Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor as the treacherous female foil. Bogart's sharp timing and facial expressions were praised by the cast and director as vital to the quick action and rapid-fire dialogue. The film was a huge hit in theaters and a major triumph for Huston. Bogart was unusually happy with it, remarking, "it is practically a masterpiece. I don't have many things I'm proud of ... but that's one". Bogart gained his first real romantic lead in 1942's "Casablanca", playing Rick Blaine, a hard-pressed expatriate nightclub owner hiding from a shady past while negotiating a fine line among Nazis, the French
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899January 14, 1957) was an American film and stage actor. His performances in numerous films from the Classical Hollywood era made him a cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him as the greatest male star of American cinema. Bogart began acting in Broadway shows after World War I. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, he began working in films, mostly playing gangsters. He was highly praised for his work in "The Petrified Forest" (1936). Bogart had originated the role of Duke Mantee in the 1935 Broadway production, but