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— Scott Allison and George Goethals
I love Bogart. He was an amazing actor who played some of the most iconic roles in movie history (including Rick in my favorite movie Casablanca— and I’m quite happy to share that character’s first name). He always managed to stay cool, calm and collected– even when he was freaking out, like in The African Queen— and that’s one reason I think he’s so great. And when confronting villainy, he always took the high road; in the final analysis, the only way to really beat the bad guys is to be the better man.
Key Largo also contains one of my favorite Bogart quotes: “You don’t like it, do you, Rocco? The storm? Show it your gun, why don’t you? If it don’t stop, shoot it.” Bogie kept his cool. Rocco didn’t. 8)
I think “Tough without a gun” best describes those pure heroes. Their courage doesn’t rely on their abilities. Sometimes we will assess the situation and what’s the chance that we can deal with it. But those pure heroes don’t. They don’t need guns because they know they are right and their inner world is powerful.
i believe that it is the true test of a hero to be able to sway a situation without the use of violence. tactful speech, and the ability to act when the time is right often define the true hero. those who use violence to solve a problem or situation may seem heroic at first, but usually do not have the moral fiber to maintain their heroic status, and may even slip into a villainous realm if they use violence too often or too readily.
This article caught my interest because of our extensive study of Bogart’s work in my American Studies class in the previous semester. We too discussed how Bogart was able to transcend the stereotypes of the traditional crime-fighting hero by his employment of intelligence as opposed to violence. His intellect only emphasizes his ability to sway a situation and proves to be far more impressive than resolving a situation with firepower.
I remember the movie Key Largo, ages ago did I see that. Thanks for posting the clip.