You will be watching a sequence from Howard Hawks’ classic action/adventure/romantic film To Have and Have Not (1944), starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (two of the most famous actors of the time, who met, and became romantically involved in real life, while shooting this film and becoming involved onscreen). The film takes place in a French colony, early in World War II. The island is under German occupation; the local government is in collaboration with the Germans, but French resistance fighters are active. Bogart and Bacall play Americans stranded on the island, at a time when the USA had not yet entered the war against the Germans.
You can download the clip here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7r6fnkmu5viub3/To%20Have%20%26%20Have%20Not.m4v?dl=0
The sequence you will see comes early in the film. We have already been introduced to Bogart’s character, but this is when he (and we) see Bacall’s character for the first time. In this sequence, Hawks follows the rules of continuity editing closely. What’s more, he edits the film in such a way as to not call attention to itself – he wants us to concentrate on the characters and the story. Your task is to pay attention to Hawks’ editing choices nevertheless. Most of the information in this sequence is contained in the editing structure, and in the physical movements of the characters, rather than through dialogue. Your task is to analyze the editing of the scene. Answer all the following questions in 3-4 sentences each:
1. How many shots are there in this sequence? (There is a definite answer to this question; watch the clip a number of times, if you have to, and count the shots. Each shot is a separate continuous piece of film, regardless whether the camera moves or stays in a single location).
2. Where does the sequence take place, and how does Hawks establish this location? Since there are a large number of people in the scene, how does Hawks call attention to the main characters?
3. How would you describe the axis of action of the scene? Or, in other words, the camera is always on one side of the room. Who/what is to the left portion of the scene, and who/what is to the right? For instance, where is Bacall in relation to the piano player? (In closer shots, one or two characters might fill the frame; but you can still say where they are located in relation to the characters and pros seen in other shots).
4. How does Hawks convey to us a possible interaction between Bogart’ and Bacall, given that in this sequence we do not ever see them at the same time, together in the shot?
5. What are Bogart’s and Bacall’s relationships to other people in the scene (in particular, Bacall’s relationship to the man she is seated with at first, and then to the jazz pianist?) How does the editing help us establish this?
