COLLECTION 6

207
If you think of classic Film Noir, one
of the first images that comes to
mind is a black and white picture
of a gangster, a private detective
or a drunk journalist with a hat, a
raincoat, a cigarette and a glass of
bourbon. If you try to put a face on
that image I bet that it belongs to
Humphrey Bogart.
If you are born on Christmas Day,
I guess you are destined to do
something special with your life.
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born
in New York City on that special day
in 1899. His father was a wealthy
Manhattan surgeon and his mother
was a famed magazine illustrator
and photographer. Bogart’s parents
wanted him to be a doctor, probably
dreaming about studying at
Yale University like the rest of posh
kids from New York City. However
destiny had prepared something
completely different for him. Since
the beginning, his marks at Trinity
School and Phillips Academy were
pretty low and he was eventually
kicked out. Yale University was
out of the picture, and his parents’
dream was broken. Bogie, like many
young guys in those days, joined the
United States Navy during the spring
of 1918. Those were the times of
First World War and the young
Bogart was sent to service during
the conflict. That was the time he got
injured by the impact of shrapnel
leaving him with that famous scar
on his lip.
After leaving the navy he found a
job at the World Film Corporation
and some time later he finally got a
role in a theatre play called Drifting
(1922). It was his first role. Soon he
became quite popular on Broadway,
working in one play after another
until 1929, when he decided to move
to Hollywood. The truth is he wasn’t
too lucky at the start. Broadway is
one thing, but Hollywood is a much
bigger playing field. The year 1935
came along and he finally got a role
in The Petrified Forest with two bigger
stars, Leslie Howard and Bette
Davis. The film was a success and
Bogie signed a contract with Warner
Brothers, but it wasn’t until 1941
when he met his friend John Huston
(probably the most influential man
in his life) during the shooting of
their first film together The Maltese
Falcon.
The film became an instant Film Noir
classic (you can find a small review
of the film in our TOP 5) and Bogart
simply jumped into a higher Hollywood
status. They made seven films
together, including The Treasure of
the Sierra Madre, Key Largo (with
his last wife Lauren Bacall) and The
African Queen with Katherine Hepburn.
This last role of a gin-swilling
riverboat captain finally gave him
the Oscar he was waiting for in
1952. He defeated Marlon Brando
and his amazing role in A Streetcar
Named Desire, and then came
Casablanca. Of course, I won’t forget
the film which is ranked as the best
one ever made in cinema history
(according to audiences). I would’t
say that much. I just think it’s simply
impossible to choose just one but
I agree the film is indeed at least
one of the Top 10 in history. Anyway,
Casablanca is a masterpiece and
Bogie became a worldwide star
with his Rick Blane (an American
expatriate during World War II).
There is not too much to say about
Casablanca as you already know
the story. The script is one of the
best ever written, Ingrid Bergman
never looked better and the director
Michael Curtiz gave us some of the
most memorable images in cinema
history. For example, we all know
the melody of “As Time Goes By” and
think about how many times you
have used the quote: “We’ll always
have Paris”. See?? That is what
makes cinema and this film eternal:
the collective imaginary.
The film only won three Oscars
(including ‘Best Film’) but it deserved
many more. Bogart’s love life
was as difficult as it was depicted
in many of the roles he played. He
got married four times. He became
a drunk, probably because his third
wife (actress Mayo Methot) was a
compulsive one, and like some of
the gangsters or private detectives
he played, he was looking for some
kind of redemption. It came in 1944
while shooting To Have and Have Not
when he met a young model called
Lauren Bacall (Dame Lauren Bacall
in my opinion). They got married
a year later and had two children.
Their love story continued until
Bogie, too ill with cancer, died in
January 1957. The Harder They Fall
(1956) was his last movie. His face
was not the same due to his long
fight against this illness. His fight
was very hard, the same way he and
his characters did on screen but this
time he was defeated. At his funeral,
his friend John Huston said: “He is
an irreplaceable man. There will
never be someone else like him…”
Although I agree, I still prefer what
Lauren Bacall said to Lars von Trier
after a fight during the filming of
Dogville: “Listen stupid, you weren’t
even born and were already sleeping
with Humphrey Bogart”.
Bogart had the perfect face for
Noire, a face filled with character.
Our signature image of him is
seated at a table, the inevitable
drink nearby, cigarette in hand, as
he stares out at the world without
passion but understanding of its full
meaning. It is said Bogart’s means
of expression were limited, but his
eyes radiated complexity. He played
men of principle, men with their own
code of honour. Men with a cynical
mask hiding integrity. Bogart was
the king of Film Noir but above all,
Humphrey Bogart is in two words:
classic cinema. A myth.
Perhaps in the same way there was just one Marilyn, one Katherine, one
Bette or one Ava, there was just one Bogie, and his last name was Bogart.