To Have and Have Not
Warner Bros. | Release Date: January 20, 1945 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
90
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
In many ways the ultimate Hawks film: clear, direct, and thoroughly brilliant. Read full review
100
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
An unassuming masterpiece, nominally based on Hemingway's novel and set in Martinique during World War II, this is Hawks' toughest statement of the necessity of accepting responsibility for others or forfeiting one's self-respect - the sum total of morality for Hawks - and the perfectbridge from the free and open world of Only Angels Have Wings to the claustrophobic one of Rio Bravo. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
The dialogue is sharp, the direction first-rate, and the acting superb, but To Have And Have Not is undoubtedly best remembered for the on- and offscreen romance between Bogart and Bacall. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
The things that make me love the movie are the mood, the hardboiled but good-hearted morality, Hawks' consummately professional eye-level style and those wonderful characters. [28 Jul 2006, p.C7]
100
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Hawks' direction is his very best: crisp, humane and full of humor. [26 Jul 1998, p.4]
100
USA TodayMike Clark
A Casablanca-influenced love story set against a French Resistance backdrop in Martinique. [07 Nov 2003]
90
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Slickly professional, thoroughly enjoyable.
88
Portland OregonianTed Mahar
Here is another legendary case of actors following their characters' lead. [14 Feb 1997, p.36]
80
Time
To Have and Have Not is neither an action picture nor a Bogart picture. Its story is, in fact, just a loosely painted background for a kind of romance which the movies have all but forgotten about—the kind in which the derelict sweethearts are superficially aloof but essentially hot as blazes, and seem to do even their kissing out of the corners of their mouths. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid Parkinson
Superb dialogue, beautifully played and hummingly atmospheric, this is sexy, poignant and tense with some surpising humour...only the plot shows cracks... Read full review
80
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
What Mr. Hawks and his script-writers have done to Mr. Hemingway's tale is to shape it out of all recognition into a pattern of worldly intrigue. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
The picture’s reason for being is Bacall, whose Marie “Slim” Browning slinks onto the screen asking Harry for matches and walks away with the entire movie. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Those anticipating something along the lines of Casablanca will be disappointed. Despite the superficial similarities and Warner Brothers' obvious desire to point them out, To Have and Have Not is inferior in almost every way that matters. But for those who visit this movie to vicariously experience the beginnings of Hollywood's most famous romance, it delivers in full. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyBilge Ebiri
The ”you know how to whistle, don’t you?” scene is justifiably famous, and there’s plenty more where that came from. Read full review
70
The Observer (UK)Philip French
Casablanca is its model, and though a minor classic, it isn't in the same league. [30 Jul 2000, p.10]
60
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Warners give the pic its usually nifty productional accoutrements, and that includes casting, musical scoring and Howard Hawks’ direction but the basic story is too unsteady. Read full review
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