If for no other reason than the source material itself, The Breaking Point makes for a perfect follow-up to Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s definitive film noir, To Have and Have Not. Released in 1944 and directed by celebrated filmmaker Howard Hawks, To Have and Have Not marked the beginning of the future Hollywood couple’s four-film partnership.
In addition to To Have and Have Not, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made three great movies: The Big Sleep, Key Largo, and Dark Pᴀssage. All of which are now regarded as excellent entries into the genre. But though all were good, none were able to match their first collaboration, as To Have and Have Not remains the quintessential Bogart-Bacall movie and one of the best examples of film noir.
The idea that To Have and Have Not is one of the best film noir movies ever made is an opinion shared by many, and therefore provides a great reason to check out The Breaking Point. Made just six years later, The Breaking Point was an adaptation of the same story that served as the blueprint for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s best movie together.
Both The Breaking Point & To Have And Have Not Are Based On The Same Ernest Hemingway Book
John Garfield Stars In The 1950 Version
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s signature 1944 effort was the first film adaptation of To Have and Have Not, a 1937 novel of the same name by beloved author Ernest Hemingway. The second was The Breaking Point, a 1950 film noir that saw John Garfield and Patricia Neal occupy the roles previously played by Bogart and Bacall – albeit by different names.
In addition to Bogart and Bacall, the original movie featured prominent character actor Walter Brennan in what was one of his most memorable roles as the main protagonist’s friend and ally, Eddie. The Breaking Point employs a similar dynamic, with its version of that character – named Wesley in the film – being portrayed by Juano Hernandez.
The Breaking Point was helmed by Michael Curtiz, the same filmmaker who famously directed Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 classic, Casablanca.
Like the book, both movie versions of the story follow a boat captain named Morgan whose financial woes lead him to get involved in smuggling. His illegal actions, though done to help his family, get the protagonist into a deep amount trouble, as he finds himself blackmailed into smuggling people across the ocean.
John Garfield’s To Have And Have Not Movie Is More Faithful To The Source Material
Like The Book, The Breaking Point Has Nothing To Do With World War 2
One of the things that stands out most about The Breaking Point is that it actually beats To Have and Have Not in terms of its faithfulness to the source material. After all, it’s important to note that as great as it was, To Have and Have Not didn’t exactly stay true to the underlying premise of Hemingway’s novel.
In the book, Morgan’s primary task is to smuggle Chinese immigrants from Mexico to California. The 1944 movie heavily changes this, moving the story all the way to France. This is hardly a superficial change, as this shapes the movie’s entire narrative. Rather than simply smuggle immigrants, Morgan is having to help members of the French Resistance.
Going in this direction allows To Have and Have Not to serve as one of many Hollywood films from the early 1940s to boast timely, patriotic themes that fit in with the industry’s approach to promoting the war effort. The setting change also lent itself well to Morgan’s character arc, given that it enabled him to develop into a willing ally of his pᴀssengers.
As a movie released years after World War 2, The Breaking Point didn’t take the same course, and instead followed the book more closely, avoiding the French Resistance element altogether. In both the book and the 1950 movie, Morgan works against his pᴀssengers, rather than against them, who are depicted more as antagonists than sympathetic figures.
John Garfield Was The Best Possible Replacement For Humphrey Bogart
John Garfield Is One Of The Film Noir Genre’s Best Actors
Although The Breaking Point wasn’t technically a remake of To Have and Have Not, it’s hard to separate the Harry Morgan character from the Humphrey Bogart version. Unfortunately, the ᴀssociation between the two naturally set a high bar for The Breaking Point to meet, but the choice of John Garfield made that a much more reasonable goal.
Through his roles in movies like The Maltese Falcon and To Have and Have Not, Humphrey Bogart has become an icon of the film noir genre – and for good reason. And that’s a reputation shared by John Garfield, who has also headlined a remarkably long list of film noir greats, including The Postman Always Rings Twice, Force of Evil, and Out of the Fog.
John Garfield is a film noir legend for many of the same reasons that Bogart is. Like Bogart, Garfield epitomized the classic film noir protagonist, in that he excelled in playing characters who thrived in morally gray areas, as opposed to straight-laced heroes.
As someone who could take what would otherwise be a despicable character and insert layers into the persona, there was no better choice as a successor to Bogart in The Breaking Point than John Garfield.
