***This synopsis has quite a few errors and timeframe issues. I'm in the process of correcting those and giving more detail to it, much of which I've already done.. This is my favorite Bogart movie of all, and with all due respect to the original writer, I'm not completely re-writing it, but simply organizing it sequentially. I will have it completed in the next few days as time allows me.***
Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and his sidekick Eddie (Walter Brennan) run a charter boat in Vichy (NAZI controlled during the 40's) Martinique. Their current client is an American fisherman who never seems to have any money on him when it comes time to buy the gas or pay the bills. This starts to wear on Harry.
Back at the hotel, Harry runs into a young teenage runaway (19 year old cover girl Lauren Bacall in her first screen roll) who is hiding in the dark and asks Harry, out of no where, for a light. He's totally taken aback by her, but finds her, delightful. She calls him "Steve" which he ignores and he calls her "Slim" which she objects to. He gives her a light. She hits him with the classic line. Later in the lounge he notices Slim with his American client and notices that she has lifted his wallet. Harry or as she calls him, "Steve," stops her and brings her into his room, liberates the wallet and sees travellers checks inside. Gerard (Frenchy), the owner of the hotel and a resistance member himself, comes to Harry's room with a group of comrades, who offer to pay Harry to secretly pick up two people with his boat, to bring back to coastline. They plead but Harry strongly refuses to get involved. He leaves the room, taking Slim with him to confront the American and demands he now finally pay him. As the American is about to sign over the checks, the Nazi French police open fire on the lounge at the resistance group, who had come down from Harry's room and the American gets killed by a stray bullet.
Captain Renard, the Head of the Nazi Police, calls for attention and tells the patrons the bar is closed for the rest of the evening. He then picks out four people to bring with him for questioning, Harry and Slim being among them. At the station, Renard confiscates Harry's money and passport and questions everyone. Harry, upset at the methods of questioning, grabs Slim and tells her "Let's get out of here" which they do.
Steve and Slim end up going out to another bar, but realize neither has any money, so Slim ask's Harry if she should do her thing, which Harry or "Steve," if you will, says "Go right ahead, but secretly objects to. Oh, not that she lifts wallets, necessarily, but the charming way she does it bothers him, you see, he's sort of fallen for her and he don't dig on that smile, smile stuff she puts on to get her hands on the goods.
Later, she returns with a bottle, but going from his room and back to hers, they have this thing out with a "lover's quarrel." They eventually have their first kiss, then another and, as she's leaving his room, that's when the famous line is uttered. "You do know how to whistle, don't you? You just put her lips together and... blow."
Harry's friend Eddie has this re-occuring thing about "Was you ever stung by a dead bee?" He uses that line over and over while talking to people, mostly because he's totally polluted or wants to get polluted.
The American client dead, no money, snubbing Slim's treasure chest (well the green part of it at least) Harry takes a reluctant job he had been offered to smuggle a French Resistance fighter and his wife in his boat from harms way.
Harry, likes his buddy Eddie, the drunk, a lot and won't bring him into danger so he insults and slaps Eddie to keep him on shore while he goes out to pick up the Frenchman in what is likely to be a dangerous trip which may involve gunplay.
Meanwhile Slim has been singing at the hotel lounge with the piano player, who, in real life, is composer Hoagy Carmichael. She does several numbers in the movie, including a few with lyrics by Johnny Mercer who in the 50's and 60's would partner with Henry Mancini for some of the top songs of that era.
Harry gives her a plane ticket and tells her to go home. Slim had gone as far as her money would take her and now she lifted wallets to get where ever she could. Harry told her to go home to mommy and daddy.
Eddie hides on board and confronts Harry, telling him he knew it was all a lie. Together they pick up their cargo and, on the ride back they encounter a Nazi patrol boat and the Frenchman takes one in the shoulder. Harry then shoots out the patrol boat's spotlight, and they safely head back to their destination in the foggy night waters.
Harry and Eddie get the Frenchman and his wife back to Martinique. Slim intentionately missed the plane home and starts helping Harry fix up the wounded Frenchman against his wife's demands and hysterics. Slim keeps her cool as she tears cloth to help bind up the Frenchman, shooting "I'm the Queen Bee and you're a sniviling little brat" look at the Frenchman's wife. Harry (Steve) seems to not notice, but secretly probably like the fact that true friends ignore his orders and desires and stick around for the fight. Eddie and Slim are obviously troopers.
Captain Renard (Dan Seymour) tries to get to Eddie by getting him drunk to find out where the Frenchman and his wife are. Harry intervenes and breaks up the questioning. It turns out that the Frenchman is actually supposed to get a resistance leader off of Devil's Island to help the cause, and he wishes he had Harry's courage. Soon afterward, Captain Renard again gets a hold of Eddie, and tries to blackmail Harry into giving over the location of the Frenchman by threatening to not give Harry a drink - the opposite approach. Harry gets a hold a gun from a desk drawer and the tables are turned. He takes charge of the situation and orders the Captain and his crew to get paperwork so that they can leave the island for good, and the Frenchman can go to Devil's island.
With the Frenchman fixed up, they all gather in the hotel lounge where Slim says she's going along with them where ever. Eddie is kind of perplexed until Slim hits him with the: "Was you ever stung by a dead bee?" Line. Eddie smiles, say's she all right and the three of them leave to places unknown with Hoagy playing piano and Slim doing a dance out the door.
