Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not
Born Betty Joan Perske studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts making her Broadway debut in Johnny 2x4 in 1942.
Spotted by Howard Hawk's wife Slim when she was modelling Bacall was invited to a screen test. 1944's To Have and Have Not was the aspiring actress' debut big screen performance alongside Humphrey Bogart.
Howard Hawks directed this classic about a jaded American fisherman (Bogart) who risks his life to help a group of French freedom fighters and a sultry young woman (Bacall) with whom he falls in love.
The fascinating setting (Vichy-controlled Martinique during the Second World War), the source material (Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel), and a screenplay co-written by a literary master (William Faulkner) all take a backseat to the on- and off-screen romance between the two legends.
Her performance is widely recognised as one of the best on-screen debuts in film history propelling her to fame.
It was also Bacall's relationship with co-star Bogart that caught all the headlines. Despite being married to Mayo Methot at the time Bogart began a relationship with Bacall just a few weeks into the To Have and Have Not shoot.
She appeared alongside Bogart in three more movies: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage and Key Largo. Film noir The Big Sleep, which was also directed by Hawks, was next for the pair just a year later in 1946.
Private Eye Philip Marlowe (Bogart) is hired by wealthy socialite Vivian Sternwood to look into the trouble cased by her younger sister Carmen. He follows a trail of murder, pornography, nightclub rogues and the spoiled rich.
Since its release in 1946 The Big Sleep has become a cinematic classic cementing Bacall and Bogart as an on-screen acting force.
In 1997, the U.S. Library of Congress deemed this film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and preserved to the National Film Registry.
1947’s Dark Passage was next for the pair, a bug screen adaptation of David Goodis’ novel of the same name.
The real-life couple’s third big screen partnership was, unlike The Big Sleep and To Have and To Have Not before it, was met with mixed reviews with some criticising Bogart’s performance but praising the work of Bacall.
However over the years the film, which is a lesser known project by the pair, has come to be viewed as another vintage performance by the actors.
Their final on-screen performance together came in Key Largo in 1948 which also starred Edward G. Robinson and Claire Trevor.
Key Largo marked the end of the on-screen partnership of Bacall and Bogart however these two movie legends between them and apart played a part in some of cinema’s most memorable moments.
In the fifties she earned a reputation of being difficult, turning down a string of scripts that didn't interest her.
Despite this Young Man with a Horn and How to Marry a Millionaire were a huge success at the box office.
Her career began to wane during the sixties appearing in only a select number of movies. However she did enjoy success on Broadway appearing in the likes of Goodbye Charlie, Cactus Flower and Woman of the Year.
She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her performance in The Mirror has two Faces in 1996, for which she won the Golden Globe.
Despite being the favourite for the Oscar she was beaten by Juliette Binoche for her performance in The English Patient.
Bacall is still a working actress today starring alongside Nicole Kidman in Dogville and Birth and lending her voice to Hayao Miyazaki's animation movie Howl's Moving Castle.
She received an Honorary Academy Award in 2009 in recognition of her long and illustrious career.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw