And the countdown continues in my quest to watch and find something inspiring in every single one of Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die… Today I have two Humphrey Bogart movies. Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.
Ilsa: I wasn’t sure you were the same. Let’s see, the last time we met…
Rick: Was La Belle Aurore.
Ilsa: How nice, you remembered. But of course,
that was the day the Germans marched into Paris.
Rick: Not an easy day to forget.
Ilsa: No.
Rick: I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.
First, let’s start with “Casablanca,” arguably one of the best movies ever made. I’m not sure it makes my top 20, but then again I’m not one for love stories that end badly. On the other hand, I don’t fault Bogart for being a one-man island. I would be, too, if the woman I loved jilted me for her un-dead husband, then returned and threatened to shoot me if I didn’t hand over German “papers.” As he says, “I stick my neck out for nobody.” Hear, hear, Bogey! Unfortunately, he changes his bitter ways and helps — even encourages — Ingrid Bergman to escape Morocco. The most inspiring thing about this movie is the script. The sarcastic biting wit that Bogey brings to life makes me want to write The Great American Screenplay, it just won’t be about unrequited love.
Charlie: We can’t do that!
Rose: How do you know? You never tried it.
Charlie: Well, yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither.
Fast-forward 10 years later but a war earlier, and you have Katharine Hepburn (Rose) and Bogey (Charlie) on an asinine mission to take a tiny boat, turn it into a torpedo and fire at a German ship blocking passage in an East Africa river during World War I. Why is it no surprise when they get captured and nearly executed? Rose is insane from the get-go, insisting upon this not-so-brilliant plan in the first place, then flat-out telling the Germans, “We came here to kill you.” Earlier she gets off the boat to bathe in the river, then she can’t get back on the boat. Strangely she tries to stick her feet over the top, as if to lift her entire body weight with her toes. What the hell? Anyway, the inspiration! I left this movie thoroughly inspired to never travel down a river in East Africa. Someone else can enjoy the leeches, giant swarming bugs and alligators, thankyouverymuch.
