Set during the first few months of World War II, this Howard Hawks thriller stars Humphrey Bogart as a politically neutral American living overseas who reluctantly becomes instrumental in the safe transportation of a French Resistance fighter and his loyal wife. From such a plot summary alone, 'To Have and Have Not' might sound a lot like 'Casablanca', and the influence is hard to deny. To the film's credit, lead actress Lauren Bacall is arguably more effective than Ingrid Bergman and some of the dialogue matches 'Casablanca' in how snappy it is ("I'd walk home if wasn't for all the water" plus the famous whistling line), however, generally speaking, this comes off as a pale version of 'Casablanca'. Bogart's character does not have heartbreak or much in the way of cynicism to overcome, the supporting characters are nowhere near as colourful or charismatic and the film's patriotic stance is really drilled in towards the end. All the acclaim thrown Bacall's way over the years is very much justified though with every dialogue exchange between herself and Bogie ranging from memorable to utterly breathtaking. The film is sadly nowhere near as electric in the moments when Bacall is not on screen (and she is absent from around half the film), but the chemistry between the two main players is enough to recommend the film throughout its lulls.
Review of To Have and Have Not
