Bogie Fest

The first film in our 13-film Humphrey Bogart retrospective is  To Have and Have Not, the film that introduced the world to the electric pairing of Bogie and Bacall! Set in wartime Martinique, Bogart plays a tough American boat captain trying to stay neutral while Bacall arrives as a mysterious young drifter with a cigarette, a razor-sharp wit, and a look that could stop the story cold. What begins as a smoldering battle of nerves soon pulls both into a dangerous resistance plot. Directed by Howard Hawks and written in part by William Faulkner, To Have and Have Not belongs entirely to its stars, launching one of cinema’s most iconic romances.

Bogie Fest rolls on as we revisit one of the most beloved films of all time: Michael Curtiz's Casablanca! The story unfolds in the titular Moroccan city, a haven for refugees seeking passage to the Americas. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the jaded owner of a popular nightclub, unexpectedly reunites with his former lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who arrives with her husband, resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). As Rick grapples with lingering feelings for Ilsa, he must decide whether to help the couple escape the clutches of the Nazis, risking his own safety in the process. With its unforgettable performances and a rich blend of romance and moral dilemmas, Casablanca earned three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and remains one of the most celebrated films in cinematic history. Bogart's role as Rick continues to be the go-to for fans of hard-shelled man with a soft heart. 

Alright, see...join us for April's Classic Movie Nights pick: the James Cagney gangster flick Angels With Dirty Faces! This film will be pulling double duty as part of Bogie Fest, our 14-film retrospective on the work of Humphrey Bogart, who has a small role in the film!  Cagney plays Rocky Sullivan, a two-bit punk who grows into a full-blown gangster with the whole neighborhood full of kids. Trying to set him straight is his old pal Father Jerry, played by Pat O’Brien, now on the right side of the law and sweating bullets over whether those kids are gonna follow the wrong horse. Directed by Michael Curtiz of Casablanca and White Christmas fame, this is an old school, real-deal Warner Brothers gangster picture, culminating in one of the greatest endings in cinema history. Make sure to get to the screening early, as our Marketing Director Bekah will be doing a very informative and entertaining presentation on the film before it starts!

Bogie Fest, our 14-film retrospective on the films of the incomparable Humprey Bogart, continues with one of the all time great films from the Noir genre: John Huston's debut film The Maltese Falcon! In shadow-drenched San Francisco, private detective Sam Spade (Bogart) is pulled into a deadly web after his partner is murdered. What begins as a routine case spirals into a hunt for a priceless, jewel-encrusted statuette: the elusive Maltese Falcon. Surrounded by liars, thieves, and the dangerously alluring Brigid O’Shaughnessy, Spade must navigate shifting loyalties and his own code of ethics to uncover the truth. The Maltese Falcon is widely regarded as the blueprint for Film Noir. Its hard-edged dialogue and stark visual style set the tone for an entire movement in American cinema. 

Bogie Fest is heating up as we slip into the shadows with one of his most intriguing noirs: Dark Passage! Directed by Delmer Daves, this atmospheric thriller drops us into post-war San Francisco, where escaped convict Vincent Parry (Bogie) is determined to prove his innocence after being wrongly accused of murdering his wife. On the run and desperate, Parry finds an unlikely ally in Irene Jansen (Lauren Bacall), a mysterious woman who believes in his cause and helps him evade capture. As the tension builds through foggy streets and dangerous encounters, Dark Passage leans into the paranoia that came to define classic film noir, while also showcasing the electric chemistry between Bogart and Bacall. 

We're trading in trench coats for tuxedos with the charming romantic classic Sabrina, doing double duty for our Classic Movie Nights series as well as Bogie Fest! Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) has long pined for the carefree playboy David Larrabee (William Holden), but after a transformative trip to Paris, she returns as a poised and captivating young woman who suddenly turns heads, including David’s. Concerned that his brother’s romantic entanglement could jeopardize a major business deal, the stern and work-obsessed Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart) steps in to distract Sabrina...only to find himself unexpectedly falling for her. Directed by Billy Wilder with his signature mix of wit and romantic tension, Sabrina earned multiple Academy Awards nominations and won for Best Costume Design, thanks in part to its iconic Parisian-inspired wardrobe. The film remains a high point of classic Hollywood romance, elevated by Hepburn’s radiant performance and the unlikely but compelling pairing of Bogart and Holden. Make sure to get to the screening early, as our Marketing Director Bekah will be doing a very informative and entertaining presentation on the film before it starts!

The nearer they get to their treasure, the farther they get from the law. Bogie Fest heads south of the border for one of the greatest adventure dramas ever put to film: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre! Directed by John Huston, this gripping tale of greed and survival unfolds in the rugged mountains of Mexico, where desperation and fortune are two sides to the same coin.  Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart), a down-on-his-luck drifter, teams up with fellow American Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) and a seasoned old prospector, Howard (Walter Huston), to strike gold in the Sierra Madre. What begins as a hopeful quest for riches slowly unravels into a tense psychological battle, as paranoia and mistrust creep in and threaten to destroy everything they’ve worked for. With its stark realism, iconic lines (“We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”), and one hell of a performance from our beloved Bogie, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre remains a towering achievement in classic cinema. Walter Huston’s colorful turn as the wise and weathered Howard earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while his son, John Huston, took home Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay!

He killed...and there on the crest of Sierra's highest crag...he must be killed! We're hitting the road with one of the defining films of Humphrey Bogart's early stardom: High Sierra! This gritty crime drama finds Bogie stepping into a role that helped transform him from supporting heavy into full-fledged leading man. Bogart stars as Roy “Mad Dog” Earle, a hardened criminal freshly released from prison and pulled into one last heist in the mountains of California. As he assembles his crew and plans the job, Roy crosses paths with Velma (Joan Leslie), an innocent young woman he becomes unexpectedly devoted to, and Marie (Ida Lupino), a tough, world-weary drifter who sees through him more clearly than anyone else. Successfully mixing a gangster film intensity with a tragic romance, High Sierra builds toward a tense and unforgettable finale high in the Sierra Nevada. The film cemented Bogart’s ability to bring depth and vulnerability to dangerous men, hinting at the layered performances that would define his greatest roles.

We're setting sail for our next film of Bogie Fest, venturing into one his most intense and morally grey performances: The Caine Mutiny! Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk, this gripping naval drama unfolds aboard a U.S. Navy minesweeper during World War II, where tensions simmer just beneath the surface. Humphrey Bogart delivers a fascinating, against-type performance as Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg, the tightly wound and increasingly unstable captain of the USS Caine. As the crew, including Lt. Steve Maryk (Van Johnson), and the cynical communications officer Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray), begins to question Queeg’s judgment, a crisis at sea leads to a fateful decision that sparks a court-martial and a battle over sanity. Best remembered for its riveting courtroom climax and Bogart’s unforgettable “strawberries” monologue, The Caine Mutiny earned multiple Academy Awards nominations, including Best Actor for Bogart. His portrayal of Queeg is one of the boldest of his career, trading cool confidence for psychological fragility.

Fear and fury are sizzling in the Florida Keys! We're attempting to ride out the storm with our next Bogie Fest entry: Key Largo! This hurricane-lashed drama brings Humphrey Bogart together once more with Lauren Bacall in a story where danger rises with the tide. Set in a remote Florida Keys hotel, war veteran Frank McCloud (Bogie himself) arrives to visit the family of a fallen comrade, only to find himself trapped as a powerful storm bears down. The hotel is then seized by a gang of mobsters led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson doing his very best Edward G. Robinson impression), a larger-than-life crime boss whose presence turns the claustrophobic setting into a pressure cooker of fear and defiance. As the winds howl outside, tensions escalate within, and McCloud must decide whether to remain the detached observer he claims to be...or take a stand against tyranny. Anchored by crackling dialogue and powerhouse performances, Key Largo is a bit underrated these days, sometimes lost in the sea of masterpieces that director John Huston bestowed upon us.

Our Bogie Fest series begins to wind down with The Big Sleep, Howard Hawks' noir adaptation of Raymond Chandler's iconic novel. Private detective Philip Marlowe (played by Humphrey Bogart) is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood to investigate a blackmail scheme involving his daughter, Carmen. What begins as a straightforward case unravels into a clustermess of murder and corruption, as Marlowe discovers connections to organized crime. Along the way, he encounters the General’s other daughter, the sharp-witted and enigmatic Vivian (portrayed by Lauren Bacall) with whom he shares a smoldering chemistry. Known for its moody cinematography and the world famous Bogie and Bacall on-screen chemistry, The Big Sleep remains a defining work of the noir genre, celebrated for its stylish complexity.

Closing out our Bogie Fest series, celebrating the legendary performances of Hollywood icon Humprey Bogart, is Nicholas Ray's 1950 masterpiece In A Lonely Place! Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a Hollywood screenwriter with talent to spare and a temper he can’t quite control. When a young woman he briefly encounters turns up dead, suspicion settles on him almost immediately. And the unsettling part is…it doesn’t feel entirely misplaced. What makes In a Lonely Place stand out in a filmography stacked full of classics is how it subverts expectations of the noir genre. Directed with a quiet intensity, letting silences stretch and emotions simmer, the violence occasionally erupts in very upsetting aways. And Bogart, often the embodiment of control, lets something fray at the edges here. His Dix is charming enough...until he's not.