HUMPHREY BOGART— STAR OF MANY ROLES

Chronicle (Levin), 27 March 1946, Page 7

HUMPHREY BOGART— STAR OF MANY ROLES

Humphrey Bogart, star of many roies, was born in New York City, not Calilomia, as many reaclers imugined. During World War I ne joined the Navy and served for the duration. After working on Wall Street for a time he got baekstage witli William A. Brady, producer. From tiiere 011 his next step was to move 111 lront oi' the footlights and appcar in luany Broadway shows. He plaved in severai eany taiking pietures, but r-aliy dates his film eareer ix.m "Ihe Peirified Forest" and his Duke iviantee roie. Humphrey H.gari, white-coated and soit-ii( arteci -in "Casablanea, ' and heroiC and i souiY.tiui in "To llave and Iiave Not." can now look baek eon'piaeuitly 011 a eareer oi" crmie on ihe screen that is probably lUieipiajn'd ju ihe annals oi Hoiiywood. Bogart started his eurrent piel ure caii 'a as a liunted criminai and tiie taint oi that "Petrilied Forest" roie siuek with him morc or iess i liro'.igii all the time he lias worio'd i ! 1 piclures. For vears he liad i'c.w respeemble roles and then, seyen or oight pietitres ago, his assigiiinenls ehanged; soflened, in a way and began to i'ealure a new Bogart a Bogart wlio liad his lmmuii weakncs.es but wlio operated with tlie law. From ihe seeu ritv of his position as Ihe great lover and good fcliow of "Cas.iblanea." Bogart can look baek 011 a eareer that included at" least iweive prison terms, shown or intimated, at least nine well deserved and violr.it deaths, including oue by poi »on and oue in a lion's eage, eigiit loUng gan battles and numvrous indignities such as bcotings by Edvurd G. Robmson and seve.Mi eiashes wi ■ h other screen tougbies including . James Cagney and George haft. in which he almost always played the losing , roie. To give Bogart some slight recompen.se for his screen misfortunes, a ehovk of his many pietures shows that he has becn a lover, of sorts. at l'gist iourteen times and that in ten of thcse romanees, wiiters ai d dii ecto"s have permitted b'.n win the girl of his choiee and live liappily ever after. Ile has ioved and lost Bette Davis twice. onee in "Marked Woman" and once in "Dark Victory," but after givir.g Marv Astor to the police in "Mainse Falcon" he 1 managed to save hor for himself in "Across the Faeifie." In "Casablanca," Bogart was again tlie loser in iove but does quite well for himself in "To Have and Have Not." However, this vory fine actor may get some comfort out of the fact that more and more often he 'is being allowed to win the lady in the last ivel of his pietures. Bogart is marriecl to Lauren Bacall.