KEY LARGO (1948)

Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) visits a small Key Largo hotel to pay his respects to the widow (Lauren Bacall) of a guy who died in his outfit during WWII, and her father in law (Lionel Barrymore). The only guests at the hotel are a gang of thugs, headed by Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), waiting to do a counterfeit money deal and trying (not very well) to hide their thuggery by pretending to be sports fisherman. A hurricane blows away their pretense, giving full steam ahead to Rocco's pathological evil. The supporting cast is aces, including Thomas Gomez, Dan Seymour, Marc Lawrence, Harry Lewis and Claire Trevor, as Rocco's moll (Oscar winner). The script (based on a stage play by Sherwood Anderson) is excellent, and the lighting and direction (John Huston) make the most of the movie. But it's Robinson's all the way, putting in his finest gangster performance. Only Cagney in "White Heat" comes close to the inner psychopath Robinson unleashes here, but it's a nuanced performance that includes humor and fear--making him all the more scary. A great movie, and another brilliant performance by Hollywood's most underrated great actor.