Humphrey Bogart | Hollywood Yesterday

Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden: Promotional Pictures for Sabrina (1954)

February 21, 2023 By Joi

Audrey Hepburn

One of my all-time favorite movies is the wonderful 1954 romantic comedy/drama Sabrina, directed by Billy Wilder. The work of perfection stars Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, John Williams, Walter Hampden, and Martha Hyer.

Anyone who knows me knows how persnickety I am about movie endings – not only do I insist on happy endings, I very, very, very much insist that they end the way I personally want them to! We only children have too many quirks to get into right now, so we’ll save that for another day. Anyway, this fixation on endings popped up about halfway through my first viewing of this extraordinary movie – I told my cats, “If this doesn’t end the way I want it to… and if she doesn’t end up with who I want her to, it will he catastrophic!”

I can be pretty dramatic… harkens back to those quirks we just spoke of.

Thankfully, the movie ended PRECISELY as I wanted… catastrophic drama averted!

You can order the 1954 film Sabrina on dvd (Amazon link) or enjoy it on Prime Video.

The Wonderful Paul Henreid was BOTD in 1908

January 10, 2023 By Joi

Paul Henreid and Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca

One of the best actors from Old Hollywood… or any Hollywood for that matter… was BOTD in 1908, Paul Henreid. His filmography is FILLED with timeless entertainment and masterful performances. A few of my personal favorite Henried films are The Spanish Main, Casablanca, Between Two Worlds, and Now, Voyager.

I was recently discussing my top 10 favorite actors with someone and, as I mentioned Paul Henreid’s name between James Cagney and John Wayne, it hit me just how unique he was. I’ll get back to this in one moment, but to further illustrate my point, here are my top 10 favorite male actors:

Henry Fonda
James Stewart
Buster Keaton
Lionel Barrymore
James Cagney
Paul Henreid
John Wayne
Humphrey Bogart
James Garner
Jack Lemmon

When you read the names, you’ll notice that many had a lot of larger than life characters and carved out a larger than life persona for themselves. John Wayne, Buster Keaton, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon…. known for their great talent and excellent characters they brought to life.

Yet, the same can ABSOLUTELY be said of Henry Fonda, Lionel Barrymore, Paul Henreid, and James Garner. Their characters were often more traditionally calm.. oftentimes more “real.” If you ask me (and no one did, but, if I know me, I’ll probably proceed anyway), their characters would have been even more challenging to portray.

The wonderful thing is, Hollywood needed (and needs) both types of actors and actresses – all of either type of actor/actress wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable.

So, next time you watch a classic like Casablanca, Gone With the Wind (with the contrast of Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland), or any great classic for that matter, pay a little extra attention to both types of actors/actresses. I recently did this with a rewatch of Between two Worlds – again, contrasting the calm demeanor and flawless execution of Paul Henreid and the impassioned demeanor and (again) flawless execution of John Garfield. They had a similar dynamic to Henreid and Bogart in Casablanca and it simply works so beautifully.

Happy Heavenly birthday to the wonderful Paul Henried. Thanks for all of the excellent performances and films!

Between Two Worlds Lobby Card: Eleanor Parker, Paul Henreid, and John Garfield

You can find Casablanca on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

You can also find the wonderful (and so underrated!) Between Two Worlds on video on Amazon.

In Honor of Noirs in November: A Gorgeous Key Largo Lobby Card

November 1, 2022 By Joi

Key Largo Lobby Card

I absolutely LOVE this Key Largo (1948) lobby card… the colors are spellbinding. Directed by the wonderful John Huston with a cast including Humphrey Bogart, Lionel Barrymore, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, and Claire Trevor, this is one extraordinary movie.

You can find Key Largo on dvd or blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the classic and iconic film noir on Prime Video.

Bette Davis, George Brent, and Humphrey Bogart in Dark Victory

February 9, 2022 By Joi

Bette Davis and George Brent, Dark Victory

Dark Victory was directed by Edmund Goulding, stars the phenomenal Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, and Henry Travers (Clarence the Angel in Miracle on 34th Street). If you’ve never seen this one – I highly recommend it. Mind you it isn’t a “feel good” movie by any stretch but it is out of this world good and seeing one of the greatest actresses ever doing some of her best work is Heaven on earth for a film lover.

Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, Dark Victory

You can find Dark Victory on dvd (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video.

Claire Trevor in Key Largo… One of the All-Time GREAT Performances

September 20, 2021 By Joi

Claire Trevor, Key Largo

I love it when a perfect movie meets a perfect performance, don’t you?! One such movie and performance is Key Largo with the wonderful Claire Trevor. Her portrayal of Gaye Dawn is absolutely breathtaking. In the scene where she’s forced to sing…. I mean, it’s nothing short of movie magic.

Claire Trevor VERY deservedly won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her portrayal.

The movie is filled with outstanding performances – how could it not be with a cast that also included Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore? And yet, as far as I’m concerned, Claire Trevor managed to stand out.

That tends to happen when you give a completely mesmerizing performance!

I also want to mention the generosity of her co-stars. Each time I watch this film (well over 20 times by now), I’m struck by the “room” given to Trevor by her co-stars. You can tell they knew something truly special was happening and not one tried to take the spotlight from her. So much professionalism!

Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor, and Lauren Bacall

You can find the brilliance that is Key Largo on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Lionel Barrymore, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart: Behind the Scenes of Key Largo

September 11, 2021 By Joi

Lionel Barrymore, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a billion times… Key Largo is one of the greatest movies ever made. The cast is perfection and the story & directing (by John Huston) are phenomenal. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Edward G. Robinson each star gives one of the best performances of his or her career.

You can find all of the excellence on dvd (Amazon link) or watch Key Largo on Prime Video.

Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino: Publicity Photo for High Sierra

August 10, 2021 By Joi

Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino

Talk about star power – High Sierra (1941) certainly had it! While Ida Lupino (inexplicably) isn’t as much of a household name as Humphrey Bogart, she certainly matches his stride for star power, talent, and in what they meant to old Hollywood.

I’m not (remotely!) short-changing Bogart… I’m simply stating just how extraordinary Ida Lupino was. If you aren’t familiar with her films (and many aren’t because her films aren’t shown as often as others), I hope you’ll seek them out. You’re going to absolutely love her.

You could always begin with her 1941 drama with Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra – it’s excellent.

I’d also HIGHLY recommend the excellent 1939 movie The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Prime Video), she’s breathtakingly wonderful in it.

Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra

You can find High Sierra on dvd (Amazon link) or Watch it on Prime Video.

Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon (1941)

August 5, 2021 By Joi

Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon

One of the best actors of ALL time: Humphrey Bogart

One of the best actresses of ALL time: Mary Astor

Two of the best character actors of ALL time: Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre

One of the best directors of ALL time: John Huston

One of the best movies of ALL time: The Maltese Falcon… how could it not be when it was directed by John Houston and starred Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre?!

Most people quickly answer, “Casablanca!” when asked their favorite movie over all, but The Maltese Falcon is one of the ones that easily ties with Casablanca and my other personal favorites… three of which (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, and Key Largo) star the wonderful Humphrey Bogart, thank you very much.

You can find The Maltese Falcon on dvd (Amazon link) or watch it on Prime Video. It’s always the right time to revisit Private Detective Sam Spade and The Maltese Falcon.

Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet

Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen

August 2, 2021 By Joi

Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen

It’s always a special thrill when you watch a movie starring two of your favorites. In fact, it’s so special, I tend to watch these movies over and over again! Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart are two of my absolute favorites, so you can imagine how many times I’ve watched the wonderful 1951 movie The African Queen.

I just love everything about this movie and the casting could not have been more perfect.

You can find The African Queen on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video. It is as extraordinary as its stars… which is absolutely saying something!

Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart

Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Humphrey Bogart Behind the Scenes of Key Largo

July 28, 2021 By Joi

Lionel Barrymore, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart

One of my favorite Bogie and Bacall movies is also one of my favorite movies, period – Key Largo (1948). Directed by John Huston, the EXCELLENT movie also stars Lionel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, and Claire Trevor.

Excellent cast, excellent director, excellent movie.

You can find all of the excellence on dvd (Amazon link) or watch Key Largo on Prime Video.