Humphrey Bogart was born on Christmas Day, 1899 and died on January 14, 1957, of esophageal cancer. He was one of the classic stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. In fact, the American Film Institute ranked him the greatest male screen legend in American film history. With an accolade like that, it’s no surprise that Bogart, or “Bogie” as he was known to be nicknamed, has been involved in some of the greatest, most beloved films in history.

So, which films should die-hard Bogart fans or anyone wanting to see some of the best work from one of Hollywood’s best names, check out? The following list should give you some ideas.

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5 The African Queen (1952)

     Distributed by United Artists

This 1951 film won Humphrey Bogart his only Oscar for Best Actor, beating out such legendary performances as Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire and Montgomery Clift in A Place In The Sun. The story takes place during WWI, in German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania). Bogart plays Charlie Allnut, the captain and mechanic of a boat named The African Queen. When a missionary named Rose (played by Katharine Hepburn) suggests turning the titular vessel into a torpedo boat to sink a larger German vessel patrolling the waters, Allnut agrees, and the race is on to find and sink the German vessel.

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Shot on location in Uganda and what was at the time the Belgian Congo (a rarity for films during this time), this is a fun adventure film. Bogart and Katharine Hepburn have incredible chemistry together, especially important since such a large chunk of the film is just them on the water. The African Queen is a lot of fun and always entertaining.

4 In A Lonely Place (1950)

     Distributed by Columbia Pictures

This 1950 film, directed by Nicholas Ray (who also directed Rebel Without A Cause) and co-starring Ray’s wife, Gloria Grahame, sees Bogart star as Dixon Steele, a screenwriter with a violent temper who hasn’t had a successful hit since before WWII. Hired to adapt a book he hasn’t read, Steele invites a young woman over to tell him the plot of the book. When the woman turns up murdered the next day, Steele rises to the top of the suspects list, as he was the last person to see her alive.

This is a radically different role for Bogart, who usually played likable heroes, even if they were a little rough around the edges. Here, there is no likability whatsoever. Dixon Steele is an angry, violent man who doesn’t take much to set off. Bogart does a great job exploring this man, and even though it appears he’s innocent of the murder, he’s still easily capable of such an act. In A Lonely Place is one of the more underrated films on Bogart’s resume, but it’s getting its due on this list.

3 The Maltese Falcon (1941)

     Warner Bros.

This 1941 noir directed by John Huston (in his debut, no less) sees Bogart playing Sam Spade, a private detective whose partner is murdered while working for a client, and soon finds himself involved in the chase for a statue that’s worth more than any could have ever expected. Co-starring Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet, this film is an enduring classic. What’s the first image that comes to mind when you think “detective in a noir film?” Odds are, it’s Humphrey Bogart in this film or Humphrey Bogart in the convoluted The Big Sleep. No matter how you look at it, Bogart and this film have left a huge mark on noir films, which were huge in the ’40s and ’50s.

Bogart’s performance is wonderful as always. Then again, the incredible script gives him plenty of meat to sink his teeth into. With memorable performances and an even more memorable ending, this film truly is “the stuff that dreams are made of.”

2 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

     Distributed by Warner Bros.

Bogart teams up with John Huston once again in this 1948 classic. The film co-stars Tim Holt, and Walter Huston (John Huston’s father), who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in this film. Bogart plays Fred C. Dobbs, an American drifter in Mexico who is talked into prospecting for gold by Walter Huston’s Howard in the Sierra Madre mountains. Dobbs, Howard, and Tim Holt’s Bob Curtin all buy the supplies they need and do indeed find their fortune in the Sierra Madre, but things get dicey when Dobbs starts to succumb to paranoia and distrust of his two companions.

Bogart portrays the paranoia of Dobbs perfectly and his descent into madness is very believable. An unsettling performance, but one of Bogart’s best.

1 Casablanca (1942)

Is it the obvious choice? Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right one. As classic as classic can get, Casablanca is one of the most beloved Best Picture-winning films of all time, one of the most iconic romance movies of all time (American Film Institute ranked it as the greatest love story in American Cinema in 2002), and is one of the most quotable films ever made. Bogart plays Rick Blaine, an American expatriate who owns a nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca, which during the middle of WWII, was controlled by the pro-German Vichy French government. Blaine wants to stay neutral in all matters related to the war, but that gets complicated when a thief steals two letters of transit and asks Blaine to hold on to them. Things get even more messy when Blaine’s old flame, Ingrid Bergman’s iconic Ilsa Lund, shows up at Rick’s café to seek the letters of transit for herself and husband Viktor Laszlo, a major figure in the Czech Resistance.

Filled with iconic lines like “We’ll always have Paris,” “Here’s looking at you, kid,” and “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” all of which are spoken by Bogart’s character, Casablanca has an amazing legacy. The romance between Rick and Ilsa is wonderful and heartbreaking. Bogart and Bergman shine as both actors deliver amazing performances that stand amongst the best of both actors’ respective careers.