"Key Largo" is an American 100-minute movie from 1948, so this one will have its 70th anniversary next year. At this age, it is of course a black-and-white (sound) film. It is one of the more known works from the film noir genre and also by writer and director John Huston, who scored one of his many Oscar nominations for his work here briefly before winning twice in the same year. The main character is played by the legendary Humphrey Bogart, a man returning to a hotel to talk to a fellow soldier's girl about her late love and also to meet an old friends. But he finds a great deal of trouble there as gangsters have gained control over the place. As a result of that, almost the entire film is a hostage situation and with all the trouble inside, things outside are not looking much better as a dangerous hurricane is moving closer and closer.Bogart does a solid job overall, but it is a character that is not too demanding. The biggest letdown is Bacall here though, who already married to Bogart at that point. She plays the widow and honestly the film would have been the exact same without her, maybe even better as that moment when she looks at Bogart during the song is a bit cringeworthy. Shouldn't she be mourning her man instead? In general, the film lacks shades quite a bit. The characters are either 100% good people or 100% bad people with the exception of Claire Trevor. This may also have helped her in winning her Oscar here as she plays a character who is relatively close to the gangsters' boss, but has turned into a wreck of her former self because of alcohol, smoking and gambling. The moment she sings is only a brief return to her former glory days as she really only does it to get some booze as a reward. She really is the only one with some character development as we see her beg her boss not to leave her behind, but then she quickly becomes one of the good guys at the very end. This also shows that she wasn't really evil, but just a victim of her situation. I still have to see many more 1948 films to decide if she really is the best from that year.It's either her who is the most interesting character here or Edward G. Robinson's who dreams of bringing back the old days of crime and becoming truly influential again. But it is obvious he is really only strong thanks to his gun and has nothing that makes him an even match for Bogart's character. Even his henchmen do not seem to take him seriously all the time and maybe they still are the aftermath of the old days, but you can see them drifting apart too. Maybe it is the great deal of screen time and the question if he was lead or supporting that kept Robinson here from becoming an Oscar nominee too. A bit of a pity. As for the film itself, I would not rate it as highly as it stands here on IMDb, but it was a fairly interesting and tense watch from start to finish. Definitely worth checking out for those who love the old days of Hollywood, even if they probably did already. So maybe it is actually a good start for those who want to find out if this era in filmmaking is to their liking. It's a thumbs-up and I suggest you go for it.

"Key Largo" has that familiar stuck-in-a-room premise but also has just the right ingredients for a solid movie. It's an atmospheric potboiler pitting Bogart and the tenants of a hotel against mafioso Edward G. Robinson.Star power aside, it's the nicely appointed set design that keeps thing looking nice, despite the adherence to a soundstage. The swaying palms, sweaty inhabitants and rolling thunder go a long way in selling stormy South Florida. The real surprise is Robinson, who steals this thing with his menacing performance. 7/10

People often criticize this movie for really not being much more than a filmed play. Yeah! So what's wrong with that when the characters are three dimensional and the actors are brilliant. This movie gets dull only when it moves out of the hotel (the stage) and becomes a traditional action movie. The black and white photography is brilliant (I once saw it colorized and it was dreadful). The production design is perfectly honest. The direction is so clear and unpretentious; when you have faces as brilliant as these, you gotta take advantage of closeups. There is not one less than outstanding performance. Bacall's role doesn't call for her to do a lot of "acting" and as a result, she is very moving. Trevor had tough competition for her Oscar that year and she won because she understood that too much restraint would have been wrong yet she never goes too far. Bsrrymore is unusually tough and commanding, almost heroic against the thugs. Bogart is quiet and direct and when he gives Trevor her drink has the most powerful moment in the movie. Robinson? It is a real showy role, and Edward knew what not to do. He is savage. And he almost is sexy when he gets Claire to sing her song but he can revert to a monster within seconds and give the audience chills. It really is his movie. Gomez and his fellow stupid thugs are funny at times but the script is unusually honest and barbaric. Take away their guns and these guys are wimps. But why didn't they just stay in the hotel? The shootout at the end could have been done that way. The escape to Cuba isn't believable or compelling. Those who call this movie slow, just don't get it. They don't understand that artists use pacing for effect. Today's generation loving special effects and action and over-the-top acting will hate this movie. Their loss. And the loss for the future of film and theatre.

I often feel like I don't fully understand these kinds of movies. Old ones basically, where there's lots of talking. Ways of life have changed so much. I don't get all of the social cues that are going on. I have no idea what the subtext of all the dialogue is. And yet, I've gotten used to certain patterns over time. I can tell when something's about to go down or if a character's lying or pushing buttons. Still, words aren't needed for certain facial expressions, you can immediately tell what someone is feeling or thinking.Most of this movie takes place in a hotel. Something comes up and some gangsters are forced to reveal themselves and take the guests and owners as hostages. They don't want any trouble. But then a hurricane comes and things get more complicated. Nobody can leave, at least for a while. Maybe someone will try to be a hero or talk smart. The tension builds.Johnny Rocco is a famous gangster (based on Al Capone and Lucky Luciano) who all the regular people despise. So much so that some of them can't keep it to themselves in spite of the harm it might bring to them. Edward G. Robinson really gets into the role alternating between brutal coldness and smarmy talking. He's confident but Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) begins to see weaknesses, giving him some leverage. Frank talks logic, he thinks ahead and explains things.Key Largo seems to have a bit of a theme about war veterans in contrast with gangsters, these two extremes of Americans. The really noble, brave kind Vs. the heartless, selfish, evil kind. Frank (like every Bogart character) announces that he only cares about his own business and it seems true. But even he has to morally conclude that stopping someone like Rocco by any means could only be a good thing. This means he's willing to take some risks to harm Rocco which puts himself and the others in danger. I think there's a bit more emotion here from Bogart than usual. He even smiles a couple of times.The finale was pretty riveting and satisfying. It's always good when you're actually rooting for the good guys and you want the bad guys dead (because they're that bad). And you're on the edge of your seat because you hope things turn out well but know that anything could happen. It shows that you believe in and care about the characters. Well, what a turbulent experience for all of them!