Of Hurricanes, Hamburgers, and Huston: Revisiting Key Largo![]()
I began the section on Huston with Key Largo, a crime drama released in 1948. The film stars Huston favorite Humphrey Bogart as WWII veteran Frank McCloud, who visits the Key Largo home of one of the men from his unit. The young man had been killed in combat, and McCloud feels compelled to call on the man’s father and widow, Nora. Nora is played by Lauren Bacall, and the father is portrayed by Lionel Barrymore, who, by this point in his career, was forced to play his roles in a wheelchair because of the crippling effects of arthritis and two hip fractures. Barrymore’s character owns the Hotel Largo, which has been taken over by gangster Johnny Rocco, played with great flair by Edward G. Robinson. While Rocco and his gang wait for an associate, a hurricane hits the Florida Keys and confines all of them inside the Hotel Largo.
As usual when I watch a film familiar to me from previous viewings, I was drawn to details that I had not noticed before, particularly the references based on real-life events. Frank tells the grieving father about the battle that took his son’s life, which occurred in San Pietro in the Italian campaign. During the war, Huston had directed the documentary The Battle of San Pietro for the U.S. Army, a frank account of the actual conflict. His cameramen had filmed alongside the soldiers as they fought their way toward San Pietro. (According to the new book, Five Came Back, at least some of the footage was staged. See comments section below.) Also, Huston dared to include close-ups of the dead soldiers’ faces as they were being placed into body bags, which disturbed the military brass. The Battle of San Pietro was shown to soldiers as part of their training, but its release to the general public was delayed, because of the frank portrayal of the soldiers’ plights. In an indirect way, Huston exposed the harsh conditions of the battle and its high cost anyway via the description given by Frank in Key Largo. As the hurricane reaches a peak of fury, the gangsters reveal their fears and anxieties. Barrymore’s frail and disabled character, who cannot physically fight back against the mobsters, gets even by playing on their fears. He takes great delight in telling the story of a previous hurricane that destroyed part of the Florida Keys. Barrymore’s considerable vocal talents dramatize the story into a frightening experience for the gunsels, but the hurricane he was talking about was an actual event in Florida’s history. The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 was a category 5 storm that hit the Upper Keys on August 31. It blew through Matecumbe, Plantation, and Tavernier Keys with such ferocity that it permanently wiped out Matecumbe’s pineapple plantations and lime groves—a staple of their economy. The statistics for the hurricane are devastating: 200-250-mile winds; a 25-foot surge; 500 people killed. Most of the victims were WWI veterans building a highway through the Keys for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC had adopted a hurricane evacuation plan for the men in which a train from the mainland was to head for the Keys at the first hint of a severe storm. For reasons never divulged, the train did not leave Miami on time. It arrived in Matecumbe, where the workers were stationed, in the middle of the hurricane. The train had barely started back when it was derailed by the storm surge. Most of the workers were drowned, whipped to death by the wind, or crushed by debris. In 1932, these same vets had been part of the Bonus March on Washington D.C. in which 15,000 jobless veterans had traveled to D.C. to persuade Congress to pass a bill that would allow them a promised bonus early. Instead, President Herbert Hoover sent army troops to run the marchers’ out of their makeshift camp with bayonets and tear gas. American soldiers thrusting bayonets at American veterans did not make good front-page copy for the sitting president. Franklin Roosevelt gave many of the vets jobs through the CCC to make up for Hoover’s p.r. nightmare. After the hurricane, an outraged Ernest Hemingway, who was among the first to visit the devastation, wrote a scathing article, denouncing the government for failing these veterans—twice. Roosevelt demanded an investigation, but if anything was uncovered, it was never revealed, and no one was held accountable. The character of Johnny Rocco was based on Lucky Luciano. In the film, Rocco had been deported because he was a powerful mobster. He grew wealthy during Prohibition when America let legalities slip in order to continue drinking alcohol, and he became powerful enough to influence politicians until reformers rallied to deport him. Rocco was trying to stage a comeback to the rackets. Luciano had been imprisoned in 1937 for heading a massive prostitution ring, among other charges, though he continued to have influence on his faction of the mob from prison. During WWII, he made a deal with the U.S. government to relay useful scuttlebutt regarding German or Italian movements that might come drifting through the New York docks. (The mob controlled the docks.) In exchange, his sentence was commuted, but Luciano was deported in 1946. While his dealings with the military were secret, his deportation was still fresh enough in everyone’s mind to connect Rocco to Luciano. Key Largo was the last film on Huston’s contract with Warner Bros. The film was based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, which was purchased by Warner Bros. as a property for Bogart. The scenes based on actual events were added by Huston and Richard Brooks, his cowriter on the film. Huston did not like the play, and Brooks had to continually coax him into working on it during preproduction. The original play had starred Paul Muni as a disillusioned veteran of the Spanish Civil War who visits the Keys to see the family of a friend who had died in the war. There he tangles with a gambler and his associates who have taken over the hotel. Brooks updated the storyline to 1948 and borrowed from the Luciano legend to turn the gambler into a mobster, which appealed to Huston. Brooks wrote a great deal of the script, but Huston steered him by challenging him about character motivation, theme, and relevancy. He tweaked the script and added details that gave it distinction and color. In the scene in which Rocco whispers vulgarities into Nora’s ear, Brooks had rewritten the dialogue from the play without the obscenities because the Production Code would not have allowed them. Huston decided to cut the dialogue altogether; instead, he had Rocco whisper so that the audience could not hear anything. Nora’s reaction indicated just how disgusting his suggestions were. ![]() HARRY LEWIS PLAYED TOOTS. HUSTON PICKED ON LEWIS WHO HAD DIFFICULTIES WITH THE ROLE. LEWIS QUIT ACTING TO OPEN A BURGER JOINT WITH HIS WIFE. THEY STRUGGLED FOR YEARS BEFORE MAKING IT A SUCCESS AS THE HAMBURGER HAMLET. Huston and Brooks stayed at the real Hotel Largo in Key Largo during the height of the summer while they were writing the script. It was the only hotel on that key at the time, and it was officially closed. The owner opened it for Brooks, Huston, and their wives. The weather was hot and humid, and the hotel had no air conditioning, which is why small Florida hotels were closed in the summer. One evening, Huston burst into Brooks’s room while he was taking a bath. Brooks was soaking in a tub with a fan blowing directly on him. When Huston saw this, he knew how he wanted to introduce Rocco to the audience. Originally, Rocco was supposed to descend the stairs, but Huston introduced him in a medium shot in a tub, smoking a huge cigar with the fan blowing. Then he tracked into a close-up of Rocco’s arrogant face—a great introduction to a character played by a bona fide movie star. Feedback from my class about Key Largo, was positive; many noticed Huston and Brooks’s terrific dialogue and legendary Karl Freund’s subtle but effective camera movements. Bogart received a lot of comments from the students who were impressed with his acting and his star image. As my student Asia noted, he “communicates tons more emotion and conflict than is explicitly stated in the script.” One of the most satisfying parts of my job is to introduce young students to the unique joys of classic films; a special thanks to John Huston for making my job easier. 21 Responses Of Hurricanes, Hamburgers, and Huston: Revisiting Key Largo
![]() Thank you Susan for this informative post about one of my favorite noirs. I knew Huston had served during WWII but had no idea he filmed a documentary on the Battle of San Pietro. Until a couple of years ago, I lived on the coast of the Florida panhandle for almost a decade. June 1 is the opening day of hurricane season and a tradition of mine is to view KEY LARGO around then. Most Floridians have had experiences with hurricanes. Mine was being at ground zero in 2004 for “Ivan”. The 1935 hurricane related in the movie is legendary, as is the one that hit Galveston in 1900. Except for the opening of the film along the Overseas Highway, or US1 (a trip I have made from Key West through the Keys), KEY LARGO was filmed on a set. This helps give the film it’s claustrophobic feel and noir quality. It also intensifies the helplessness Rocco and the other gangsters feel in the face of nature behaving badly in an alien environment. With the assistance of Barrymore and Bogart’s characters of course. When Bogart’s character suggests to Rocco he may want to shoot his gun at the storm to stop it, he reinforces that now Rocco is powerless. A great supporting cast. Claire Trevor certainly earned her Oscar. Huston may have tricked her into singing “Moanin’ Low” but the effect was worth it. The incorporation of the Native Americans, with an immediately recognizable Jay Silverheels, adds another aspect to the story. I wonder if this was in the original play because it is my understanding Huston made a lot of changes. Now I am in the mood to watch KEY LARGO earlier than usual this year. ![]() Thanks for sharing the historical elements of Key Largo. My husband and I watch it frequently, along with The Petrified Forest, and continually pick up on nuances that had eluded us before. I’m a history buff so your contribution to this blog has really enhanced my appreciation of this movie. Thanks again. ![]() If you read the new book, Five Came Back by Mark Harris, you will learn that Huston’s film The Battle of San Pietro was a re-enactment. Huston arrived in San Pietro after the battle was over and all the footage was staged. ![]() I love that Lauren Bacall, whom to me never looked lovelier than in Key largo, gets to play a simple girl next door type – one conceivably who could have been played by, say, Donna Reed. I think this is only her fourth, maybe fifth movie, and could have been typecast as a sexy lounge singer type as she was in To Have and Have Not. ALSO i wonder if the film would have been made ten years earlier if Humphrey Bogart – in full Duke Mantee mode – might have played the gangster and another Warner’s contract player – say George Brent – might have taken on the Bogart role. Interesting to consider. (I say this because as a kid, watching Key Largo for the first time, I wondered why Bogart wasnt tougher with these mobsters. He’s even downright wimpy at times. I figured he had to be a mobster himself.) when i grew up and saw it again, i was grateful for the casting! a real gem. ![]() Briliant movie, watch it once a year. The only scene that makes me cringe every time is when Bacall starts thumping Robinson’s chest like a petulant schoolgirl. A slap in the face would have been much more fitting and effective. Thanks for a great informative piece; never knew the legendary Karl Freund lensed this. ![]() It’s been far too long since I last saw this. I must rectify that situation soon. ![]() Am so glad others are a fan of this movie. It is my favorite Bogart-Huston collaboration. ![]() See Arthur Penn’s NIGHT MOVES for a more cynical and downbeat take on KEY LARGO’s ending…also ripped off by the Joe Don Baker classic, MITCHELL! ![]() Key Largo is a terrific picture from the medallion and Warner fanfare to the last image on the screen and the last note of end title music. It’s a favorite of mine and I try not to miss it. ![]() Enjoyed the article. “Key Largo” is right up there among my Bogart faves, though “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and “In a Lonely Place” might rank above it. ![]() Mark: Thanks for the info about Five Came Back. Our library just got the book in, and it was checked out before I could get my hands on it for this essay. I adjusted the post accordingly, though. ![]() I never know whether to post responses here or on your Facebook page. Is it fair to post both places? You know I love reading stuff you write about film. It is both enjoyable and rewarding for many reasons. As an academician, your attention to detail always goes well beyond the usual Photoplay fanzine stuff – tho I know you well enough to know that you would never denigrate Photoplay! Your obvious affection for your topics is what makes your pieces enjoyable to read, but your foundation of solid info is what makes reading them a rewarding experience. Thanks for your great piece on Huston and KEY LARGO. I am second to no one in my admiration of that film. Has your Florida experience enhanced your appreciation of the film? It’s a fantastic film and a great Huston/Bogart vehicle, tho I will always consider TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE to be their masterpiece, and perhaps the most existential work of American art ever created. But, like Johnny Rocco, I want more! Yeah, that’s what I want! More! ![]() Hmmm, it says I posted that comment at 1:47 am. Wonder what time zone that is? ![]() Steve: Comments anywhere are always appreciated, though this format allows people to make longer comments. Thanks for the compliments; I truly do appreciate them. I always think no one is going to care about the topics I pick to write about. And, sometimes few do! But, who doesn’t like Key Largo? Yeah, ever since the blog re-design last fall, the blog clock has been wrong. ![]() […] Susan Doll notes the real-life echoes, from WWII battles to deported mobsters, gathering before the storm in Key Largo. […] ![]() As a fairly recent Florida transplant (as you are) this is clearly required viewing and what a great backstory it had. I have not seen this in a long time but need to watch it again soon! Wonderful article! ![]() […] Of Hurricanes, Hamburgers and Huston Revisiting Key Largo – Susan Doll looks at the making of Key Largo, one of my favorite John Huston films […] ![]() […] Of Hurricanes, Hamburgers, and Huston: Revisiting Key Largo […] Leave a Reply |
As of November 1, 2017 FilmStruck’s blog, StreamLine, has moved to Tumblr. Please visit us there! http://filmstruck.tumblr.com/tagged/streamline-blog Streamline is the official blog of FilmStruck, a new subscription service that offers film aficionados a comprehensive library of films including an eclectic mix of contemporary and classic art house, indie, foreign and cult films. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
Actors
Alfred Hitchcock
Bela Lugosi
Bette Davis
Boris Karloff
British Cinema
Buster Keaton
Cary Grant
Charlie Chaplin
Citizen Kane
Comedy
Criterion
Criterion Channel
Dracula
DVD
Elizabeth Taylor
Film
Film Noir
FilmStruck
Frankenstein
Fritz Lang
Hammer Horror
Horror
horror films
Horror Movies
Humphrey Bogart
James Bond
Joan Crawford
John Ford
John Huston
John Wayne
Joseph Losey
Movie
movies
mystery
Night of the Living Dead
Orson Welles
Peter Lorre
Psycho
Roger Corman
Steve McQueen
TCM
The Exorcist
Warner Archive
Westerns
|
I love the thought of young folk discovering films from the classic era.
Keep up the good work!
Key Largo , so well written and great cast.