To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not is a romantic thriller war adventure film based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway. To Have and Have Not, a Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starrer, was released in 1944. To Have and Have Not is notable for the on screen chemistry of Bogart and Bacall. And the equation was later used in some other films and one of such films was The Big Sleep

To Have and Have Not is set in the exotic backdrop of Martinique under the Vichy regime. Here the world-weary fishing boat captain Harry 'Steve' Morgan played by Humphrey Bogart arrived and was asked to help the French Resistance in smuggling some people onto the island. He could not make up his mind until and unless, the person, trying to hire his boat was shot accidentally. He was so depressed to realize that he would not be able to recover the money he had owed, that he joined hands with the French resistance and ended up in smuggling a wife and a husband to Martinique. Gradually, Harry fell for Marie 'Slim' Browning, played by Lauren Bacall, a pickpocket from America who came to the island. Through the movie, Harry supports Eddie, his buddy, a drunkard and stumbles from scene to scene with the lover duo. There are some beautiful tracks in To Have and Have Not. Bacall sang "How Little We Know" by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. Another Carmichael song, "Hong Kong Blues”, was also used. Incidentally, Carmichael had a role in the film as well. He was Cricket, the piano player in the film. There was another song in the film called "Am I Blue?” The song was penned by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke.
To Have and Have Not is the debut movie of Lauren Bacall who was then only 19. Howard Hawks's wife had found him from front cover of Harper's Bazaar. When she showed her to her husband, he promptly signed the contract with her. During the shooting, Bogart became romantically involved with the debutant actress and the hawks did not like it at all. The affair ended up in marriage, which signified the first marriage of Bacall and the end of Bogart marriage with Mayo Methot. In the novel, the plot was based in Key West, which was shifted to Martinique in the film. Hawks appointed William Faulkner, an archrival of Hemingway, for the screenplay. To use the on screen chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, the role of Slim was extended in the film. There was a rumor related to the making of the film. Hawks and Hemingway used to be best pals. It was said that there was a bet between Hawks and Hemingway and Hawks bet Hemingway that he could turn his worst book into a great film. Wikipedia

To Have and Have Not was written on -->