If you’ve already seen Casablanca and find yourself longing for more Bogey, more romance, more resistance fighters, and more cocktails in a foreign piano bar, then you’ll definitely want to check out this week’s pick To Have and Have Not (Disc/Download). With a main character named Captain Morgan, this movie practically begs you to watch it with a drink!
In her star-making turn, Lauren Bacall explodes onto the silver screen as the smart, sultry “Slim”, a jet-setting American pickpocket who’s landed on the French colony of Martinique. Bogart’s Steve Morgan is a salty fisherman who can’t take his eyes off the beautiful dame in the hotel bar, a task that proves even more difficult after she starts flirting with him. Their romance becomes dangerous once Steve gets embroiled in a scheme to transport resistance fighters in his boat, landing him in hot water with the Vichy authorities. Political intrigue aside, this movie is worth watching for the electric chemistry between Bogey and Bacall, as well as Bacall and a movie camera. With one little shake of her hips in the film’s final moments, a star is born.
Because this movie is loosely based on an Ernest Hemingway novel (very loosely), it seems like a great time to revive the Hemingway Daiquiri. This on-the-rocks iteration is lighter than the traditional version that’s served up, but it still has the same wonderful flavors. While watching To Have and Have Not, I recommend drinking a Hemingway Highball.
Hemingway Highball
1 ½ oz White Rum
1 Barspoon Maraschino Liqueur
1 Barspoon Lime Juice
3 oz Fever Tree Grapefruit Soda
Cherry and Lime Wheel (garnish)
Combine rum, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice in a glass with ice. Top with grapefruit soda, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a cherry and lime wheel.
Bacall’s wardrobe is absolutely stunning in this film, her menswear-inspired suits both powerful and feminine at the same time (a trademark of many of Howard Hawks’ leading ladies). One look at her singing next to Hogey Carmichael on the piano, and I get the immediate urge to whistle. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 