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Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957)
OK, well I was in the mood to watch a Bogart film. I went looking on MoFo, and didn't see a thread. Not sure what gives with that.
Everyone who likes film and movies, and knows anything about classic films or classic Hollywood knows about Humphrey Bogart. I would say maybe only John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Charlie Chaplin would rival his iconic stature in filmdom. That is to say many people who don't even like movies or care about anything from before they were born certainly know who Humphrey Bogart is. But what do you think about his films? What have you seen? Anything? Most everyone probably saw Casablanca first. Actually the first film I saw of his was The Maltese Falcon, another classic.
What I like about Bogart is his no-frills acting style. Just very natural and excellent line delivery, along the lines of a John Wayne. He didn't look like he was acting, though it was clear he was delivering lines. It is interesting that he really didn't have many great or big roles until he was well into his 30's, as he started as a theater actor before turning to film, when he played character bits and gangsters until High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca made him a bonnafied star to build a film around.
I haven't read a lot about the man. Someone more educated than me can go into his background and stories about him. From what I recall he fought in World War I or at least served. I don't know how much combat he saw. I have read that his signature snarl/lisp was caused from a wound suffered to his face in war? Again... someone more educated can verify... Holden? mark f? He married actress Lauren Bacall after they co-stared in the Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep. He died of throat/esophagus cancer in 1957. Not surprising considering he drank and smoked as much as he did off screen. According to Bacall he never complained at all even though it must have been very painful.
Of all the classic actors and actress, most people start out by watching the films of Bogart. I know I did. I have probably seen most all of his films, at least his staring films because back in my junior and senior year of high school, 2000-2001, I went through almost his entire filmography on old copies of VHS I checked out at the Marshalltown public library.
If you've seen all his movies a hundred times or if you haven't seen any and need a place to start, he's easily appreciated. I enjoy the dark morbid characters he played. They seem a complete opposite of the Jimmy Stewart type. Compared to Stewart's roles Bogart's were downright misanthropic. His sullen eyes show a world-weariness to match his raspy and tired voice. Amazing that he became a star because, while I wouldn't say he is ugly, he certainly is not handsome in the traditional sense of the male leads that were kicking around during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He's short... at least for a male lead... maybe standing at 5'8", when most stars were, and are, expected to be six feet tall. Stories are well known about how they covered up the fact that he was shorter than his leading lady, Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, which was rare then to have a man shorter than the female star. Even Bacall inched past him. He also wasn't exactly a muscle-bound beefcake either, but for some reason it was believable when he was throwing a punch, pushing around a gangster's flunkie, or slapping around a dame to get her to talk. Then again, actors often in his acting/supporting cast were not huge men by any means; Petter Lorre, James Cagney, Elisha Cook Jr., Sydney Greenstreet, Edward G. Robinson and so on... all of whom stood 5'8" or less.
But Bogart, and the filmmakers made it work. When I think of Bogart I generally think of a long rain coat, straight pants underneath - drenched nonetheless, and rain dripping off of his fedora with a cigarette lit in his mouth and a 1911 .45 in the other hand. I think of a film that I know is going to have lots of quick, snappy, and witty dialogue with fast and loose women who sell themselves to the highest bidder, whether that man is the protagonist or antagonist of the film. Yes, the "dark film" is a bit glamorized in it's shady noir, or rather the correct word to use might be romanticized.
For those of you who have not seen a Bogart film, I recommend that you do so right away. Get to your local video-store, queue up Netflix, download of the internet, or whatever you do and watch something. If you have seen some of his films... go deeper into his filmography and find a hidden gem.
I know I've seen almost all his films, but it's been awhile so I'm going to start tonight by watching Dead Reckoning again. It's hard to rank his films, because most are so good... again his screen persona transcends a bad film and he makes work because he's so "money" and enjoyable to watch prowling through the dark alleyways, and hidden dens of vice in these films... shadowy sillouette cast out of the blackness by lightning from a late night thunderstorm... but I digress.
My favorite film of his and performance is In a Lonely Place, directed by Nicolas Ray. Right behind it is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Both are probably two of his darkest roles in terms of character. It's not necessarily that he plays two of his most evil characters in the films, but he plays the most dynamic and realistic characters who have a reason to be "evil" or at least succumb to "evil."
Ranking them (staring roles)...
1. In a Lonely Place - A+
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - A+
3. The Maltese Falcon - A+
4. The Caine Mutiny - A
5. The Big Sleep - A
6. Casablanca - A-
7. To Have and Have Not - A-
8. Sabrina - A-
9. They Drive by Night - A-
10. Key Largo - B+
11. The Barefoot Contessa - B
12. The African Queen - B
13. Dark Passage - B
14. High Sierra - B
15. The Desperate Hours - B-
I've seen other films of his, but it's been so long for me to remember them or give them any kind of accurate rating. I have seen Dead Reckoning before, but I don't really remember it so I'm going to give it a watch after posting this hear.
Anywho... talk it up, or you'll be pickin' lead out of your liver.
Also if you remember, how were you introduced to the works of Bogart or hear about him in pop-culture before you knew who he was? From what I recall I first found out about him unknowingly through the old Warner Brothers cartoons which would often feature a parody of him around Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the likes. Also I know they used to parody Bogart and base characters off of him and his stock actors in the cartoon "Ducktales."
And yes... I stole the title of the thread from an episode in the Max Payne video game for those of you who caught it... all two of you.
OK, well I was in the mood to watch a Bogart film. I went looking on MoFo, and didn't see a thread. Not sure what gives with that.
Everyone who likes film and movies, and knows anything about classic films or classic Hollywood knows about Humphrey Bogart. I would say maybe only John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Charlie Chaplin would rival his iconic stature in filmdom. That is to say many people who don't even like movies or care about anything from before they were born certainly know who Humphrey Bogart is. But what do you think about his films? What have you seen? Anything? Most everyone probably saw Casablanca first. Actually the first film I saw of his was The Maltese Falcon, another classic.
What I like about Bogart is his no-frills acting style. Just very natural and excellent line delivery, along the lines of a John Wayne. He didn't look like he was acting, though it was clear he was delivering lines. It is interesting that he really didn't have many great or big roles until he was well into his 30's, as he started as a theater actor before turning to film, when he played character bits and gangsters until High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca made him a bonnafied star to build a film around.
I haven't read a lot about the man. Someone more educated than me can go into his background and stories about him. From what I recall he fought in World War I or at least served. I don't know how much combat he saw. I have read that his signature snarl/lisp was caused from a wound suffered to his face in war? Again... someone more educated can verify... Holden? mark f? He married actress Lauren Bacall after they co-stared in the Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep. He died of throat/esophagus cancer in 1957. Not surprising considering he drank and smoked as much as he did off screen. According to Bacall he never complained at all even though it must have been very painful.
Of all the classic actors and actress, most people start out by watching the films of Bogart. I know I did. I have probably seen most all of his films, at least his staring films because back in my junior and senior year of high school, 2000-2001, I went through almost his entire filmography on old copies of VHS I checked out at the Marshalltown public library.
If you've seen all his movies a hundred times or if you haven't seen any and need a place to start, he's easily appreciated. I enjoy the dark morbid characters he played. They seem a complete opposite of the Jimmy Stewart type. Compared to Stewart's roles Bogart's were downright misanthropic. His sullen eyes show a world-weariness to match his raspy and tired voice. Amazing that he became a star because, while I wouldn't say he is ugly, he certainly is not handsome in the traditional sense of the male leads that were kicking around during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He's short... at least for a male lead... maybe standing at 5'8", when most stars were, and are, expected to be six feet tall. Stories are well known about how they covered up the fact that he was shorter than his leading lady, Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, which was rare then to have a man shorter than the female star. Even Bacall inched past him. He also wasn't exactly a muscle-bound beefcake either, but for some reason it was believable when he was throwing a punch, pushing around a gangster's flunkie, or slapping around a dame to get her to talk. Then again, actors often in his acting/supporting cast were not huge men by any means; Petter Lorre, James Cagney, Elisha Cook Jr., Sydney Greenstreet, Edward G. Robinson and so on... all of whom stood 5'8" or less.
But Bogart, and the filmmakers made it work. When I think of Bogart I generally think of a long rain coat, straight pants underneath - drenched nonetheless, and rain dripping off of his fedora with a cigarette lit in his mouth and a 1911 .45 in the other hand. I think of a film that I know is going to have lots of quick, snappy, and witty dialogue with fast and loose women who sell themselves to the highest bidder, whether that man is the protagonist or antagonist of the film. Yes, the "dark film" is a bit glamorized in it's shady noir, or rather the correct word to use might be romanticized.
For those of you who have not seen a Bogart film, I recommend that you do so right away. Get to your local video-store, queue up Netflix, download of the internet, or whatever you do and watch something. If you have seen some of his films... go deeper into his filmography and find a hidden gem.
I know I've seen almost all his films, but it's been awhile so I'm going to start tonight by watching Dead Reckoning again. It's hard to rank his films, because most are so good... again his screen persona transcends a bad film and he makes work because he's so "money" and enjoyable to watch prowling through the dark alleyways, and hidden dens of vice in these films... shadowy sillouette cast out of the blackness by lightning from a late night thunderstorm... but I digress.
My favorite film of his and performance is In a Lonely Place, directed by Nicolas Ray. Right behind it is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Both are probably two of his darkest roles in terms of character. It's not necessarily that he plays two of his most evil characters in the films, but he plays the most dynamic and realistic characters who have a reason to be "evil" or at least succumb to "evil."
Ranking them (staring roles)...
1. In a Lonely Place - A+
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - A+
3. The Maltese Falcon - A+
4. The Caine Mutiny - A
5. The Big Sleep - A
6. Casablanca - A-
7. To Have and Have Not - A-
8. Sabrina - A-
9. They Drive by Night - A-
10. Key Largo - B+
11. The Barefoot Contessa - B
12. The African Queen - B
13. Dark Passage - B
14. High Sierra - B
15. The Desperate Hours - B-
I've seen other films of his, but it's been so long for me to remember them or give them any kind of accurate rating. I have seen Dead Reckoning before, but I don't really remember it so I'm going to give it a watch after posting this hear.
Anywho... talk it up, or you'll be pickin' lead out of your liver.
Also if you remember, how were you introduced to the works of Bogart or hear about him in pop-culture before you knew who he was? From what I recall I first found out about him unknowingly through the old Warner Brothers cartoons which would often feature a parody of him around Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the likes. Also I know they used to parody Bogart and base characters off of him and his stock actors in the cartoon "Ducktales."
And yes... I stole the title of the thread from an episode in the Max Payne video game for those of you who caught it... all two of you.
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"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below
http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201
"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below
http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201
i really enjoy that era.
