Steve? - To Have and Have Not (1945) Discussion

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Tashtago 16 years ago

It's always been kind of weird to me. Slim , I understand. As Bacall follows with one of the best lines in the movie "I would rather you didn't call me slim, I'm a little too skinny not to take it personally." On the other hand, why Steve? It has no relationship to Harry and it's supposedly their first meeting so why the nicknames? I'm guessing it's some kind of in-joke.

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[–] slimone (7996) 5 years ago

Actually "Slim" was the nickname of Howard Hawk's wife.

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[–] CindyH 14 years ago

You would be wrong. Steve is short for Stevedore which means a dock worker; a reference to his line of work. In the 30s and 40s it was slang for a tough guy. Since slim was a reference to her being skinny, Steve was a good name for a tough guy and working the dock was a bit of a cut down instead of being a captain.

Google it to see for yourself.

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[–] Goodbye_Ruby_Tuesday 15 years ago

Howard Hawks once said that he and another director--I *think* it was Victor Fleming--used to call each other by names that weren't their own just as a joke, which is where the inspiration came from.

I'm 99% sure the story is in Peter Bogdanovich's book Who the Devil Made It?

What do you *really* want, Jimmy?
Everything... nothing.

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[–] AliciaHuberman59 15 years ago

They wound up naming their first-born, their son, Stephen!

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[–] AliciaHuberman59 15 years ago

...and director Howard Hawks' wife's nickname was "Slim"!

"The things that dreams are made of."

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[–] skiddoo 14 years ago

On TCM they said it was an homage to Howard Hawks and his wife.

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[–] CindyH 14 years ago

A stevedore is a dock worker. It's a reference to his line of work. In the 30s and 40s it was slang for a tough guy. Since slim was a reference to her being skinny, Steve was a good name for a tough guy and working the dock was a bit of a cut down instead of being a captain.

Anyone is welcome to Google it to see for themselves.

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[–] layton59 14 years ago

Check out the movie SILVER STREAK (1976) to see Gene Wilder's character called Steve inspite of the fact that his character's name is George.

I think it was done because of the Bogey movie.

Here is a link to SILVER STREAK.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075223/

************************************************

Ye Olde Sig Line:

It should be "I can NOT care less."

You are at the lowest level of caring.

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[–] tdale32 14 years ago

Actually, heard the explanation on TCM yesterday. Steve and Slim were the "cutesy" nicknames Howard Hawks and his wife had for each other.
Bogey and Bacall decided to use them as a homage to Howard and his wife.
As far as the film goes, "Steve" was never explained and I doubt Marie(Slim) would've known enough about the "Stevedore" life to use it that way.

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[–] amsdragons-2 11 years ago

Actually, tdale32, I disagree with your statement about Marie.

The term stevedore for a dock worker was a very common term at the time (remember at the time ALL travel and shipping was though ports) and a "young lady" who was making her way around the ports by picking pockets would certainly have known it.

Also, remember that Harry is a boat captain/owner so her calling him Steve is little bit of a sarcastic belittling, implying that he was only a lowly dock worker.

Romantic flirting and teasing through the nicknames is what it boils down to and is a wonderful aspect of the movie!

It is a good day to die. May you go to the Hall of Heroes, Michael.

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[–] kenny-164 11 years ago

As has been widely noted Hawks helped Bacall develop her character here by telling her to be insolent. In this case at least as insolent if not more so than Bogart's character. The "Steve" reference is a small but in character part of that portrayal.

Steve also became the name Bacall used to call Bogart off set, and eventually became the name of their son.

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[–] normkerr123 10 years ago

Definitely, the source of the "Steve" & "Slim" nicknames came from Howard Hawks and his wife's nicknames, but the thought about "Stevedore" as an insolent source for Bacall's character to use it adds some interesting depth to the use in this case!

This unexplained and unexpected little twist in the story ("why do they call each other these nicknames immediately, and on first meeting"), is just another one of the little gems that makes this movie so enjoyable to watch, again and again, isn't it?

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[–] fanaticita 10 years ago

I wondered about the "Steve" bit, but I knew I'd find the answer here! Thank you!

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[–] Eli-Tuco 8 years ago

The other thing is she calls him Steve before being introduced.
How else would she call him that if not knowing his name?

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[–] marckymarc71 8 years ago

According to Howard Hawks in the book "Hawks on Hawks", Slim and Steve were Hawks and his wife's nicknames for each other. The relationship between Harry and Marie was loosely based on Hawks and his wifes relationship. Simple as that.

"Who's running this airline?!"

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[–] slimone (7996) 6 years ago

I read that "Slim" and "Steve" were nicknames that Hawks and his wife used for each other.

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