Nat Segaloff

From 1941 to 1953, director John Huston and actor Humphrey Bogart made one classic film after another, from The Maltese Falcon to The African Queen. Here is the story of their close but combative friendship that produced some of the best movies ever made.

Every time they made a movie together, they made a classic—or so it seemed for star Humphrey Bogart and writer/director John Huston. Their six collaborations include many of the "golden age" hits from Hollywood's fabled film legacy: The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The African Queen, and Beat the Devil.

At the same time, both men led fiercely separate lives—except when they were making pictures together. Sometimes they agreed and sometimes they argued, always keeping their eyes on the results. What did each man bring to the collaboration, and how did their films together reflect their disparate personalities?

Their friendship was as dramatic as any of their movies. It survived nine marriages, a world war, the blacklist, leeches, alcohol, and Jack L. Warner. Here is the story of these two legendary talents, their films, their lives, their foes, and their devotion to each other.