Like many Americans I grew up in total awe of them and their movies which include many of the greatest films in history. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were the ultimate iconic superstar couple onscreen and off. They set the gold standard of excellence. I am a big fan of film noir movies and Humphrey Bogart was and will always be my hero – his cool and hip style, charisma, man’s man, tough practical persona, attitude, and talent – he defined being a gentleman. Lauren Bacall was and will always be a leading lady of grace and style.
Bogart and Bacall were married from 1945 to 1957 and had two children. They entertained the elites of Hollywood at their home and loved to go sailing. They performed together in four movies – To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948).
Humphrey Bogart (1899 – 1957) actor in film, TV, radio, and stage. Considered the greatest actor of classic Hollywood and the leading star of film noir. His film Casablanca with Ingrid Bergman is considered the greatest American film ever made. He won an Oscar and three nominations. He is known for many films, including The Maltese Falcon, High Sierra, Petrified Forest, African Queen, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, In a Lonely Place, The Caine Mutiny, To Have and Have No, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, and many others.
Lauren Bacall (1924-2014) actress of film, TV, radio, and stage. Considered one of Hollywood’s greatest stars. She received many awards including an Oscar, 2 BAFTA nominations, SAG, Golden Globe, 2 Cesar, 2 Tonys, 3 Emmy nominations, 2 Grammy nominations, and others. She is known for such films as The Shootist, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Designing Woman, How to Marry a Millionaire, Harper, Murder On the Orient Express, To Have and Have No, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo and others.
Holmby Hills Rat Pack
Bogart’s original “Rat Pack”, or “Holmby Hills Rat Pack”, was an informal group of actors and entertainers in the 1940s and ‘50s, known for their camaraderie, partying, and involvement in the Hollywood social scene. The Rat Pack was known for their parties and poker nights at Bogart and Bacall’s home in the elite, fashionable Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. These parties were legendary in Hollywood and they became a gathering place for many of the biggest stars of the day. The parties were characterized by drinking, food, storytelling, music, singing, cards, and a relaxed atmosphere where celebrities could let their guard down and enjoy each other’s company.
The group members included: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and her husband agent Sid Luft, David Niven and his wife, Clifton Webb, restaurant owner Mike Romanoff, agent Swifty Lazar, Rex Harrison, director George Cukor, writer Nathaniel Benchley, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Angie Dickinson, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, Errol Flynn, Mickey Rooney, Nat King Cole, and Cesar Romero.
The gatherings attracted a who’s who of Hollywood stars, including Peter Lorre, Danny Kaye, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Lena Horne, Joan Bennett, John Huston, Richard Burton, writer Louis Broomfield, writer Nunnally Johnson, and others. These parties were known for their exclusive guest lists and the elite status of their attendees.
Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra
The Big Sleep movie
The model for dizzying twisted plots in the complex and stylish film noir classic. Humphrey Bogart plays private detective Philip Marlowe who is hired to save the reputation of two women caught up in murder, gambling, and blackmail. Lauren Bacall plays the femme fatale tempting Marlowe into danger.
Details: The Big Sleep, 1946, Warner Bros., director Howard Hawks, based on the novel by Raymond Chandler. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, John Ridgely, Elisha Cook Jr. Selected by the National Film Registry and the American Film Institute.
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
Rat Pack with John Huston, on the set of Key Largo.
Rat Pack with Judy Garland
To Have and Have Not movie
To Have and Have Not, 1944, Warner Bros., a war movie directed by Howard Hawks and based on a story by Ernst Hemingway. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, and Hoagy Carmichael. The story is set in 1940 French Martinique during World War Two. Bogart is a boat captain involved with smuggling for the French Resistance against the Germans.
To Have and Have Not
Dark Passage movie
Dark Passage, 1947, Warner Bros., is a film noir mystery directed by Delmar Davies and stars Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Morehead, and Bruce Bennett. Bogart plays a man who escapes from prison and is helped by Lauren Bacall. He has plastic surgery to change his looks. He works to find the killer who framed him for the murder of his wife.
Dark Passage
Rat Pack with Cary Grant
Rat Pack with David Niven
Rat Pack with Clifton Webb
Rat Pack with Marilyn Monroe
Key Largo movie
Key Largo, 1948, Warner Bros., film noir movie directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, and Edward G. Robinson. Based on the Maxwell Anderson play. Set in Key Largo, Florida during a hurricane. Bogart and Bacall are held hostage by a stranded gang of criminals waiting for a boat to escape the police.
Key Largo
Key Largo
On the set of The African Queen with Katherine Hepburn.
Rat Pack with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
Rat Pack with Danny Kaye
