Bogart & Bacall
Season 13, Episode 07
July 21, 2025
Part 1: To Have and Have Not
Re-Imagined Radio begins its two-part Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall tribute. Part 1 features a re-listen to their first radio collaboration, the 1946 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of their 1943 motion picture, To Have and Have Not. Bogart and Bacall reprise their starring roles as "Steve" and "Slim" and once again, bring the sizzle to their storytelling. From our Tribute Series.
Access the episode script
Background
Short Stories
To Have and Have Not began as two short stories by American author Ernest Hemingway. The first, "One Trip Across," was published in Cosmopolitan in 1934. Two years later, 1936, the second, "The Tradesman's Return," was published in Esquire.
"One Trip Across" introduced the character Harry Morgan, who, to support himself during the Depressison, runs fishing boat charters and transports contraband between Key West, Florida, and Havanna, Cuba. After "The Tradesman's Return" was published, Hemingway decided to write more about Harry Morgan.
The resulting novella, along with the stories "One Trip Across" and "The Tradesman's Return," were published as The Haves and Have Nots in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. Hemingway positioned the wealthy yacht owners visiting Key West, Florida, during the Depression as the "Haves" and the local residents as the "Have Nots." Hemingway's commentary on Key West and Cuba during the Depression, is influenced by Marxist ideology to which he is exposed through his involvement with the Spanish Civil War, and may contribute to the novel's mixed reception.
Movie
During a fishing trip with Hemingway, American film director Howard Hawks convinced Hemingway he could make a great movie from To Have and Have Not. Hawks and Hemingway began working on a script, which they agreed would not resemble Hemingway's original novel. That script was sold in 1939 by Hemingway, purchased by Hawkes, and resold to Warner Brothers as a motion picture screenplay. Jules Furthman wrote that screenplay, which was set in Havana. The script was further revised with contributions by William Faulkner, including a change of location to the island of Martinique, a French colony.
The final script had little resemblence to Hemingway's original novel. Instead, it follows the framework of the motion picture Casablanca. It is 1940, not long after the German invasion of France, and Martinique is under the heavy-handed control of pro-German Vichy France. At his hotel home (which includes a bar piano singer, Hoagy Carmichael), Bogart (as Harry Morgan), meets the recently arrived Marie Browning, a young American woman, played by Bacall. Together, "Steve" and "Slim" as Bogart and Bacall address each other, become involved in efforts to help the French Resistance.
Of note: The final script for To Have and Have Not is the only motion picture script written by two recipients of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.
For Bacall, To Have and Have Not was her first motion picture role. She was, at the time, a 19-year-old model. Her sultry performance won her instant acclaim. Bogart had already established himself as an American motion picture icon.
The motion picture was released by Warner Brothers in 1944. It was billed as an adventure-romance. And there certainly was romance. The on-screen romantic sparks between Bogart and Bacall lead to an off-screen affair, and marriage in 1945 that lasted until Bogart's death in 1957. Bogart and Bacall worked together on three motion pictures following To Have and Have Not. These are The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948).
Radio
A radio adaptation of To Have and Have Not was broadcast by Lux Radio Theatre, October 14, 1946. Bogart and Bacall voiced their parts from the motion picture. It was their first radio appearance together. The sucess of this radio adaptation led to a radio series, Bold Venture, 1951 to 1952, the subject of Part 2 of our Bogart-Bacall Tribute.
Lux Radio Theatre
Lux Radio Theatre was a weekly radio anthology series, 1934-1955. Sponsored by Lever Brothers, manufacturers of Lux Toilet Soap. Beginning in the 1920s, Lux Soap used celebrity product endorsements in magazine advertisements. In 1934, Lever Brothers agreed to sponsor an hour-long radio program that would use well-known stage and movie actors to perform the leading roles.
Began in New York
The first episode, Seventh Heaven by Austin Strong, was broadcast 14 October 1934 from the NBC affiliate radio station WJZ in Radio City, in downtown Manhattan, New York. Subsequent episodes featured faithful adaptations from original Broadway stage performances by well-known stage and screen stars acting in the leading roles in three to four acts with commercials between the first and second acts. At the end of the dramatic portion of the program, the star(s) returned out of character to participate in an informal, but scripted, chat with the program's host, Douglas Garrick.
For the first two seasons, because of its New York location, Lux Radio Theatre focused on adapting theatrical performances, including well-known plays and performers popular in previous years. But, because first the NBC and then CBS radio networks carried the program across the country, the producers of Lux Radio Theatre began increasingly focusing on actors with national reputations, and this led to an increasing focus on movie actors.
Moved to Los Angeles
After two seasons, Lux Radio Theatre moved to the Music Box Theatre (now the Henry Ford Theatre), on Hollywood Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. Several other changes were also implemented. First, audiences were encouraged to attend each live broadcast. Audiences were not a part of the New York broadcasts, so their addition at the instance of Lever Brothers offered significant promotional opportunities. Hollywood actors, with national reputations, were contracted to voice roles from their current movies. Louis Silvers, an Academy Award winning music director was hired. Cecil B. DeMille, known to even casual movie fans, was engaged as the program's new host. The first broadcast from Hollywood was 1 June 1936. From then on, every Lux Radio Theatre broadcast was like an opening night, with marquee lights, new stars, and movie fans seeking autographs.
Episodes of Lux Radio Theatre were formatted into three 15- to 17-minute acts plus a two-minute scripted "interview" between its stars and the program's host. Production began on Thursday, with the first table reading. More readings on Friday. Rehearsal with music on Saturday. A recorded dress rehearsal on Monday morning. Then a final dress rehearsal at 7:30 p.m. and the live broadcast at 9:00. Stars appearing on the show received up to $5,000 (Ramsburg).
Resources
"Lux Radio Theatre." Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs.
Ramsburg, Jim. Bogart and
Bacall's Bold Venture. Jim Ramsburg's GOldtime Radio.
http://www.jimramsburg.com/bogart--bacalls-bold-venture-audio.html
Production
Credits
Written, Produced, and Hosted by John F. Barber
Sound Design, Music, and Post Production by Marc Rose
Promotional Graphics by Holly Slocum with Evan Leyden
Social Media and announcing by Rylan Eisenhauer
Significance
Their first time acting together, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall sizzled in the 1943 motion picture, To Have and Have Not. They brought the heat again for the 1946 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation. That radio adaptation culminated a long and interesting creative process, from short stories to novella, to book, to movie, and finally to radio.
Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) was an American cultural icon for his classic Hollywood motion picture performances. To Have and Have Not was Lauren Bacall's first motion picture performance.
Their appearance in the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation was the first collaborative radio performance for Bogart and Becall. Their success set the stage for an action-adventure radio series, Bold Venture.
Promotion
Press
Graphics
