To Have and Have Not (film) in 1945 was mixed yet often unflattering. Firstly, early publicity and much of the initial reaction to the film centered around Lauren Bacall, either praising her or criticizing her part in the film as merely as a gimmick for attention from the press. Other critics found the film to be betraying Hemingway's novel due to only the first fifteen minutes of the film bearing resemblance to the novel. Finally, Americans were preoccupied with World War II and had little interest in a hero (Bogart) whom consistently rejected commitment and whose only interest in France's cause was financial, to help himself
To Have and Have Not (film) corrupted characters are called by their surnames such as Johnson. According to English film critic Robin Wood, "To Have and Have Not" presents "one of the most basic anti-fascist statements the cinema has given us." The film portrays anti-fascist themes common to the time period through its emphasis on individual liberty expressed through Bogart's character and through its representation of people progressing and working together well. When he decides to join the resistance cause, Morgan reasons, "maybe because I like you and maybe because I don't like them." The power of this anti-fascist statement comes because its instinctive rather than