To Have and Have Not on 15 October 1937 to a first edition print-run of approximately 10,000 copies. Cosmopolitan Magazine published a section of the novel as "One Trip Across" in 1934; Esquire Magazine published a section as "The Tradesman's Return" in 1936. The novel was adapted into a 1944 film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The film, directed by Howard Hawks, changed the story's setting from Key West to Martinique under the Vichy regime, and made significant alterations to the plot, including getting rid of Hemingway's Marxist overtones, and turning the story into a romantic thriller centering on the sparks going on between
Joan Leslie as Betsy Phillips. She was chosen for the part because the director was searching for an actress with a southern accent. She was billed as "Joan Brodel". Later that year, she co-starred with Jimmy Lydon in "Two Thoroughbreds", in which she played the daughter of a horse owner. At age 15, Leslie was selected by a group of Hollywood directors as one of 13 "baby stars of 1940." Her big break came when she signed a contract with Warner Bros. in 1941. At the time, actress Joan Blondell's name was considered too similar, and so Brodel's acting name was changed