Anybody got a match?

To Have and Have Not, loosely based on Ernest Hemingway’s “worst work” is both engaging and clever. Its strong resemblance to the plot of Casablanca is unmistakable from the very beginning. The set-up of To Have and Have Not is the opening shot which shows a map focused on the location where the film takes place (Martinique in the Carribean) and is identical to the opening shot of Casablanca which shows Casablanca in Morocco. According to the DVD’s extra features, the original setting of the film was in Cuba just as in Hemingway’s novel. It was later changed to Martinique, as a result of pressure from the Roosevelt administration which refused to allow the portrayal of a corrupt Cuba.

There were quite a few other similarities between the two classic films. Harry “Steve” Morgan in To Have and Have Not and Rick Blain in Casablanca are both Americans that have a desire to stay out of the politics of the war. When questioned about their nationalities, for example, Harry responds that he is “Eskimo” while Rick insists that he is a “drunkard”- a citizen of the world. Most of the storyline in To Have and Have Not occurs in the bar of a hotel that strongly resembles Rick’s bar in Casablanca. There, a piano player (the legendary Hoagy Carmichael) entertains the customers much like in Casablanca. In both films there is a scene which testifies to the main character’s concealed kindness. In To Have and Have Not, Harry is offered to have his large, running bill at the bar erased in exchange for the removal of a bullet from the Frenchman’s shoulder. He agrees, but astonishes everyone who is convinced they have him figured out by responding that he will still owe the bill. In Casablanca, Rick unexpectedly helps a young couple gather enough winnings in his casino to be able to leave the city. Also, in both films, politically-fueled events involving French resistance fighters cause the bars to be shut down (in To Have and Have Not it was only for the evening). There are many other minute similarities between the films, such as the main characters’ eventual shift away from the attempt to remain neutral in the war, and their amorous relationships with women who at one point don near-identical, sleek, satin dresses. The attempt to recreate the success that Casablanca had at the box office is obvious.

The largest difference between the two remarkable films is the development of the characters. By the end of Casablanca I felt like I knew the characters well and understood who they were as human beings. Their emotional struggles, morals, beliefs, and lives were reasonably evident. This made me become much more engaged in the predicaments that they were involved in. In my opinion, To Have and Have Not focused less on character development and more on effectively telling a good story (although I did grow fondly attached to Eddie, the docile drunkard that provides comic relief). The continuous style of filming is confirmation to this. The movie was not brimming with flashbacks and astounding, inventive camera movements. It was simple and direct and I would presume that this was done so that it would not detract from the real action that was occurring on screen. This reminded me of the part in Citizen Kane when the newsreel editor says that they now know the facts of the tycoon’s life and death but that what they need to know is who the individual really was. To me, Casablanca was the kind of film that he was looking for- a piece that shows human emotion and the struggles of the individual. To Have and Have Not more closely resembles the work that his staff originally created- simple, good storytelling, with the focus being on portraying the facts. Although I think that the brilliant writers William Faulkner and Jules Furthman were more direct, they did not in any way eliminate passion from the storyline. The chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and 19-year-old model-turned-actress Lauren Bacall is undisputable. The fire and passion that was shown on screen was a result of the fusion of great acting and genuine sentiment. In fact, the next year Bogart divorced his mentally unstable wife and married Bacall. They both went on to create The Big Sleep, another film that I look forward to watching and is said to have just as much zeal. I particularly enjoyed the witty, sharp banter between the two actors in To Have and Have Not in the same way that I loved the clever dialogue seen in Casablanca.