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This week on «Film Friday,» I am honoring Lauren Bacall's 92th birthday, which happens to be today, by telling you a little bit about the first films of hers that I saw. This not only marked her screen debut, but also remains her most iconic picture.   Directed by Howard Hawks, To Have and Have Not (1944) opens in the summer of 1940 in the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French colony which is now controlled by pro-German Vichy France. World-weary boat captain Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and his drunken friend Eddie (Walter Brennan) earn their living by taking wealthy tourists on fishing cruises. One day, Harry is approached by Gérard (Marcel Dario), a hotel owner and member of the French Resistance, commonly known as «Frenchy» to English speakers. He offers to pay Harry to smuggle important Resistance members Hélene (Dolores Moran) and Paul De Bursac (Walter Surovy) into Martinique, but he refuses to become involved in Frenchy's political activities.   Humphrey Bogar...

This week's "Film Friday" is a very special one: not only is it the first day of the year and the first "Film Friday" of the year, but also Dana Andrews' birthday. So, to celebrate all of this, I am bringing you what is arguably the most important film of Andrews' career, which also serves as a way to wish you a happy new year. May this be the best year of our lives. Original release poster Directed by William Wyler, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) follows three World War II veterans — Army Sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March), decorated Army Air Force Captain Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) and sailor Homer Parish (Harold Russell) — as they try to readjust to civilian life after meeting and bonding while flying to their hometown of Boone City. Al is a bank loan officer with a comfortable home and a loving family: wife Milly (Myrna Loy) and teenage children Peggy (Teresa Wright) and Rob (Michael Hall). Fred is a former soda jerk from the wro...