Key Largo (1948)

 John Huston's "Key Largo"


After the instant classics that "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Treasures of the Sierra Madre" became, John Huston became a high valued director in the studio system. With his 1948 film "Key Largo," he teamed up once again with his lead collaborating actor Humphrey Bogart. The film starred Bogart and his famous wife Lauren Bacall and would be the last film the couple would ever appear in together. 

The film centers on an Army veteran named Frank who travels to the Florida Keys in order to visit the family of an old Army comrade. While there, the hotel the family runs is overtaken by a notorious gangster who is hellbent on escaping by boat. The only problem is that when a terrible hurricane arrives, the group must hunker down with the gangster and his posse and survive the night.

"Key Largo," for me, is one of those classic Hollywood 1940s pulpy noiresque thrillers that doesn't have a whole lot of thematic complexity, but still manages to entertain nonetheless. It has great performances from Bogart, Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, and Claire Trevor, whom won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role.



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