BACALL’S BEST ROLESHere are 10 key roles in Bacall’s long career, in film and onstage:”TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT” (1944) – Bacall’s film debut, made when she was 19, and of course her first film with Humphrey Bogart. The two fell in love on set. And if that weren’t enough to immortalize the movie, there was this classic line, delivered by Bacall: “You know how to whistle, don’t you Steve? You just put your lips together and … blow.” Director Howard Hawks wisely mined the chemistry between these two actors.”THE BIG SLEEP” (1946) – By the time this film noir was made, Bacall and Bogart were married. Hawks also directed this one, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s 1939 whodunit. Despite what was seen as a terribly confusing plot, the film capitalized on the public fascination with the screen couple.”KEY LARGO” (1948) – Also a film noir, and also starring Bogart – along with Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore and Claire Trevor. The movie, directed by John Huston, was the last of four Bacall did with her husband (the third was “Dark Passage”). Inspired the 1981 song “Key Largo” by Bertie Higgins.”HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE” (1953) – A lighthearted comedy that teamed Bacall with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable; the actresses played models aiming to land rich husbands. Also a great one for quotes. “You don’t think he’s a little old?” Bacall’s character, Schatze Page, is asked. “Wealthy men are never old,” she replies.”DESIGNING WOMAN” (1957) – Another romantic comedy, this time with Bacall starring opposite Gregory Peck. Bacall played a fashion designer, Peck her sportswriter husband. The film did well, but Bacall was going through personal turmoil; Bogart died of cancer several months before the film’s release.”APPLAUSE” (1970) – Appearing on Broadway, Bacall won a best-actress Tony for her performance as Margo Channing in this musical, based of course on the 1950 Bette Davis film “All About Eve.””MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” (1974) – An older Bacall played a brash, widowed American socialite in this popular Agatha Christie adaptation in which everyone was a suspect.”WOMAN OF THE YEAR” (1981) – Bacall won her second Tony in this John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, also based on a classic film: the 1942 movie of the same name starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.”THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES” (1996) – Bacall played Barbra Streisand’s vain, obnoxious mother – and scored an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.”DOGVILLE” (2003) – Bacall starred with Nicole Kidman in this Danish drama by Lars von Trier about a young woman (Kidman) hiding out in a small town in Depression-era Colorado.
This May 1945 file photo shows actor Humphrey Bogart, left, with his wife actress Lauren Bacall. Bacall, the sultry-voiced actress and Humphrey Bogart’s partner off and on the screen, died Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014, in New York. She was 89.NEW YORK – Lauren Bacall was a movie star from almost her first moment on the silver screen.
A fashion model and bit-part New York actress before moving to Hollywood at 19, Bacall achieved immediate fame in 1944 with one scene in her first film, “To Have and Have Not.” Leaving Humphrey Bogart’s hotel room, Bacall – a lanky figure with flowing blond hair and a stunning face – murmured:
“You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”
With that cool, sultry come-on, not only was a star born, but the beginning of a legend, her title burnished over the years with pivotal roles, signature New York wit, and a marriage to Bogart that accounted for one of the most famous Hollywood couples of all time.