Bogie was already on his third marriage when he met Bacall during casting sessions for "Have Not". His current marriage to Mayo Methot was in a shambles, and they were frequently referred to by friends and the press as "the Battling Bogarts". Methot was an alcoholic actress who never quite became the star she wanted to be. She hated her husband, who was now one of the top-grossing Hollywood stars of all time. In 1945 Bogie was able to get a divorce from Methot, and married Bacall soon afterwards. The marriage continued until Bogie's death in 1957.
Bogie's life was filled with controversy in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The protested the House Un-American Activities Committee investigation which sought to expose potential Communist "threats" in Hollywood. Stars such as Bogie, Bacall, Danny Kaye, Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra all took part in working against this HUAC and the damage it was doing to the careers of many men and women in Hollywood.
The term "Rat Pack" is usually associated with Frank Sinatra and his cronies, but in fact it was Sinatra, Bogie and friends that formed the original Rat Pack in 1955. A group of people including Bogie and Bacall, David Niven and his wife, Judy Garland and her husband Sid Luft, Irving "Swifty" Lazar, as well as others organized together to support the opening of Noel Coward's opening at the Desert Inn. After four days of constant partying, Bacall was reported to have seen the aftermath of the party and declared, "You look like a [sic] rat pack." Thus the group became official.
In 1956 Bogie was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, and quickly fell victim to it and died in January 1957. Bacall was at home at his side when he passed.
Upon his death, the world mourned at the passing of the icon of strength, solitude, and sexy aloofness. But "Bogart" by Sperber and Lux paints Bogart as an average guy who got lucky and was able to do something he loved: act. And in doing so he brought millions of people much joy.
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