Having grown up on those classic black and white films of
the 30s and 40s as a child I was fascinated by Humphrey Bogart. Not a great
looking lead actor but not horrid either, Bogart was the everyman of the day, a
guy like everyone else but who always had an answer. He was a tough guy who
could work his way out of any jam, as adept at being the hero as he was the
villain. While I had the chance to see many of his films there were a few I
never quite seemed to find for one reason or another. BEAT THE DEVIL was one of
those films.
Made in 1953 BEAT THE DEVIL reteamed Bogart with director
John Huston. The duo had performed well together with films like THE MALTESE
FALCON, THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE and THE AFRICAN QUEEN so one would expect
more success to follow. This wasn’t the case as many critics were not fond of
this film. After watching it I can understand why. The movie feels like a film
out of time, made way before many of the plot elements would become acceptable
to audiences.
Bogart plays Billy Dannreuther, a wheeler dealer stuck in a
small Italian village with his wife Maria (Gina Lollobrigida) as well as
several other passengers of a freighter en route to Africa. Billy is the
driving force with connections to a local willing to assist in the purchase of
a field full of uranium, a piece of land worth millions and held by an
unknowing owner. Among the other characters stranded are Billy’s backers,
Peterson (Robert Morley), Julius O’Hara (Peter Lorre), Ravello (Marco Tulli)
and Major Jack Ross (Ivor Barnard), a motley crew at best. None of the partners
trust each other let alone Billy.
Also on board the ship are an English couple on holiday also
headed for Africa, Harry Chelm (Edward Underdown) and his wife Gwendolen (Jennifer
Jones). Gwendolen is prone for flights of fancy, guessing who is who and what
their stories are in an attempt to raise herself above the boring life she
leads. She makes the mistake of going one step further when she finds herself
drawn to Billy and falling in love. This is the first item that to me felt a
bit off. I’ve come to expect fast forward romances in films today but one made
in 1953 seemed odd.
Back and forth situations of trust and deception follow as
the various members of the party attempt to outdo one another in a rush to get
to Africa and the lad deal. Billy tells them to stay calm and they’ll get there
just fine but since these are an untrustworthy group the odds of that happening
are slim. Harry isn’t aware of what is going on under his nose with Gwendolen
and Billy and the same holds true for Maria who seems more concerned with how
she plans to spend the money they will make as well as dreams of all things
English.
So with all of this going on why doesn’t the movie work? To
begin with the film has a tremendously slow pacing to it, more like reading a
book than watching a movie. The high points are rarely treated as such and it
feels like a level film rather than one with ups and downs that move a plot
forward. The film also suffers from poor cinematography and film stock being
used to make the picture, looking like a washed out foreign film of the time
rather than something Hollywood would have produced. Between the cast, the
director and a writer of stature (the script was written by Truman Capote) the
expectations are high but never met.
The end result is a film that drudges along and doesn’t
deliver until the final shot. Bogart was said to have been unhappy with the
film, perhaps because he helped bankroll it and it lost money, saying “Only
phonies like it.” Critics either loved it or hated it and the reception wasn’t
as huge as one would expect. The owners of the film let it fall into public
domain stature which may show their lack of faith in it as well. This accounts
for the number of copies of the film available.
On the plus side is the resurrection of the film for fans of
the feature as well as all things Bogart. The Film Detective is a company that
seems intent on presenting many features that have fallen into public domain in
as best a condition as possible. To my knowledge this is the first time that
the film has been offered in blu-ray format. The presentation is well made with
a clean copy which is more than many companies who prey upon fans can claim
when it comes to public domain titles. The Film Detective offers their products
with minimal to non-existent extras (in this case a trailer) but movie fans are
more concerned with the movie itself as opposed to umpteen extras. In this case
the movie is the best presentation you are likely to find.
Fans of Bogart and Huston anxious to complete their
libraries will want to pick this one up. If you love old classic films you
might enjoy it. Perhaps it’s not their best effort but it is interesting and
worth seeing at least once.
Click here to order.
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