Sunday, May 6, 2012

147. High Sierra

High Sierra
1941
Directed by Raoul Walsh

So I have been saying this in all my blogs so I might as well mention it in this one.  I just got back from a glorious trip to London.  Check it out!

But this is actually relevant to this blog because I saw the house where Alfred Hitchcock lived.  It was awesome!


Anyway, back to Bogie.  Well, this certainly isn't my favorite Bogart film, but of course, that doesn't mean it is bad.  We are right in the midst of the strict Production Code and this movie did an excellent job of making a likable criminal even with the codes.  This film is about Roy Earle, who gets out of prison to pull off another heist.  There is a love triangle here; Bogie falls for a good girl while another criminal loves old Humphrey (kind of like Trouble in Paradise).  Of course, it has a really predictable ending because it is a gangster movie.


I am really not a big fan of gangster movies, but it is a pretty good film regardless.  Check it out.

RATING: ***--



Interesting Facts:


Last movie Bogie made that he did receive top billing.


Ida Lupino hated Humphrey Bogart.


8 comments:

  1. What I remember best from this movie is Bogie's car. It is pretty cool. Not my favourite Bogie movie either.

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    1. What is your favorite? I think mine is In A Lonely Place. Or African Queen.

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    2. For performance I would pick The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but it is Casablanca I am always going back to.

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  2. OK, I wasn't asked .. so excuse me butting in..

    Sorry to be predictable, but @m afraid I have to go for casablanca. That said ..'Falcon' comes very close, and depending on mood etc, can overtake. To have and have not, and yes, 'In a lonely place' and well up there. Strangely for me, 'Cain Mutiny' comes high up. It shouldn't .. Bogart just HAS to be in B&W...

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  3. Haha wait I forgot about Sierra Madre. I might have to change my answer. We are just naming all of his movies; we might suck at rankings.

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    1. Hmm, now that reply was supposed to be to my other comment below. Which now means I've posted three times instead of one.

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  4. A couple of off-the-wall comments:

    - I found myself wondering who would have played this part if Bogart hadn't belatedly made the step up from support actor to star. Seems like the sort of thing that Cary Grant might have been handed? How might his career have been a little different if he'd continued doing those more action and conflicted bad-boy parts? And might Bogart have been better in Only Angels Have Wings or Gunga Din if he'd been box office earlier?

    - Pards is now my second favourite dog name from the list. Mr Smith from The Awful Truth will surely retain the top stop through to the end.

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