Key Largo

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Humphrey Bogart and John Huston made some memorable movies together. There have been previous discussions here on The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, both of which deal with human greed. This 1948 film is relevant today since it presents a feeling that America has lost sight of its democratic and ethical ideals.

The story starts out with rushing music, perhaps reflecting the breaking waves that crash onto Key Largo just off of Florida’s southern coast. A police car chases and stops a bus. So, contrasting with the natural beauty of the area is the suggestion of some criminal activity. However, the cops are after the wrong crooks here, implying justice has been misdirected. The authorities are looking for two “Indians” who escaped from custody, and they are believed to be heading for their home on Key Largo. Frank McCloud (Bogart) is on the bus, and there is a shot of him reflected in the bus side-view mirror. Mirrors usually symbolize that there are two sides to someone, one of which is usually darker psychologically. In this instance it represents McCloud’s disillusioned view of his country that has led to a cynicism and a belief that looking out for oneself is all that matters. His first name suggests that he values honesty. His last name implies that he is living in a gloomy state of mind. The high esteem in which he once viewed his country is now being obscured by the corruption blocking out a sense of moral vision. He traveled to an island, which suggests that he feels cut off from the beliefs that once grounded him.

McCloud enters the Largo hotel. There is a guy, Toots Bass (Harry Lewis), in the lobby who looks like a hood, wearing suspenders and a brimmed hat. Another thug hanging around is Ralph Feeney (William Haade). Bass says the hotel is closed, as is the bar. But the boozy woman at the bar, Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor, winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role), who has an ironically happy name, is more hospitable, saying “give him a drink.” Despite her being the main gangster’s woman, she shows a bit of rebelliousness here. The very hot summer weather matches the tensions and heated exchanges to come. A buzzer sounds for service to one of the rooms. The man behind the bar, Angel Garcia (Dan Seymour), says, “It’s him,” referring to Al Capone-like criminal, Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson). Gaye says that she’ll bring the drink to him. Bass says when he wants Gaye, he’ll send for her. It shows that Rocco is running things, and the woman is under his control. Gaye bets at horse racing, and likes playing the long shots. Maybe this implies that she may be willing to bet on an underdog later. Angel, Curly Hoff (Thomas Gomez), and Bass want McCloud to leave, emphasizing that the place is closed, and Curly says that they are there only by special arrangement. McCloud says he isn’t staying, but just wants to see Mr. Temple, the proprietor. He’s told he’s at the boathouse.

James Temple (Lionel Barrymore), whose name suggests something sacred, but who is infirm and in a wheelchair, thus showing that spiritual inspiration may be in disrepair, recognizes McCloud’s name, addressing him as a major. So, we learn McCloud was in the military, shortly after World War II. Temple’s daughter-in-law, Nora (Lauren Bacall), is there. Nora’s husband, George, who died in the war, served with McCloud, and McCloud knows a great deal about the Keys from talking to George. Nora said she wrote to McCloud, but he was hard to reach, having been traveling around a great deal. His drifting implies instability in his life. Temple is funny about how the Keys are livable, “except for the tourists,” for a few months out of the year when the temperature drops “only” to a hundred, (I can attest to the heat, with the real feel temperature around a hundred degrees even in December on Key West). This part of the world is alluring in its beauty, but the weather also can be punishing.

McCloud says he was just passing through, but Temple and Nora give him a reason to stay. Temple wants to talk more about George and asks McCloud to stay the night in George’s room. From the interested way Nora looks at McCloud it seems like he may become George’s replacement. Sheriff Ben Wade (Monte Blue) and Deputy Clyde Sawyer (John Rodney) are looking for the Osceola brothers, the escaped Native Americans. Temple tells McCloud that the two were pals of George, and got drunk and rowdy, talking about taking Florida back for the Indians. Their action points to wanting to gain justice for having their land taken away from them, and thus restoring decency as to how to treat others.

Curly roughly pushes Gaye into another room, and tells Nora and McCloud that she sees things when she’s drunk, and one can only handle her by punching her in the face. The man is obviously despicable, and his meanness is acknowledged in the concerned looks exchanged between McCloud and Nora. Curly makes a lame explanation for being rude, saying they came for deep sea fishing and then their boss brought Gaye, who is constantly drunk and comes onto the other men, which makes Rocco angry. Curly offers to buy McCloud a drink, but McCloud doesn’t like the guy and doesn’t want to get chummy, so he refuses. Nora tells McCloud that Curly offered to rent the whole hotel for a week and Temple couldn’t turn down the money. Even the upstanding Temple is subject to the temptations of monetary gain. Rocco is going under the name of Mr. Brown, a deception which is consistent with his nature. He never comes out of his room, using others to do his bidding, which is how authoritarian figures operate. McCloud is suspicious as to why these men were spreading so much money around in summer when places are closed. Meanwhile, Nora gets a call saying a hurricane is coming, which adds to the atmosphere of turmoil at the hotel.

Temple wants to know more about George’s military service. McCloud says he was a born hero, always looking to serve above and beyond his duty. He was pinned down on a hill and talked to McCloud on the phone, trying to keep awake. McCloud learned a great deal about Temple and Nora from those conversations. George told McCloud that his father told him that before he was born, he knew all the secrets of life and death, and an angel sealed his lips, which was shown by the hollow above his mouth. It was a fairy tale Temple told him when he was ten. This story presents George as a person touched by God, who held the meaning of life inside of him, but which is unavailable to the rest of fallen humankind. It is significant that he no longer exists in the world, as if his goodness and wisdom have been erased from current times.

Frank tells Nora he came down to work on the sea. Life became too “complicated” on land, which emphasizes his outsider outlook since serving in the military. Before the war he was circulation manager for a newspaper, so what was happening around the world was important to him once. He’s waited on tables and drove a taxi since the war, jobs which do not point to long-term economic stability. He’s been unmoored since the war. But, he knows about boats. He helps to secure one at the dock, showing that he may have found a place that he can anchor himself.

Curly notes the large boat near them (it’s been rented by Rocco), but McCloud warns that they better watch it doesn’t get damaged along the reef when the winds kick up. This exchange shows that these shady visitors aren’t schooled in the ways of this territory. Native Americans approach in a small boat. Nora says one of them is Charlie Wenoka, who comes from a long, royal line of Seminoles, going “back to the gods.” But, he has been reduced to “selling seashells by the seashore.” These Native Americans represent a noble American past that has been vanquished by selfish interests. Nora says that the Native Americans always seek shelter at the hotel, because they seem to instinctively, almost magically, know early on when a bad storm is brewing, which adds a sense of mystery to these people that raises them above the flawed men who took their land away from them. Tom and Johnny Osceola (Jay Silverheels, who would go on to play Tonto in The Lone Ranger, and Rodd Redwing), the missing Indians, also arrive. They say they received Temple’s message and, based on his advice, are willing to give themselves up.

Nora says that she met George at a USO dance when he was lonely. She felt that life didn’t make much sense before finding George. She tells him, “I never had much of a home. And I didn’t like what I had.” She, like the way McCloud now is, was unattached to anything. But George gave her “roots.” Now she is like one of the “mangroves.” So, the roots took hold there, and she is happy. She is a model for what can happen to McCloud.

Nora and McCloud start to prepare the hotel as the storm starts to brew. Curly wittily says that in a hurricane, “The wind blows so hard the ocean gets up on its hind legs and walks right across the land.” Pretty good use of personification for a gangster. Bass (whose name could imply he is a fish that should be hooked) laughs at a joke about how one con tries to sell a pen to another, saying the “pen is guaranteed for life.” He is an unjailed crook who can make jokes about being incarcerated, and it is ironic that the Native Americans are willing to give themselves up for some minor rabble-rousing while the real criminals are free. Temple wonders why a police car is outside since Wade and Sawyer had left earlier. He sees no sign of the cops. Curly takes a call from the police, not allowing Nora to answer the phone. Curly lies, saying Temple and Nora aren’t available. Nora and McCloud exchange worried looks as they realize these men who have taken over the hotel are seedy characters, and possibly dangerous. When Nora tries to get the phone, Curly pushes her away. McCloud tries to intervene, but Curly and Bass pull out their guns.

For the first time we see Rocco, who even when not visible, was a strong presence. He crawls out of the water in the bathtub, like a reptile. Deputy Sawyer is stretched out on a bed, unconscious, blood drying on a head wound. Temple is hurling insults at Bass, and Rocco enters, telling everyone to cool down, saying that it will only be a couple more hours they’ll have to be together. Instead of calling them prisoners, which is what Temple says he, Nora and McCloud are, Rocco says they are his “guests.” It makes him in charge, reversing the normal order of things, taking away Temple’s authority. Sawyer wakes up. He says, “You won’t get away with it, Rocco.” McCloud recognizes Rocco’s name, and so does Temple, who says he thought the hoodlum was deported. Rocco says that after he lived in the United States “for more than thirty-five years, they called me an undesirable alien. Me. Johnny Rocco. Like I was a dirty Red, or something.” The thrust here is that those who had political leanings inconsistent with mainstream America should be considered more deserving of punishment than criminals. Temple says that instead of deporting Rocco, they should have “exterminated” him, like a dangerous insect. McCloud cynically heaps praise on how far Rocco’s criminal empire stretched, how he was able to commit many crimes, including murder. Therefore, Temple should realize what an important man Rocco is and not have old-fashioned ideas about returning to a time when the country, “could get along without Johnny Rocco’s.” There is a perception here that America has fallen into decay, and the depiction of a demoralized war veteran and a famous hoodlum emphasizes the decline from the decent past into the corrupt present.

Rocco acknowledges that he was a big shot. When he spoke people listened, and his orders were carried out. Now, he says he will be back, stronger than ever. When Rocco questions McCloud about the soldier’s life, McCloud says he was not very brave and not sure why he stuck his neck out for others (hints of Rick in Casablanca?). But he believes he fought in the war because of the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, who said, “We’re fighting to cleanse the world of ancient evils, ancient ills.” McCloud once had that hope, like Temple, for a better time. The storm rages in the background, possibly representing the wrath aimed at those “ancient evils” that Rocco represents. Temple gets up out of his wheelchair, takes a swing at Rocco, as the gangsters ridicule the invalid, and he falls down. Nora said that the Native Americans respected Temple’s ethical ways, and thought “he was America,” which means the country was supposed to stand for those lofty ideals. But, those ideals have been crippled by men like Rocco. Nora starts to strike Rocco, but he stops her from doing any harm, restrains her and then forcibly kisses her, showing him to be a depraved, sexual bully.

Rocco gets a phone call from someone named Ziggy (Marc Lawrence) who appears reluctant to go through with whatever scheme Rocco has planned. Rocco tells him to not worry and that their deal has to be carried out that night. In contrast to Temple who stands for a welcoming America, who lets the Indians in to give them shelter from the storm, Rocco tells his men to keep the natives out of the hotel. The captain of the boat (Alberto Morin) Rocco hired says that he has to move his craft or it will get wrecked on the coral reef, as McCloud had warned. Rocco points a gun at him, which is the way Rocco thinks he can have whatever he wants, and says he’ll blow the man’s brains out if he moves the boat. Rocco is such a megalomaniac he thinks he can defy nature.

Sawyer tells McCloud, Temple, and Nora that he came back looking for the Osceola brothers. He ran into Angel and Bass, questioned them, and thought their answers were a little “fishy,” which again is a reference to the sea as a place to be tested. The deputy tried to call Ben Wade, but the electricity went out. Bass found out what he was doing and knocked Sawyer out. He woke up and recognized Rocco. He then says the “lights” went out on him, again, meaning he was knocked unconscious a second time. Bass, in a film noir line (although this film is not a typical noir film, given its setting), says, “I’m the electrician.” Rocco, lounging around in his robe, like he’s in his own house, sits down for a shave, as Angel obediently tends to him. Rocco tells Sawyer that the deputy thinks he can stop him, but Rocco will soon be pulling strings to get politicians elected, and notes that men in office “owe everything” to him. He says he took an unknown person, told him what to say, put his name in the newspapers, paid for campaign expenses, bought groceries and heating fuel for voters, got them out to vote, and counted the votes until they came out with the results he wanted. But when the pressure was on, the politician turned on Rocco. Rocco, through the mirror, sees Nora, and talks about how she resembles a feisty young woman, who even stuck him with a knife once. He changed her name for “professional” reasons, which means he made her into a showgirl. He is talking about Gaye, whose violence in the past reveals her potential to bring Rocco down. He sees the possibility of turning Nora into another Gaye, but it is Rocco’s dark side he sees in the mirror, not that of Nora. He whispers obviously salacious remarks into her ear. She spits in his face. McCloud moves her away. Rocco is livid and asks for a gun. McCloud uses his wits, saying just smacking Nora, as Bass suggests, isn’t enough. He’d have to kill her, then kill all of them for witnessing the murder. But, that would be too messy, because he needs Bass, Curly and Angel. So, Rocco holds off.

Gaye yells that she wants her door unlocked. Rocco says to let her out. She sees that Nora has been crying and is protective of another female, knowing how she has been mistreated. Gaye wants another drink, but the “Boss” says no. She yells, but sees that Sawyer has been roughed up and notices that one of the men has a gun out. So, she quiets down.

Rocco calls McCloud a “wise guy” for coming up with his argument not to kill them. But McCloud admits that he doesn’t have the practical knowledge that Rocco has. Rocco says even though he knows that McCloud is being insincere, and actually thinks he’s better than Rocco, the gangster asks how come he’s the one who was so successful. McCloud says Rocco knows what he wants, which is “more.” Rocco says enthusiastically, “That’s it! More.” It sounds like James Brolin’s character in Wall Street; Money Never Sleeps. Some may say the line is prescient as it links crime with big time capitalists. When asked if he’ll ever have enough, Rocco says it never has. McCloud says that he wanted something once, a world without Johnny Rocco’s, but he gave up on his dream, showing his pessimism.

Rocco gives McCloud a gun and has a face-off with him. He can kill Rocco but he’ll have to give up his life, too, since Rocco has a gun pointed at McCloud. Sawyer and Temple, standing for righteous retribution, urge McCloud to sacrifice himself for the greater good, and shoot. After thinking about it, he lowers the gun, and Rocco says McCloud doesn’t want his dream enough. McCloud says, “One Rocco more or less isn’t worth dying for.” In his practical cynicism, McCloud knows there will always be another weed springing up. Temple wants the gun, but Rocco, reading his opponents pretty well at this point, says that he knows Temple will shoot, implying he knew McCloud wouldn’t. Rocco, trying to deflate any admiration she has for McCloud tells Nora, “So much for your war hero.” Sawyer grabs the gun and tries to get out, saying he’ll be able to kill Rocco if they don’t let him leave. But, Rocco wasn’t really being honest (hey, he didn’t become an Al Capone level gangster by being noble) and the gun was unloaded. Rocco shoots and kills Sawyer so he wouldn’t run away and warn the authorities.

Temple tries to make excuses for McCloud, saying that he could tell the gun wasn’t loaded by its weight, and he wasn’t really scared. McCloud, living up to his first name, honestly says he didn’t know it was empty and he was scared. He asks why should he die to stop Rocco? He doesn’t see the point and doesn’t care. He yells that Rocco can become president for all it matters to him, the line suggesting that a crook can become the head of the government, because trying to fight to protect others is futile. He says, “I fight nobody’s battles but my own.” The word “battle” here is significant since it is associated with war, and McCloud has had enough of war, and losing men he fought with, for lofty ideals that he has seen wither into decay. Nora, defiant against surrendering to a life of not caring for others, calls McCloud a coward, and she declares that she would rather die than believe like he does. Temple, his moral resolve faltering, says to Nora that maybe McCloud is right. The look on McCloud’s face shows he is sorry that his actions may be eroding Temple’s will to hang onto his beliefs.

Rocco is on the phone trying to complete the deal to sell a shipment he brought before he escapes to Cuba. The lights start to go out, and the storm still rages. They head downstairs to where Nora lit candles. Gaye looks frightened of Rocco and goes to the bar. Rocco, looking repulsed by the woman he has warped, says that he hates a drunk woman. He says she had class, looks, was a singer, but turned into a lush. She says he gave her her first drink, but he dismisses any responsibility, saying just because someone has a first drink doesn’t mean that a person has to turn into a drunk. He says that she has changed for the worse, but she says he hasn’t changed at all, meaning he’s just as nasty as ever. Rocco is manipulative, and degrades people, again setting up a fake wager. He says if she sings she can have a drink. She sings a song which appropriately is about a man treating a woman badly. He won’t give her a drink because she was “rotten” singer. McCloud, defying his own avowed selfishness, gives a drink to Gaye. Rocco slaps McCloud for defying him, but McCloud calmly accepts the punishment without escalating Rocco’s anger.

The storm gets worse, and Rocco finally looks worried that he may not be able to have control over his surroundings. When asked how bad the hurricane can get, Temple says, almost matter-of-factly, enjoying seeing Rocco squirm, that the worst storm they had knocked railroad cars off the tracks with two hundred miles per hour winds, created tidal waves that wiped out towns, and left five hundred bodies behind. Nora apologizes for calling McCloud a coward, as he could have been killed for giving Gaye a drink. She admits that the world may be “rotten,” but says, “a cause isn’t lost if someone’s willing to fight.” (This line very much is in harmony with one of the themes in Casablanca). McCloud says that he’s not that “someone.” She argues that he is, because she knows from George’s letters that the story McCloud told reversed what really happened in the war, and it was McCloud that was on the hill, talking to George.

McCloud also enjoys seeing Rocco worry. Gaye, too, sees the mobster’s concern growing, and she acts more confident as Rocco appears weaker. Rocco doesn’t want it so quiet in the hotel and asks them to keep talking. He doesn’t want to hear the wind howling, diminishing his boastful confidence. He says he doesn’t believe Temple about how bad the storm can get. McCloud taunts Rocco, asking him why doesn’t he take out his gun and shoot the storm, emphasizing Rocco’s method of getting his way, and showing its absurdity when facing the god-like power of something as huge as nature. Temple says a prayer asking that the storm kill Rocco. The gangster is ready to shoot Temple, but McCloud confronts him. Rocco points his weapon at McCloud, pulls the trigger, but it is the unloaded gun he originally handed McCloud. So, the tables have turned, and it shows that Rocco is the one who has become disarmed by his fear of the holy wrath swirling around him outside. A tree crashes through the large window in the lobby to stress the natural forces at work, and the Native Americans outside huddle together against the onslaught.

The storm starts to pass. Temple, wanting to help McCloud find a place that will settle him down, tells McCloud that he should stay on with them. Nora asks if he has any family. McCloud doesn’t, so Temple says he should see them as his family. The gangsters realize that their getaway boat has left. Gaye, almost enjoying the turnaround in Rocco’s circumstances, begins to live up to her name, and starts to laugh at the news. The Seminoles, not knowing the reality of what has been happening inside the hotel, feel betrayed and yell at Temple for not granting them sanctuary. Temple is angry at Rocco for not really sending the natives away to find shelter elsewhere. Temple says they could have died, but Rocco’s cruel, inhumane response is “So what?” Rocco, after learning that McCloud can pilot a boat, wants him to get the gangsters to Cuba in a smaller craft which is still secured to the dock. Rocco threatens him with torture, and plays to McCloud’s cynicism, reminding him that he was wise in his practicality earlier to say that he didn’t care what happens to Rocco.

Ben Wade shows up asking about Sawyer. Wade mentions the Osceola brothers, and so the gangsters use that information to say the deputy must have gone looking for the brothers. As Wade is ready to leave, he sees Sawyer’s body in the swampy water. Rocco says the Osceola brothers were there, thus implying that they could have killed Sawyer. Wade goes to the dock where the Seminoles are, and those in the hotel lobby hear gunshots. Wade comes back in and says he killed the brothers trying to get away. He accuses Temple of lying about not seeing the brothers and knowing they killed Sawyer. He says he plans to press charges. The innocent Native Americans, symbolizing a noble culture, are once again being punished and the evil ones are getting away with their crimes at this point. So, it seems that McCloud’s cynicism is justified.

Ziggy and his men show up to buy a bag full of counterfeit money. It is significant that the crime involves fakery, a pretense of legitimacy, which is what men like Rocco have presented to the public to hide the corrupt practices of politicians that they have used for their own gain. Ziggy’s men check out the goods and pay Rocco. In the other room, McCloud looks, possibly with guilt, at the medal awarded to George. Gaye and Nora tell him to just try and make a run for it when he gets outside because Rocco and his men will kill him once they get off the boat in Cuba. McCloud tells Nora that she was right, “When your head says one thing and your whole life says another, your head always loses.” Despite cynical practicality, McCloud feels he must fight because he has lived his life by a code of honor. Temple says if you’re a fighter you have to fight. Even though McCloud says that one Rocco more or less isn’t going to change things, an individual still has to do the right thing if that is what gives meaning to his life.

Gaye grabs onto Rocco and hugs him, begging him to take her with him after he says he’s leaving her behind. It looks pitiful, but she actually steals Rocco’s gun while holding onto him, and she gives it to McCloud, who goes with the crooks. The gangsters hear on the ship radio that the authorities are looking for the boat they have stolen. Rocco, down below, says they won’t find them in the fog, another symbol of misdirection. Curly wonders if Gaye will be angry about being left behind and send the authorities after Ziggy. But that is Rocco’s plan, and his pledge to work together with the other criminal groups was another in his series of false promises. Bass, untrue to his name, is seasick. McCloud, also using misdirection, but in order to foil the bad guys, tells Ralph to see if any kelp got caught in the motor. As the man hangs over the edge of the craft, McCloud swirls the boat, sending Ralph overboard. McCloud then shoots Bass, who gets off a shot that wounds McCloud. McCloud then shoots Curly coming up from the cabin below. Rocco realizes that Gaye took the gun and armed McCloud. He takes Curly’s gun and tells Angel to go out and confront McCloud. He refuses, so Rocco, used to having his commands met, shoots his own man despite it being counterproductive. McCloud climbs on the roof of the boat and positions himself above an opening looking down on the deck near the entrance to the cabin below. Rocco tries to bribe McCloud, since money is the only motive he understands. He then says he’ll give up his gun. Rocco gets one of the other guns and throws it out in the open. Rocco comes out pointing his own gun, but McCloud, symbolically placed in a higher position, equipped with a broader vision, shoots Rocco dead, as if dispensing divine justice from above.

McCloud, no longer feeling the need psychologically to be at sea, heads back into shore. At the hotel, Sheriff Wade says that Ziggy was caught because of the information that Gaye supplied, and she will testify against them, as more justice is now dispensed. Wade is extremely sorry for spilling innocent Native American blood, but Temple says the inheritors of America always seem to harm the natives who were here first. Nora gets a call from McCloud. She opens the windows in the hotel lobby, letting in the sun after the hurricane. The image suggests that they have weathered the storm, and McCloud is coming back to them, as hopefully are the principles that America is supposed to stand for.

The next film is Legends of the Fall.