Bogie on AllMovie

Vincent Sherman, who back in Hollywood's heyday directed Humphrey Bogart in The Return of Dr. X and All Through the Night, helmed the TV biopic Bogie. Unfortunately, Sherman was unable to overcome a cliched, bowdlerized screenplay, nor could he cover up the fact that star Kevin O'Connor had none of Humphrey Bogart's movie-star charisma. The film sketchily covers Bogart's life between 1899 and 1944, then zeroes in on the romance between Bogie and his To Have and Have Not leading lady Lauren Bacall, phlegmatically portrayed by Kathryn Harrold (the real Bacall reportedly refuses to see this film). Ann Wedgeworth makes a meal of her portrayal of Bogart's third wife Mayo "Sluggsy" Methot, while Bogie's close pals Patrick O'Moore and "Prince" Michael Romanoff are played, respectively, by Donald May and Alfred Ryder. Other Bogart intimates impersonated in this film include Peter Lorre (played by Herb Braham), Jack Warner (Richard Dysart), Leslie Howard (Stephen Keep), Howard Hawks (Ross Elliot), and wife #2 Mary Phillips (Carol Vogel). The script was by Daniel Tadarash, who wrote the 1949 Bogart film Knock on Any Door; it was based on Joe Hyams' affectionate (and far superior) biography of the star. Bogie was first telecast March 4, 1980.