Lauren Bacall-Career

 

 

Bacall took lessons at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. During this time, she became a theatre usher and worked as a fashion model on the side. As Betty Bacall, she made her acting debut, at age 17, on Broadway as a walk-on in Johnny 2 X 4. According to her autobiography, she met her idol Bette Davis at Davis' hotel. Years later, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in Applause, a musical based on Davis' turn in “All About Eve”.

 

Bacall became a part-time fashion model. Howard Hawks' wife Nancy spotted her on the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar. Nancy urged Hawks to have Bacall take a screen test for “To Have and Have Not”. Hawks invited her to Hollywood for the audition. He signed Bacall up to a seven-year personal contract, brought her to Hollywood, gave her $100 a week, and began to manage her career. Hawks changed her name to Lauren Bacall.

 

Nancy Hawks took Bacall under her wing. She dressed Bacall stylishly, and guided her in matters of elegance, manners and taste. Bacall's voice was trained to be lower, more masculine and sexier.  In the movie, Bacall takes on Nancy's nickname “Slim."

 

During screen tests for “To Have and Have Not”, Bacall was nervous. To minimize her quivering, she pressed her chin against her chest and to face the camera, tilted her eyes upward. This effect became known as "The Look", Bacall's trademark.

 

Bacall and Bogart met on the set “Dark Passage” . It was Humphrey Bogart, who was married to Mayo Methot, initiated a relationship with Bacall some weeks into shooting and they began seeing each other.

 

On a visit to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Bacall's press agent Charlie Enfield, asked the 20-year-old Bacall to sit on the piano which was being played by Vice-President of the United States Harry S. Truman. The photos caused controversy and made worldwide headlines.

 

After “To Have and Have Not”, Bacall was seen opposite Charles Boyer in the critically panned “Confidential Agent”. Bacall would state in her autobiography that her career never fully recovered from this film, and that studio boss Jack Warner did not care about quality.

 

She then appeared with Bogart in the films noir “The Big Sleep” and “Dark Passage”. Bacall played John Huston's melodramatic suspense film “Key Largo”  with Bogart and Edward G. Robinson. She was cast with Gary Cooper in the period drama “Bright Leaf”.