The Girl with a Husky Voice
Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not" was about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain who was forced into a blackmarket activity by economic forces beyond his control. The story was a depiction of heroism, a masculine trait that the author considered a virtue. Howard Hawks directed the film version of the novel, changing the setting (from Straits of Florida to Martinique) to give the movie a noirish look. (According to Hawks, Hemingway didn't mind. The author called the novel his worst piece of work.) The movie took a turn when Harry met a sultry lady who went by the name of Slim.
“You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve,” Slim said. “You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”
Humphrey Bogart played Morgan. Lauren Bacall was Slim. The scene was made memorable by her husky voice.
Life with Bogie
Romance blossomed between the two co-stars, tying the knot two years after the filming of "To Have and Have Not". Bacall was twenty years of age, twenty years older than Bogart. But the huge age difference didn't matter, as they became Hollywood's golden couple. They starred in a few more films.
The 1940s was the heyday of film noir, a genre dating back to the German Expressionism of the 1920s. They were notable for the highlighting of black and white hues, where shadow would often give cryptic messages. The difference was German filmmakers like Fritz Lang chose epical, if not intellectual, premises. Hollywood preferred crime.
After the success of "To Have and Have Not", Bogard, Bacall, and Hawks did "The Big Sleep" (1946). It was a big-screen version of Raymond Chandler's hardboiled crime novel, where fans would be first introduced to Philip Marlowe, a tough private eye who enjoyed chess and poetry. Bogart fit the role, his wisecracking and hard-drinking ways compliment his philosophical musings. The movie would be most remembered for its confusing lines, which seemed to suggest something other than the obvious.
"Speaking of horses, I like to play them myself. But I like to see them workout a little first, see if they're front runners or comefrom behind, find out what their whole card is, what makes them run."
- Vivian Sternwood Rutledge
Bacall played Vivian, daughter of General Sherwood, who hired Marlowe to investigate. The film wasn't a huge success, but the critics became kind. (In 1997, the U.S. Library of Congress deemed the movie culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.)
Circle of (Acting) Friends
Bacall had done works in television and stage, but it was the big screen where she would be most remembered. She starred with Marilyn Monroe in "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953). She and Rock Hudson played lead roles in Douglas Sirk's melodramatic adaptation of Robert Wilder's "Written on the Wind" (1956). "The Shootist" (1976) was John Wayne's final work, where she had a part.
Bacall's husky voice never failed to captivate viewers. They will surely miss it. (Bacall passed away on August 12, 2014.)
