Lauren Bacall: TCM Greatest Classic Legends

In Hollywood as a teenager, Lauren Bacall was catapulted to stardom by her first movie, "To Have and To Have Not," as well as her marriage to the film's star, Humphrey Bogart. She was neither a natural nor an original, being cast in the mold of sultry, aloof babes such as Veronica Lake and Lizbeth Scott. Even that distinctive, contralto voice was a result of purposeful training; but, however she created her own screen persona, Lauren Bacall carried it all off with panache.

Among the new TCM Greatest Classic Legends Film Collections is one dedicated to Bacall, the only living legend so honored. Two of the four incomparable films she made with Bogie are included. John Huston's "Key Largo" is a histrionic tour de force, with the stellar cast in full tilt. Claire Trevor got the flashier gun-moll role, and grabbed the film's only Oscar. Bacall wisely underplayed the innocent heroine, and acquitted herself beautifully. In "Dark Passage," Bacall shines as a high-brow artist who aids a fugitive (Bogart) wrongly accused of murder. This gritty, underrated film is another absolute must.

Wellman's 1957 "Blood Alley" is a Cinemascope action flick. John Wayne plays a mercenary seaman hired to bring a rural Chinese village and a missionary's daughter (Bacall) to safety from the Communists. The star duo's chemistry never quite gels, but" Blood Alley" offers a few thrills, and some great WarnerColor photography.
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The set concludes with Vincente Minnelli's lush comedy, "Designing Woman," in which Bacall is a fashion designer who too hastily marries sports writer Gregory Peck. While they argue, Dolores Gray runs off with the film as Peck's wonderfully bitchy "ex."

To see Bacall at her undisputed best, pick up Warners' Bogie & Bacall Signature Collection, with all of their films together. If you want an enjoyable Bacall sampler, Turner's new set will do nicely.

TCM Greatest Classic Legends Film Collection: Lauren Bacall
DVD
$21.99
www.TCM.com