Key Largo

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Buy This Item Key Largo by MGM (Video & DVD)  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 9-22-2008     John Huston (<I>The Maltese Falcon</I>) directed this smart thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawks's <I>To Have and Have Not</I> (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. <I>--Tom Keogh</I> Reader Reviews Imagine Hollywood fielding a team of Oscar winners like L.Barrymore, Bogart, Trevor, director Huston, along with Bacall, and E.G.Robinson today! And you think the Yankees have payroll problems? Bogart pays a visit to Key Largo to visit the father of one of his best WW2 soldiers, only to discover that former mob leader (Robinson) and his men have taken over Barrymore's Hotel. With a hurricane approaching, Bogart senses correctly that Robinson is fearful and vulnerable without a gun. Bogie intentionally plays coward to help insure the safety of the hostages, then agrees to take the entire gang of counterfeiters back to Cuba, once the hurricane has passed.Trevor is left behind as a has-been, and Bacall is both chagrined and heartbroken by Bogart's apparent desertion. Improbably, Bogie succeeds in killing all of the gangsters aboard ship,in a totally believeable sequence;something that James Bond would be proud to imitate 17 years later. Movie was aided by a rock song years later(with false lyrics). The movie is very dated, but also very well done. Look for Jay Silverheels in a minor role, 2 years before joining Clayton Moore on television's 'The Lone Ranger".

Key Largo Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 9-22-2008.

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