To Have and Have Not (film) Furthman had completed a revised screenplay with sixty fewer pages. Hawks instructed Furthman, to alter Marie's character to be more sultry and masculine like Marlene Dietrich. In the previous version of the script, Bacall's purse was stolen; after the revision, Bacall's character stole the purse. Much of Bacall's character was based on Hawks's wife Slim Keith. Some of her lines reportedly came directly from Keith. According to Keith, Furthman even suggested she ask for script credit. Hawks instructed Furthman to work on the final screenplay and stop writing the second version of the screenplay. The second version had Bacall as
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