1948 news items: Harry Truman was re-elected president. -Price were lower = Gas was between $.16 to $.26 per gallon, a new car was around $1,250 and bread $.14 a loaf, Stamps $.03, but the Minimum wage was only $.40 per hour and the average annual salary was between $2,900 and $3,600 per year. -Scientists at Bell Labs invent the transistor, which lead to transistor radios, better TV's and eventually computers. -Soviets blockade West Berlin: Western allies respond with massive airlift. -Israel achieves statehood. -NASCAR holds its first race ever for modified stock cars at Daytona Beach. -Mahatma Gandhi Assassinated -Olympic Games were held in London in 1948, first time since before WWII. -Columbia Records unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record, the 33 1/3, LP. -The effects of WWII were still being felt in Europe, 10,000 people lived in shanty towns on the outskirts of Rome in 1948 made from packing cases, Old Sewage Pipes and bombed out cars. -Oscar winner for Best Film – HAMLET, Best Director – John Huston for TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.
KEY LARGO is loosely based on Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play which featured Paul Muni. In the play, the gangsters are Mexican bandits, the war in question is the Spanish Civil War, and Frank is a disgraced deserter who dies at the end to protect the family.
For proper atmosphere Director John Huston and screenwriter Richard Brooks hammered out their story while actually staying at a Key Largo hotel off season. There they heard from witnesses about the Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 which caused over 400 deaths.
Huston personalized the script by making Bogie's character a World War II veteran who had served in the Italian campaign at Battle of San Pietro where Huston himself had served.
Edward G. Robinson became a major star playing a gangster in Little Caesar back in 1930. His character Rocco was modeled on real life gangsters Al Capone and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. At the start of his career he was the lead and Bogart would get killed off before the end. Bogart and Robinson appeared in four films together before this one, Bullets or Ballots (1936), Kid Galahad (1937), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) and my favorite Brother Orchid (1940).
Director Huston wanted take away the glamour of the gangster and show him for the thug he was.
Bogart's character was tired of war and killing and wanted nothing to do with fighting.
In her autobiography, By Myself, Lauren Bacall recalls Key Largo as "one of the happiest movie experiences. I thought how marvelous a medium the movies were, to enable one to meet, befriend, and work with such people."
Bogart never gave Bacall direction in front of anyone but choose to coach her away from the set telling her don't over act if someone points a gun at you the audience knows your scared, you don't have to show it.
Robinson later commented on his marquee status in his autobiography (All My Yesterdays): "The journey down. No suspense to this. I didn't even argue. Why not second billing? At fifty-three I was lucky to get any billing at all."
Claire Trevor plays Rocco's alcoholic companion, a character based on Lucky Luciano's mistress, Gay Orlova. Trevor kept asking Huston when could they rehearse her singing, he always answered they had plenty of time. Then one day after lunch he told her to get into costume they were filming the scene. With no practice or warning a piano hit one note and he made her sing it cold – at the end of the song one of the crew said to another – "She's going to win an Oscar for that" – and she did.
This was Lauren Bacall's 5th film, she was 24 years old. Today she is 84 (the sexiest over 80 actress I might add) and since turning 70 she has made 24 films!
Jay Silverheels plays one of the Osceola Indians, he was so good the next year he was cast in the LONE RANGER TV show and would appear in 220 episodes of that show.
Harry Lewis plays the young gangster in the white suit, Edward 'Toots' Bass. Unfortunately his acting career never took off. Poor Harry Lewis and his wife wanted to stay in Hollywood while he looked for more acting work so they opened a restaurant and called it Hamburger Hamlet. He worked occasionally and the restaurant did well so he opened more locations, in 1987 he sold all his restaurants and the name for 33 Million dollars.
Cinematography: Karl Freund (Metropolis, All Quiet on the Western Front, Dir. The Mummy and was the chief cameraman on I LOVE LUCY) 15) Music: Max Steiner (Citizen Kane, King Kong, Top Hat, Gone With The Wind)
Did I mention the song? The 1981 song "Key Largo", by singer-songwriter Bertie Higgins, draws heavily on influences from the film. This song hit the Top 10 on the pop chart in the United States and went to #1 on the adult contemporary chart.
KEY LARGO is loosely based on Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play which featured Paul Muni. In the play, the gangsters are Mexican bandits, the war in question is the Spanish Civil War, and Frank is a disgraced deserter who dies at the end to protect the family.
For proper atmosphere Director John Huston and screenwriter Richard Brooks hammered out their story while actually staying at a Key Largo hotel off season. There they heard from witnesses about the Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 which caused over 400 deaths.
Huston personalized the script by making Bogie's character a World War II veteran who had served in the Italian campaign at Battle of San Pietro where Huston himself had served.
Edward G. Robinson became a major star playing a gangster in Little Caesar back in 1930. His character Rocco was modeled on real life gangsters Al Capone and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. At the start of his career he was the lead and Bogart would get killed off before the end. Bogart and Robinson appeared in four films together before this one, Bullets or Ballots (1936), Kid Galahad (1937), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) and my favorite Brother Orchid (1940).
Director Huston wanted take away the glamour of the gangster and show him for the thug he was.
Bogart's character was tired of war and killing and wanted nothing to do with fighting.
In her autobiography, By Myself, Lauren Bacall recalls Key Largo as "one of the happiest movie experiences. I thought how marvelous a medium the movies were, to enable one to meet, befriend, and work with such people."
Bogart never gave Bacall direction in front of anyone but choose to coach her away from the set telling her don't over act if someone points a gun at you the audience knows your scared, you don't have to show it.
Robinson later commented on his marquee status in his autobiography (All My Yesterdays): "The journey down. No suspense to this. I didn't even argue. Why not second billing? At fifty-three I was lucky to get any billing at all."
Claire Trevor plays Rocco's alcoholic companion, a character based on Lucky Luciano's mistress, Gay Orlova. Trevor kept asking Huston when could they rehearse her singing, he always answered they had plenty of time. Then one day after lunch he told her to get into costume they were filming the scene. With no practice or warning a piano hit one note and he made her sing it cold – at the end of the song one of the crew said to another – "She's going to win an Oscar for that" – and she did.
This was Lauren Bacall's 5th film, she was 24 years old. Today she is 84 (the sexiest over 80 actress I might add) and since turning 70 she has made 24 films!
Jay Silverheels plays one of the Osceola Indians, he was so good the next year he was cast in the LONE RANGER TV show and would appear in 220 episodes of that show.
Harry Lewis plays the young gangster in the white suit, Edward 'Toots' Bass. Unfortunately his acting career never took off. Poor Harry Lewis and his wife wanted to stay in Hollywood while he looked for more acting work so they opened a restaurant and called it Hamburger Hamlet. He worked occasionally and the restaurant did well so he opened more locations, in 1987 he sold all his restaurants and the name for 33 Million dollars.
Cinematography: Karl Freund (Metropolis, All Quiet on the Western Front, Dir. The Mummy and was the chief cameraman on I LOVE LUCY) 15) Music: Max Steiner (Citizen Kane, King Kong, Top Hat, Gone With The Wind)
Did I mention the song? The 1981 song "Key Largo", by singer-songwriter Bertie Higgins, draws heavily on influences from the film. This song hit the Top 10 on the pop chart in the United States and went to #1 on the adult contemporary chart.