Humphrey Bogart

King of the African Queen.

Ugly and overrated. The end.

yes he is. from an olde dutch NY family too.

Gable is king, Bogart is a royal duke though.

Like a lot of stars from that era, he usually played the same persona, but I watched Casablanca recently, and he really had some nice subtle shots and reactions. He was not a bad actor as well as having a presence.

Not bad looking, he had those rough features instead of looking like a big screen pretty boy, and was a good actor. He was a also a very dedicated, life-long liberal. There's the story of Lena Horne buying a house in Bogart's neighborhood - having her white agent purchase the house since it was the pre-Civil Rights era. When the neighbors found out, they circulated a petition to have Horne removed and when Bogart found out, he sent a note to Horne's house basically saying "If anyone ever gives you any trouble, let me know". Bogart then had words with his neighbors, many of whom he knew for years including some he knew from motion pictures, but they never troubled Lena again.

He actually looked really good when he was young. He became big star in his 40s and the smoking and drinking took a heavy toll on his looks by then. That's why he's perceived as unattractive because he was old (by the standards of that time) and looked tired and worn out in his most famous movies. Though it worked for the gritty film noir roles he took.

Key Largo is still one of my favorite movies after multiple viewings over the decades. Watching him and Edward G. Robinson together is wonderful.

The "Book of Lists" had Bogart on its "biggest penises" list. I always wanted to ask Lauren if it was true, but never got the chance, alas.

He had that old type of Manhattan accent that is likely extinct now.

I knew a guy in college who looked like a younger version of the movie Bogart. Series thing alive in the flesh.

Sexiest ^

"What rhymes with glass?"

"Alas!"

I love Bogie! Dark Passage with Agnes Moorehead, The Maltese Falcon with Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre? Phenomenal. Bogie was a very good actor. Subtle as said above. Not a fking scenery chewer like Burton or Olivier.

I don't find him attractive, but he has a fantastic screen presence. Cagney had a wider range, but I love them both.

Casablanca was on TCM this aft. I forgot that both Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet were in it. What a magical combo with Bogie!

Didn't he always play kinda the same character? Like John Wayne.

Easily my favorite actor of the 40s.. Some of less remembered films like "In a Lonely Place" are great because you can't take your eyes off of him---his acting, not his looks. And he really made "The Caine Mutiny" memorable, towering over the frankly lightweight cast of Fred MacMurray and Van Johnson.

[quote] Didn't he always play kinda the same character? Like John Wayne.

I've noticed that too. Bogart was good for playing tough and morally ambiguous characters just like his peer John Garfield. I think Garfield had more range.

Didn't he and the Rat Pack bully James Dean and other younger actors? (I heard he thought method acting was too artsy-fartsy/tooty fruity) and that he and his table once humiliated and ridiculed Dean publicly in some Hollywood nightclub. I like Bogie onscreen...bur could totally see him being a douche in real life...

....

He did like a smoke.

James Dean seemed to be hated by everyone in Hollywood either due to jealousy or annoyance by his hamminess. The more you read about Dean, the more it seemed he was really shy, eccentric and socially awkward outsider (given his upbringing, it would be understandable) despite his confident appearance on screen.

I just watched High Sierra, which Criterion put out on Blu-ray this week. It was his breakthrough role, and even at that point, he looked a little worn around the edges (which worked given he was playing a robber). I think he was gorgeous though, even in the years after. He had a nice lean body and a handsome face. I am surprised that people think he was ugly. He had that rugged sort of sexiness that is uncommon--or maybe I just have peculiar taste in men.

He did have some range; [italic]Beat the Devil[/italic] is worth a watch. But he was miscast in [italic]Sabrina[/italic], not having the touch for light romantic comedy. I rewatch it anyway, because I love Bogart and William Holden.