The details of Humphrey Bogart‘s epic marriage to Lauren Bacall will now be on the big screen.
Just months after late icon Bacall would have been 100 years old, the new documentary “Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes” puts her romance with longtime collaborator and co-star Bogart front and center. The duo’s son Stephen Humphrey Bogart worked closely with Humphrey Bogart Estate CEO Robbert de Klerk and director Kathryn Ferguson, who previously helmed the Sinéad O’Connor doc “Nothing Compares.”
“Life Comes in Flashes” is billed as an “inside look at one of Hollywood’s greatest cinematic icons, telling Humphrey Bogart’s story through his relationships with the five formidable women in his life – his mother and his four wives. Each relationship offers a deep and intimate understanding of a man for whom stardom was hard-won and richly deserved.”
BIFA-winning, IDA-nominated, and BAFTA Breakthrough-selected filmmaker Ferguson opted for the narration to use Bogart’s own words from archival footage and interviews. The film is the first official feature documentary about Bogart’s life.
Bogart’s legendary career spanned from “They Drive By Night” to “The Maltese Falcon,” “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and “Dark Passage” to “The Big Sleep.” He also famously led “Casablanca” and “Sabrina.” Bogart won his sole Oscar for 1952’s “The African Queen.” He died in 1957 at age 57 after a battle with esophageal cancer.
“Our approach when examining Bogart’s story began with looking at the key women in his life, the women who had been instrumental in his success and who all, bar his fourth wife, Lauren Bacall, had been left as footnotes in history,” Ferguson told Variety. “Their shared stories lead us through seismic cultural shifts, with censorship forming a central thread. I hope ‘Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes’ becomes a fresh look at one of Hollywood’s most revered actors, and most of all, an honest, nuanced account of a complex man.”
The documentary was endorsed by late actor Bogart’s estate. The film is produced by Emptage, with George Chignell of Dog Star Films (“Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed”) and Universal Pictures Content Group EVP Helen Parker executive producing.
“Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes” premieres November 15 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
