To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not (1944)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037382/]

The Gist:
This film originates more or less as a Casablanca nostalgia piece (if a film made two years later can be called that). However, it thankfully has a life beyond that film that almost comes from the spirit of Hemingway's writing if not explicitly from the book itself that they supposedly have based the film on. Basically they took the names and gave it a Casablana vibe, Vischy France, French Resistance, piano bar, Humphrey being a badass, and so on. The film works very well as a romance, in fact may be Humphrey's best noir romance I've seen. Him and Becall have this fascinating antagonism going on, the dialogue is very crisp, but why is everyone smoking? Ever seen that part in Thank You for Smoking where they talk about this film? Yeah, with reason. People are lighting up cigarettes left in right, it literally becomes an established motif. It's odd. Anyway, the film is pretty badass, my only complaint is that the end is kind of light and nonchalant and felt tacked on they way a lot of hollywood endings tack on. For a film that tries to capture the nostalgia and atmosphere of Casablanca and yet deviate in important ways to create its identity, and for a film that largely succeeds in doing so, the ending is a little disappointing. Oh and also Eddie is a huge drunk cliche that exists in many cases for comedic relief and nothing else which is fine I guess, especially because when he is used as a way to show the extent of Harry Morgan's friendship I'm very glad that Eddie is in the film and am willing to forgive his stereotypical nature.