Like Rick in Casablanca, he claims that he will risk his life for no man. McCloud quickly figures out Rocco’s true identity and purpose but shies away from confrontation. And despite the heat and the volatile atmospheric pressure, he gets dressed as if he’s on his way to a nightclub, putting on two-tone shoes, starched white shirt, floral tie, and double-breasted jacket. The first time we see him, he’s taking a bath with a fan blowing on him and a large cigar jammed into his mouth. Rocco, despite the hurricane bearing down on the hotel, is nothing if not self-indulgent. Rocco’s bullying of his girlfriend Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor) and James Temple’s attempt to help some local Indians provide secondary storylines that flesh out the characters. They eventually drop that façade, pull their guns, and take over the hotel as they wait for the gang from Miami to arrive.Ī hurricane complicates the issue. Rocco and his four henchmen at first claim to be tourists looking for a chance to fish the Keys in the offseason. The clash between McCloud and Rocco-good versus evil writ large-drives a plot that unfolds in stages. His daughter-in-law Nora (Lauren Bacall) helps him run it. The father, James Temple (Lionel Barrymore), owns the hotel. He holes up at the Largo Hotel with four of his associates while he waits for the meeting.įrank McCloud (Bogart), a World War II vet, comes to the hotel to pay his respects to the father and the widow of George Temple, a soldier who died under his command in Italy. Rocco is a gangster hiding out in Cuba who has slipped into the Florida Keys to make a “delivery” to a mobster from Miami. In fact, this is probably the only gangster movie where the weather is a genuine character, just as violent and volatile as Robinson’s Johnny Rocco. Most of the action takes place in a hotel lobby during a hurricane. Part of the reason for that, of course, is that Key Largo is based on a play. Lauren Bacall and Lionel Barrymore-not too shabby casting there-provide good support.īut the storyline is just so-so and too often instead of tension, we feel claustrophobia. Robinson doing an updated version of Rico from Little Caesar. This was Bogey channeling Rick from Casablanca and Edward G. PS – Be sure to look across the street and check out the brown garbage can whose sticker says “Kelly McGillis Didn’t Litter Here”.Bogey and Bacall are trapped in Florida Keys hotel by a gangster and his associates. The building itself is worth the trip, the rest is icing on the cake! It’s FREE to browse around the bar and to see the Pan Am Airline collection. If you’re a history buff you’ll love the Pan Am artifacts and if you’re a movie buff you’ll love that it’s owned by Kelly McGillis of Top Gun fame. You can find the little known wonder at the corner of Whitehead Street & Caroline Street in Key West. Third, there’s a mini display of two windows filled with old Pan Am memorabilia from the cockpit & galley (photo below). Second, the inside bar is in the shape of an airplane’s wing covered with aluminum complete with rivets replicating its contours (photo below). First, the building it occupies was the old historic Pan American Airways headquarters. In speaking with the bartender, he mentioned that she’s only been here about 3 times in the last nine years… so don’t expect to see her there!īy checking this out you’ll get three hidden bonuses that passers-by have no idea of what’s inside. It’s true, this bar is owned by none other than actress Kelly McGillis (Charlie). From her 1986 Hollywood mega smash box-office hit movie ‘Top Gun’ staring with Tom Cruise (Maverick) to Key West’s Kelly’s Caribbean Bar/Grill & Brewery.
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