Humphrey Bogart as Star (Discussion)

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Robert Sklar

  1. Grad Group: Skar comments, "Actors who create surprise, embody contradiction, impel the spectator to hold two conflicting ideas in the head at the same time, stand a better chance." What contradictions does Bogart embody? (Sklar also calls it “doubleness.”) Are they in evidence in The Maltese Falcon, Dark Victory, or The Petrified Forest?
  2. Group 1: According to Sklar, how had Bogart been typecast up until the time of Maltese Falcon? Is this evident in Dark Victory and The Petrified Forest?
  3. Group 2: In The Big Sleep, what does Bogart bring to the noir private eye besides toughness? Do you see the same things in Maltese Falcon? How does Bogart’s romantic aspect change with The Big Sleep? How does Sklar characterize Bogart’s on-screen persona, as embodied in The Big Sleep?
  4. Group 3: What connection does Skar see between violence and romance — especially in In a Lonely Place? Is this evident in Petrified Forest, Dark Victory (the clip we viewed), The Maltese Falcon, or other Bogart films you've seen?
  5. Group 4: What does Sklar see to be the importance of comedy to Bogart’s roles? Is this evident in The Petrified Forest, Dark Victory (the clip we viewed), The Maltese Falcon, or other Bogart films you've seen?
  6. All Groups: What performance signs (although he does not call them that) does Sklar see in Bogart’s work? And what significance do they have?

Bibliography

  1. Robert Sklar, City Boys: Cagney, Bogart, Garfield (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992).