Thank you.
Good evening.
Tonight, something very special indeed.
I must say that when I presented Casablanca, I really didn't anticipate such an excited reaction to it.
And really that's why Casablanca has now been followed by Key Largo tonight.
Key Largo is an exceptional entertainment, it's a gripping melodrama,
and if you wish to probe beneath surfaces, you'll find a lot of interesting features too.
It's based on a play that failed in 1939, a play written by Maxwell Anderson,
who wrote, well, among many works, Winter Set, and of course the play on which the film Private Lives of Elizabethan Essex was based.
A fine writer, a man deeply concerned about the international scene in 1939, he related it to the Spanish Civil War.
Now, Warner Brothers moved up ahead many years to the end of World War II, so that this has reference to a world at war,
and I think in the light of recent events in the last few months, it is still a very relevant contemporary film.
Key Largo, outstanding, directed by John Huston, and by the way, I must remember to tell this right this moment,
John Huston's father, Walter Huston, also participates in this picture, but you won't see him, you'll only hear him.
His voice is heard over the radio, so listen for Walter Huston's voice.
The screenplay was written by John Huston in collaboration with another writer who became a top director, Richard Brooks,
and there's music by Max Steiner as well. This is, I say, one of the finest Warner Brothers movies of the late 40s.
Now let's look at the cast of Key Largo.
Well, I suppose the most interesting is naturally featured on Humphrey Bogart himself.
It's a perfect role, that of Frank MacLeod, the role played by Paul Munie in the original stage production.
And of course he's co-starred with Lauren Bacall. It's a fine teaming, and I think you'll find them terribly interesting in this picture,
because the dialogue is good, and John Huston brings the best out of them.
Lionel Barrymore, he plays the part of James Temple, a man who has a lot of sadness in his life, a man who's crippled,
and there's one scene where he is driven to try and get out of his wheelchair because he becomes so infuriated by the city filth that's invaded his life.
It is one of the most powerful things that Lionel Barrymore ever did in that period of his life when he was confined to a wheelchair.
He is magnificent.
And we have Claire Trevor. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her performance,
and a lot of it was centred on one very special scene in the film, a scene that I find very moving,
and I think you'll find the consequences of the scene very moving too, where she sings a song, Moan and Lo.
Now, let me say something about this scene. It's in this scene where you get a beautiful moment of rapport between Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart,
where she realises what a fine man he is, and he does something for Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart, that I think will move you almost to the point of tears.
It's a lovely, gentle moment in a fine film.
And finally, Edward G. Robinson. I'll tell you now because I think it's true that I don't believe Edward G. Robinson ever made on the screen
a more dynamic first appearance than he does in Key Largo. It is both hypnotic and revolting.
Wait till you see it as it appears on the screen. A very special movie, Key Largo. I think you're going to adore it.
I hope you're enjoying Key Largo. I think it's an outstanding film.
Now, we just showed you something that's a very precious possession of mine, and I thought you might be interested just to see it.
This is the hardback edition of the play Key Largo by Maxwell Anderson, which I was able to secure in a bookshop,
a secondhand bookshop in Hollywood Boulevard. As a matter of fact, it's the only copy I've ever seen.
And what was very interesting about the play when I found it was that it is in blank verse, which is rather unusual.
And I also discovered by looking at the cast list that we had Paul Muny playing the role that's played here by Humphrey Bogart,
but also in the cast were Carl Malden. His name was spelt with a C those days.
We had James Gregory and Jose Ferrer. Now, that was 1939. The play was a failure, around something like 100 performances,
which meant that there weren't any other editions of the play, I should imagine. But very hard to get hold of, but it's a fascinating thing.
Try your library. You never know. It could be there.
Now, I get many letters about the film music, and also theater music too. Well, I've invited you to write into me about those.
And I thought I'd just take this moment in the middle of Key Largo to say that there is music available of Key Largo.
It's on this fabulous disc from RCA, Casablanca, classic film scores for Humphrey Bogart.
It's got the main theme from The Cane Mutiny, which is very rare indeed, by Max Steiner.
It's a great theme. It's got Left Hand of God, Sahara, Virginia City, To Have and Have Not, The Two Mrs. Carols,
and a wonderful, well, it's almost like a tone poem in a sense, of Casablanca. It is really stunning value.
Now, I know they've got that at John Davis Records. Now, John Davis Records have moved, in case you don't know.
They are now at the Twin Plaza in Twin Street, the Twin Plaza in Twin Street.
And Les there at John Davis Records tell me he has got copies of this record of music of Humphrey Bogart's films in stock.
So get onto that. It's a fabulous disc, and I never tire of listening to it.
Well, that's Mourn and Lo, by the way, that you can hear behind me right now. Not from that disc, but that's the song, of course, that Cleartreever sings in Key Largo.
We shall return to Key Largo. I know you're going to be finding the rest of the picture very exciting indeed.