I've become something of an Audie Murphy fan lately which is why it was a disappointment to find him simply not up to the task as the hero in this adaptation of To Have and Have Not. Bogart and Garfield have big shoes to fill, and Murphy doesn't get there. Part of it's the script - not that it's bad, it's good, with great dialogue... but it's too much for Murphy.
In his Westerns he's protected by not having much dialogue, and being very well cast (normally as some little guy with a chip on his shoulder, or naive innocent). He's simply not that convincing as an old school sea captain, or a person protective of his alcoholic shipmate, or in love with his wife (Patricia Owens).
There are several domestic scenes, well written ones, showing the love Murphy and his wife have for each other; these and some tough talk exchanges make you long for Robert Mitchum, or James Stewart - even a Tony Curtis. Murphy isn't dreadful, he doesn't wreck the film - it's just a part that requires a different sort of star.
It's a shame because for most of the part this is a quite enjoyable tale, even if it does remind you of the Bogart film. The story is a good one, Don Siegel keeps it all moving at a fair clip, Eddie Albert is a strong villain, there's plenty of action, and a support cast that also includes Jack Elam and Lee Strasberg. I can't imagine the film was that successful as Murphy returned almost exclusively to Westerns for the whole of the 1960s.
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