The Quick-Seat Chair Goes To Hollywood Series – To Have and Have Not

By Khadi Madama Quick-Seat Chair Wellness Coordinator

It’s easy to see right off the boat dock of this gripping drama where Quick-Seat Chairs could have, should have, been installed in several places not only off the set but on the set. Yes, that’s right, right on the very boat where the stars, Humphrey Bogart and Walter Brennan, are on board. It’s easy to realize that the title of the movie singularly describes the very essence of the importance of the safety of a quick-seat chair. This is what separates the “Haves” from the “Have-nots” in this wartime classic, and it also spurred the romance between Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in “Bogie and Baby,” as the screen duo later became known in Hollywood. But first, let’s talk about Walter Brennan’s limp. It seems that it’s not what it appeared to be, so first we must apologize for Walter’s use of a fake limp to endear audiences. The use of a fake limp didn’t happen again until Denis Weaver gave it a try when he decided to create a limp for his audition to play Chester Good in the 1950 TV series Gunsmoke.  Although, Walter Brennan reprised his limp again for the role of Grandpa, also a 1950’s TV series, The Real McCoys. It seems that the 1950s had a real run on fake limps wherever needed to create depth for a character. At least that was the reason both actors gave for their on-screen condition.

In real life, no one would want a limp or any condition that would cause them ambulation problems just so that they could appear to have more depth in their personality or appear more interesting. Everyone wants to be able to spin along pathways, corridors, halls, and industrial sites with ease. And those that cannot, know the value of a place to sit when crucially needed. And it’s those people who are at the very heart of the invention of the Quick-Seat Chair. Those who manage medical, industrial, and corporate locations can see the need immediately when a visitor or patient shows signs of distress needing a few moments of respite before completing a journey. More and more life situations where people are out of their day-to-day environment may result in the need for a Quick-Seat Chair to make this transition with cramped spaces, more people, and longer wait times for service. They need more safe, more easily accessible, and more comfortable accommodations where typical seating won’t work.  As a small side note, the Quick-Seat Chair seating area is slightly higher than the typical theater seat making it a bit easier to get up and down.

In our movie, Bogart plays a hard-boiled sea captain with a boat for hire on the island of Martinique. It’s wartime; he needs money, and he winds up having to help escapees reach Martinique, which he does. But not before the small group has to endure being shot at, dealing with rough seas, and worse, not enough seats onboard the boat! Bacall’s character “Slim,” a pick-pocket grafter, develops a crush on Bogart’s hard-to-get character, but that doesn’t stop her. She reminds him in one of the most famous romantic scenes in film history that all he has to do is “whistle.”

Back at the hotel, the group finds refuge in the basement. One of them has been shot and needs time to recover. If you are a fan of old movies, except for those that involve large mansions with full basements, none of these typical basements have enough chairs provided for people to sit on. They wind up sitting on crates or standing. We know that Walter Brennan’s character Eddie would need a place to sit, but director Howard Hawks didn’t consider that for him or any actors on the boat, who are lucky they didn’t fall overboard on the rough seas with bullets flying around them. What about the basement scenes where all were gathered around the bed of their wounded friend? It’s hard to see exactly what they were sitting on because these scenes were always shot in a darkened room. And what of Bogie’s tiny one-lamp/one-chair hotel room? Where would guests sit with only one chair available?  It is hard not to wonder about seating, even while riveted to the screen and not worrying about anything other than, Are Bogie, Baby, and Eddie going to get off the island?

The backstory is that the whole movie concept, which was based on a book by Ernest Hemingway of the same title, was discussed by Hitchcock and Howard Hawks while the two men were out on a real fishing trip. We don’t have to wonder about their seating arrangements. These were Hollywood big shots. They were not going out on a boat where they would have to stand all day while trying to catch something bigger than their balance. You know they had secure places to sit while they talked about the movie and caught fish. So why didn’t Hawks think about seating in the movie? Perhaps if Walter Brennan’s limp was real, the need to provide relief on-set would have been more important. That is the point of this blog: to bring awareness to folks about the need for seating where they may otherwise not realize a potential problem. Quick-Seat Chair is devoted to creating more awareness about the needs of those with ambulation, cardio-pulmonary, and other problems that require short respites in various environments. Quick-Seat Chair to the rescue and unlike Bacall wanting to lure Bogart for a late-night tryst, you won’t have to pucker up and whistle!

Quick-Seat Chair. Temporary Seating That Closes Itself.