like ganster movies will like Key Largo, I don't like Gangster movies and I loved this movie which is not your typical violent gangster movie but more like suspense! Highly recommended! I don't have this on video or DVD but I would love to have this on DVD!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Postwar Hero
Review: Key Largo gives the viewer a chance to see three of Warner Brothers' greatest stars in one movie: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, and Lauren Bacall. Bogart stars as Frank McCloud, a WWII G.I. who has seen death firsthand, and it's taken a toll on him. While visiting a late G.I. buddy's wife (Bacall) and father (Lionel Barrymore), Bogart finds himself held prisoner in their hotel by mobster Johnny Rocco (Robinson). Bogart's mettle is repeatedly tested as he is challenged by Robinson to fight back. Ultimately, he has to decide if there is still a hero inside him that the war didn't kill. The performances are all very good, especially Claire Trevor as Robinson's much abused, alcoholic girlfriend. Robinson is also terrific, and has a great opening shot smoking a cigar in his bathtub. John Huston, the director, creates a tense, realistic atmosphere in the movie. You can almost feel the humidity in Key Largo. The script is intelligent, and it's an opportunity to see Bogart and Bacall together in a different type of relationship on camera than most movie buffs probably remember them for. The movie presents memorable characters in a suspenseful situation, and it's very well made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bogart, need I say more
Review: Key Largo has a really great ensamble cast, but BOgart does stand out. Key Largo is great because the movie is filled with action and mystery keeping you wanting more.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A classic movie
Review: Key Largo is classic entertainment but why not give us the option of the computer-colored version which I think is a huge improvement.Both versions could be fitted onto the DVD.The color version makes the movie look much clearer and they have done a very good job on it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bogart's Best movie
Review: Key Largo is great and in my opinion Bogart's best movie! Definitely a recommended movie to classic movie fans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Edward G. Robinson at this best
Review: Key Largo is just one of John Huston's many memorable films that somehow always seem to transcend the intention--the Hollywood intention being to make a few bucks--and to this day still plays very well and indeed appears as something close to a work of art. It features what I think is one of Edward G. Robinson's finest performances as Johnny Rocco, a sociopathic gangster holding the off-season personnel of a seaside hotel hostage as he concludes a counterfeit money deal.

The story begins as Major Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) pays a visit to the family of one of his G.I. buddies who was killed in Italy during WWII. He finds the welcome from the hotel's only "guests" chilly except for Gaye Dawn (a funny and perhaps prescient Hollywood stage name) played by Claire Trevor who is drunk and befriends him. After a bit McCloud discovers that the hotel's owner Nora Temple (Lauren Bacall) and her invalid father-in-law James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) have been tricked into allowing Rocco's gang to stay and now, as a tropical storm begins to blow, are being held at gunpoint. McCloud's delicate task is to keep the megalomaniac and murderous personality of Rocco under some control so that he doesn't murder everyone.

Note that this is a splendid cast, and they all do a good job. Note too that Huston adapted this from a play by the versatile American playwright Maxwell Anderson. So the ingredients for a good film are clearly in place; and aside from some self-conscious mishmash with the Seminoles of Florida, this is a success. Anderson's desire to explore the psychopathic personality (some years later he adapted William March's novel The Bad Seed into a stage play) finds realization in Huston's direction and especially in Robinson's indelible performance. The utter disregard for the lives of others and the obsessive love of self that characterize the sociopath reek from the snares and callous laughter of the very sick Johnny Rocco. I especially liked the crazed and thrilled grin on his face when he emerges from the hold of the boat in the climactic scene, gun in hand, imagining that he has once again fooled his adversaries and is about to delightfully shoot Humphrey Bogart to death. What I loved about this scene was that Huston did not think it necessary to contrive a fight in which the good guy (Bogart) beats the bad guy by fighting fair. What happens is exactly what should happen, and without regard for the fine points of Marquis of Queensberry-type rules. Also good is Rocco beginning to sweat in fear of his life as the storm moves in while Bogey gives us his famous laugh and grin as he assesses the essential cowardice of the petty gangster.

Lauren Bacall, in one of her more modest roles, does a lot without saying much, and Lionel Barrymore is very good as the cantankerous old guy in a wheelchair. Claire Trevor actually won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her work, and she was good as the alcoholic moll with a heart of gold. Robinson won nothing, but he really dominated the picture and demonstrated why he was one of Hollywood's greatest stars.

Bottom line: watch this to see the gangster yarn meld into film noir with overtones of the psychoanalytical drama that characterized many of the black and white Hollywood films of the forties and early fifties.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: sweltering film noir classic
Review: KEY LARGO sits right beside THE BIG SLEEP as a very entertaining film noir classic. It features Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in one of their most memorable pairings.

Based on the play by Maxwell Anderson, KEY LARGO tells the story of ex-GI Frank McCloud (Bogart) who travels to a hotel in Key Largo owned by his old army buddy's widow Nora Temple (Bacall) and her crippled father-in-law (Lionel Barrymore). Also staying at the hotel is notorious gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), his cronies and his good-hearted moll (Claire Trevor).

As Johnny holds Frank and Nora hostage in the hotel, a vicious storm rages outside, rivalled only by the storm of passions and tempers inside the hotel at Key Largo.

Claire Trevor won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress here. Her heartbreaking performance includes singing the song "Moanin' Low".

The DVD includes the trailer.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hotel Central......Milwaukee?
Review: Maxwell Anderson,s play gets a big boost from a fine cast. Claire Trevor gets to sing "her" song. Johnny Rocco is played with verve by Mr. Robinson

John Huston has assembeled an impressive cast of characters( gangsters) for your enjoyment. Thomas Gomez, Dan Seymour, Harry Lewis( toots) Marc Lawrence(ziggy) et al.

A Real "Huston: moment occurs towards the end of the drama when the sherrif starts asking questions like " who and where do you live?" Each gang memeber says his name and then says " Hotel Central...Milwaukee"! Then of course its " Frank McCloud( Bogart) ..no address.

Old Time Fun!


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