Hawks' genius

Howard Hawks is one of my top three fave directors. I think I have discovered what I respect (among many things) most about him. NO other director can swap elements from stories (this film clearly copies Casablanca) and yet still makes it seem like he thought of it himself. This was planned by the way. Hawks always believed that he could tease more than one story out of a script. (note the way El Dorado is a flat remake of Rio Bravo and still manages to have it's own personality) At first when watching this Bogart/Bacall classic I was a little disappointed when seeing the similarities........but by films end I realized that Hawks had done it again and had even crafted a grittier film than our beloved Casablanca. Hawks is the fellow most hollywood execs would LOVE to have today because in this era of endless remakes this is the man that could make a film stand on it's own.......even if we've seen it a dozen times.