r.i.p. lauren bacall, 1924-2014

“If you want me just whistle. You know how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together and blow.”

"Stardom isn't a profession, it's an accident."

"I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that."

She was gorgeous, talented, a woman not afraid to speak her mind. Although she disliked the appellation, she was a legend. So many great roles, great movies: To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo, How to Marry a Millionaire, Written on the Wind, Applause, Murder on the Orient Express, The Forger. She will be missed.

it's a wrap: humphrey bogart film festival

I just got back from the second annual Humphrey Bogart Film Festival in Key Largo, FL, and like many of my fellow attendees, I am already looking forward to next year's festival. Attendees were treated to a series of events where they could meet and greet festival organizer and son of the actor, Stephen Bogart (host of WXEL's Bogart on Movies) and renowned film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, as well as take in a list of over twenty classic films, all celebrating the theme of "Romance."

I was lucky to be able to see some classic Humphrey Bogart-Lauren Bacall films over the weekend: To Have and Have Not, screened outside under the moon and stars; Key Largo at the nearby Lion's Club which was transformed into Rick's Cafe Americaine; and Casablanca and The Big Sleep for the first time on a big screen. In a panel discussion hosted by Caroline Breder-Watts, film historian and host of WXEL's “Listening to Movies,” she and Bogart and Maltin and the audience engaged in a lively discussion of the diversity of Humphrey Bogart's roles throughout his long career. ...

Leonard Maltin and Stephen Bogart field questions at Sunday's brunch

... The Humphrey Bogart Film Festival is quickly becoming a tradition for film buffs and Bogie enthusiasts. As Leonard Maltin shared at the festival's closing brunch on Sunday, "Movies are meant to be a communal experience. ... they can make difference in your life. [when you see a great one it sounds] a loud gong that doesn't go away."

You can read the complete post at Cinema Sentries.

here's looking at you, kid — the humphrey bogart film festival

This weekend I will be attending the 2014 Humphrey Bogart Film Festival (May 1-4), and writing about my experiences for Cinema Sentries (and also on this blog). I can't wait! I inherited the love of Bogie and classic films from my dad, and am thrilled to have chance to check out this festival, now in its second year. Put together by Bogart's son Stephen Bogart and the Humphrey Bogart Estate, the festival meets every year in Key Largo, Florida, the setting for the classic John Huston film of the same name that starred Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Claire Trevor, and Edward G. Robinson. Also in Key Largo is another iconic item from a Bogart film, the steamboat the African Queen.

This year Stephen Bogart wants to honor his parents, one of Hollywood's most famous couples, Bogie and Bacall, with the festival them of "Romance." Bogie is reported to have said of Bacall, "She's a real Joe. You'll fall in love with her like everybody else." Who can argue with that? ...

Bogie and Baby, during the filming of To Have and Have Not

I will be trying to fit in as many of the Bogie/Bacall pairings as I can, along with classics like The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Sabrina, and the amazing Casablanca, which is set to be screened outside on Friday evening. As Bogie said of his first truly romantic role, "I didn't do anything I've never done before, but when the camera moves in on that [Ingrid] Bergman face, and she's saying she loves you, it would make anybody feel romantic." Seeing Casablanca and Bogie and Bergman and Claude Rains and all the rest under the stars should be an experience that is hard to beat ...

Check out my full report on Cinema Sentries.