MovieChat Forums > Key Largo (1948) Discussion > Not as good as I remembered

Not as good as I remembered

posted 13 years ago by ScreenwriterVA
2 replies | jump to latest

Just saw it again on PBS and I dunno, the film didn't seem to be as good as it should have been for a legendary film. E.g., once they knew Rocco was a bad guy, why didn't everybody hot foot it out of there as soon as the storm was over? Dead Sawyer just happened to wind up back in front of the hotel? The Indians just stood there outside the hotel when one of the windows blew in on the ground floor level and all the inside people went upstairs? And I thought the boat Rocco came over from Cuba in had some other cargo that the second gangster wanted, but that never came up again. Why did Bogey go all the way to sea to shoot the bad guys when he could have done it from the wharf? And after Bogey was shot in the stomach, the last scene has him looking pretty healthy at the helm of the boat - and no reconciliation scene with Bacall.

Anyway, I was kind of disappointed. Any comments?

[–] kbarada 13 years ago

You make some good points. Yes there are some puzzling holes. As this movie was adapted from a stage play and was actually filmed on a sound stage, I found that the acting and the interaction of the characters overshadowed all that. Strong performances and great character portrayals kept my attention throughout the movie. Only briefly was I distracted about the matters you indentified.

Would the movie be any better if all that you identified had been tidied up? Well for me, just a little. Its still a great movie just the way it is.

[–] DavidStHubbinsUSA 13 years ago

The last time I saw this movie was about 20 years ago but remembered more than I realized seeing it again. For me it was as good, maybe even better than I remember. I also agree there were some holes, but like kbarada, in the over all theme and feel of the movie, It really wasn't anything that bothered me. It was great seeing it again...