Key Largo (1948)

My Review

“Key Largo” is a film noir crime drama about a World War II veteran who travels to a run-down hotel in Key Largo, Florida, to pay respects to a his fallen war hero friend. He meets up with his friend’s widow and father, not realizing that a gangster and his goons are about to take over the hotel with a hurricane bearing down on the area. The heavy drama proceeds from there, expertly directed by John Huston (“The Maltese Falcon” 1941), who co-wrote the brilliant screenplay with Richard Brooks.

The cast includes Humphrey Bogart as Major Frank McCloud, Lauren Bacall as the young widow, Lionel Barrymore as the wheel chair bound father and hotel owner, Edward G. Robinson as the gangster, Claire Trevor as his alcoholic girl friend, Monte Blue as the sheriff, Jay Silverheels and Rodd Redwing as the Indian brothers, John Rodney as the deputy sheriff, Marc Lawrence as a rival gangster who clashes with Robinson, and Thomas Gomez, Dan Seymour, Harry Lewis, and William Haade as Robinson’s goons.

“Key Largo” was very popular at the box office for producer Jerry Wald and Warner Bros. Pictures. Claire Trevor won the film’s only Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It was filmed primarily on the Warner Bros. sound stages in Burbank.