Lauren Bacall on Bogart's Ultimatum, Why Men Can't Sustain Relationships (1994)
FILM DISCUSSION
17,094 views
We take a look at the past to shape our future.
In 1994, Lauren Bacall sat down with Charlie Rose for an hour-long conversation about her new memoir "Now," her marriage to Humphrey Bogart, what she's learned about men, and why Nelson Mandela represents something rare.
On Bogart's ultimatum: "He said, 'If you want a career, a real career, I'll do everything I can for you. But I won't marry you.' He'd been married to three actresses whose careers came first. I promised him our marriage would come first. In view of the brevity of our marriage, it's a damn lucky choice I made. We had eleven and a half years."
On Peter Lorre's wisdom: "Bogart was very concerned about our age difference. He almost didn't marry me because he felt I was too young and he was too old, that I would run off with somebody after five years. Peter Lorre said, 'Five years is better than nothing.' And of course he had a point. Ten years is better than nothing. One year is better than nothing."
On men and companionship: "I find so many men so immature, so preoccupied with their manliness that they can't have a relationship. They can't sustain one. They need constant reassurance. They need younger women to tell them how wonderful they are. For a man to have an equal relationship with a woman, it's just damn hard to find. Almost non-existent."
On why she wrote the book: "Over the last 15 years, I've been thinking about relationships, friendship, my children, work and how it's changed me, what it's meant to me, how time has changed me. Coming to terms with what do I do with the rest of my life?"
On Nelson Mandela as hero: "In prison for 30 years and to come back and see yourself as president, to realize the dream of a democratic country. There's a lesson about never giving up. Never let the dream die. And also never compromising. He stuck with what he believed in."
On actors being born: "I think really brilliant actors are born. You can learn technique, you can improve by experience and exposure. But stars are made sometimes, and they're not necessarily actors."
GUEST: Lauren Bacall, Actress, Author
Interview from 1994
0:00 Introduction: An American dream
0:56 Why write another book?
1:44 What to do with the rest of life
2:04 Robert Altman's "Pret-a-Porter"
2:53 Turning 70
3:31 Meeting Bogart and his ultimatum
4:19 Three actress wives before
4:51 The brevity of their marriage
5:15 Peter Lorre: "Five years is better than nothing"
7:13 Men and companionship
7:45 "So preoccupied with their manliness"
8:29 Equal relationships almost non-existent
46:46 Politicians and privacy
48:48 Heroes: Nelson Mandela
50:15 What makes greatness
51:10 Never giving up, never compromising
51:35 Writing the book longhand
53:08 Are actors born or made?
53:56 Final thoughts
This interview captures a Hollywood legend reflecting on what makes a real man, why companionship is so hard to find, and the choice she made to put love before career. History offers the clearest roadmap for our future.
#LaurenBacall #HumphreyBogart #1994Interview #CharlieRose #Hollywood #NelsonMandela #Now #ByMyself #GoldenAge #Companionship #FilmDiscussion #LookingBack
20 Comments
Lauren Bacall on Bogart's Ultimatum, Why Men Can't Sustain Relationships (1994)
FILM DISCUSSION
17,094 views
We take a look at the past to shape our future.
In 1994, Lauren Bacall sat down with Charlie Rose for an hour-long conversation about her new memoir "Now," her marriage to Humphrey Bogart, what she's learned about men, and why Nelson Mandela represents something rare.
On Bogart's ultimatum: "He said, 'If you want a career, a real career, I'll do everything I can for you. But I won't marry you.' He'd been married to three actresses whose careers came first. I promised him our marriage would come first. In view of the brevity of our marriage, it's a damn lucky choice I made. We had eleven and a half years."
On Peter Lorre's wisdom: "Bogart was very concerned about our age difference. He almost didn't marry me because he felt I was too young and he was too old, that I would run off with somebody after five years. Peter Lorre said, 'Five years is better than nothing.' And of course he had a point. Ten years is better than nothing. One year is better than nothing."
On men and companionship: "I find so many men so immature, so preoccupied with their manliness that they can't have a relationship. They can't sustain one. They need constant reassurance. They need younger women to tell them how wonderful they are. For a man to have an equal relationship with a woman, it's just damn hard to find. Almost non-existent."
On why she wrote the book: "Over the last 15 years, I've been thinking about relationships, friendship, my children, work and how it's changed me, what it's meant to me, how time has changed me. Coming to terms with what do I do with the rest of my life?"
On Nelson Mandela as hero: "In prison for 30 years and to come back and see yourself as president, to realize the dream of a democratic country. There's a lesson about never giving up. Never let the dream die. And also never compromising. He stuck with what he believed in."
On actors being born: "I think really brilliant actors are born. You can learn technique, you can improve by experience and exposure. But stars are made sometimes, and they're not necessarily actors."
GUEST: Lauren Bacall, Actress, Author
Interview from 1994
0:00 Introduction: An American dream
0:56 Why write another book?
1:44 What to do with the rest of life
2:04 Robert Altman's "Pret-a-Porter"
2:53 Turning 70
3:31 Meeting Bogart and his ultimatum
4:19 Three actress wives before
4:51 The brevity of their marriage
5:15 Peter Lorre: "Five years is better than nothing"
7:13 Men and companionship
7:45 "So preoccupied with their manliness"
8:29 Equal relationships almost non-existent
46:46 Politicians and privacy
48:48 Heroes: Nelson Mandela
50:15 What makes greatness
51:10 Never giving up, never compromising
51:35 Writing the book longhand
53:08 Are actors born or made?
53:56 Final thoughts
This interview captures a Hollywood legend reflecting on what makes a real man, why companionship is so hard to find, and the choice she made to put love before career. History offers the clearest roadmap for our future.
#LaurenBacall #HumphreyBogart #1994Interview #CharlieRose #Hollywood #NelsonMandela #Now #ByMyself #GoldenAge #Companionship #FilmDiscussion #LookingBack