Key Largo

"A storm of fear and fury in the sizzling Florida Keys!"

1948 1h 40m EN

👍

7.5

SOLID

★7.5TMDB · 605

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A hurricane swells outside, but it's nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up - and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.

“A storm of fear and fury in the sizzling Florida Keys!”

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Cast

Humphrey Bogart
Frank McCloud
Edward G. Robinson
Johnny Rocco
Lauren Bacall
Nora Temple
Thomas Gomez
Richard 'Curly' Hoff
Lionel Barrymore
James Temple
Harry Lewis
Edward 'Toots' Bass
Dan Seymour
Angel Garcia
William Haade
Ralph Feeney

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Huston
Writers: John Huston, Richard Brooks
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Huston, shot by Karl Freund. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rudi Fehr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson and Lauren Bacall carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A storm of fear and fury in the sizzling Florida Keys!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040506 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Huston directs. Karl Freund behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. Rudi Fehr cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

178 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by John Huston, shot by Karl Freund. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Rudi Fehr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson and Lauren Bacall carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A storm of fear and fury in the sizzling Florida Keys!".
8IMDB entry: tt0040506 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "hotel", "florida", "war veteran", "gangster".
10Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Freund
Original score: Max Steiner
Editing: Rudi Fehr
Costume design: Leah Rhodes
Makeup / hair: Frank McCoy
Sound: Dolph Thomas
Stunt coordinator: Allen Pomeroy
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Key Largo (1948)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Huston

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-08-28
★ 9.5/10
Intense classic showcasing many wonderful artists. Frank McCloud is in the Florida Keys to visit the widow and father in law of an old war buddy, whilst at the hotel they run, he finds it has been taken over by gangster Johnny Rocco and his thugs. The cast, the performances, the screenplay, tight direction, the photography and on it goes to give us a bona fide entry into 1940s classics. It never ceases to amaze me how well Key Largo stands up on repeat viewings, each viewing bringing something new to my ever keen eye. This latest viewing brought me abundant joy in observing the background acting of the supporting players, not one of them looking on waiting for the director to shout CUT, each adding greatly with intense facial mannerisms - check out some of the background stuff Thomas Gomez does for example. Ah intense, what a truly befitting word to use as regards John Huston's direction here, perfectly capturing the stifling heat of Largo and coupling it with the sweltering tension inside this run down hotel. Key Largo is often thought of as the lesser film from the Bogart/Bacall production line, which in fairness is against some pretty special opposition. Maybe we do lose the sexual chemistry of the mighty duo here? but in its place is a mano-mano face off teetering on the brink of explosion, Edward G Robinson's weasel Rocco in danger of becoming a loose cannon to McCloud's staid drifter, the atmosphere is palpable as this room full of hate and mistrust starts bubbling towards boiling point. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G Robinson, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor (Academy Award Winner Best Supporting Actress), Thomas Gomez and Harry Lewis are all excellent, all benefiting from master director Huston molding them together. Whilst Karl Freund's deep focus photography perfectly encapsulates the mood of the piece. I just love Key Largo so much, from a heart tugging singing for your drink scene, to a retreating in the shadows shot of Bacall, Key Largo is one of the reasons I became a cinema obsessive. 9/10
Nutshell2019-07-16
★ 9/10
A brilliant John Huston thriller with an unbeatable cast: Bogart, Bacall, Robinson, and Barrymore! It's neither amazing nor a secret as to why this classic noir will never get stale.
barrymost2019-10-14
★ 9/10
A storm is about to break over Key Largo, but that's nothing compared to the emotional eruptions going on inside James Temple's run-down hotel, where the crippled old proprietor, his daughter-in-law, and a disillusioned ex-GI are being held up by the notorious gangster, Johnny Rocco. What does he want? Well, to put in his own words, he wants "more". And his temper, as well as his gun, could very well go off at any given moment. Mr. Temple, you might want to stop antagonizing him. This brilliant, tense noir is, in my opinion, one of master director John Huston's best. Considered by some to be one of the lesser Bogie/Bacall pairings, it's still a superb film that you don't want to miss. Some of the movie's best moments are (1) Claire Trevor, as Rocco's alcoholic moll, desperately singing for the sadistic Rocco and hoping to be rewarded with a drink, and (2) the verbal battles between the arrogant Rocco, and the wonderfully feisty Mr. Temple. Would I recommend? Yes, yes, and...yes.