To Have and Have Not (film) James Agee liked the film but felt "Going My Way" was better, because "To Have and Have Not" focused too much on "character and atmosphere" rather than on plot. Agee was far more interested in Bacall's performance than the anti-Fascist themes in the film. The film was one of the top thirty grossing pictures of 1944. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $3,652,000 domestically and $1,605,000 foreign, coming close to the high earnings of "Casablanca". "To Have and Have Not" received an award from the National Board of Review. Screenwriter and film critic Paul Schrader classified the film
To Have and Have Not (film) well as reducing Marie's drinking in the film. He also removed scenes in which Morgan appeared to be a murderer. Other additions included Marie becoming Morgan's sole romantic interest and Helen and her husband becoming fighters for the resistance. Finally, Faulkner made the time frame for the film three days instead of the many months depicted in the novel. Hawks intended to have the screenplay be loosely modeled on "Casablanca", which also starred Humphrey Bogart, hoping for the same success "Casablanca" had met at the box office. Production began on February 29, 1944, with only thirty-six pages of the screenplay