Ponderings about Bogey's character
Watching Key Largo, I began to wonder about
Bogey's character. In the scene where Rocco gives Bogey the gun and
says "here's your chance to rid the world of Johnny Rocco", Bacall has
a go at Bogey for being a coward. Her reaction to his statement that he
doesn't care whether Rocco lives or dies and the only battles he fights
are his own is shock.
Is this how Bogey's character really feels or is he playing a game with
the gangsters, trying to get them to think he is not a threat.
For example when Old Man Temple starts to doubt himself "no, Nora,
maybe Frank's right, maybe he's right.", you can see that Bogey is
visibly upset by his reaction. As if he doesn't want Old Man Temple and
Nora to believe what he is actually seeing.
There are other moments when it seems like McCloud doesn't care what Rocco thinks of him. "You don't like it, do you Rocco, the storm? Show it your gun, why don't you? If it doesn't stop, shoot it."
So who is Frank McCloud really, in this film? Is he really a cynic, or
are the things he does and says during the hurricane an act for the
gangsters?