Discursive Intersections and Film-Making Constraints: To Have and Have Not

Abstract

This paper discusses the several stages of the screenplay for Howard Hawks’s film To Have and Have Not (1944), loosely based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel of the same title. It illustrates the changes from the original narrative throughout the screenwriting process to the script of the film release version, focusing on the crucial contextual causes of the alterations, which include: the stricter rules of decency and violence on screen, enforced by the Motion Picture Production Code, the immediate context of World War II and politically sensitive topics that had to be approved by censorship, and finally, William Faulkner’s tenure at Warner Brothers, during which time he learned by practice to assist Hawks on very short notice and make on-the-set changes when the crew considered them necessary.