Beat the Devil
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DVD details
Actor: Gina Lollobrigida, Humphrey Bogart, Peter LorreBrand: Echo Bridge Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); Italian (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-01-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Beat the Devil
DVD Review: Failed attempt
Summary: 2 Stars
"Beat the Devil" is a tongue in cheek spoof of Bogart's famous films of the 40s, like "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca". It comes in 1953 near the end of Bogart's career. Although he still had a few good films left ahead (e.g., "The Caine Mutiny"), generally speaking his best years were behind him, and his performance in this film ranks among his lesser roles, exacerbated by the fact that he had been in a major auto accident during production (there is one scene near the end of the film when his injuries were not adequately covered up by the makeup).
Bogart made 80 films, was nominated 3 times for an Oscar and won for "The African Queen" (1952), and is considered the greatest male actor of the 20th Century by many. His list of outstanding performances is too long to list. Director John Huston said of him - "He was endowed with the greatest gift a man can have -- talent."
Bogart has his long time friend Peter Lorre (1904-64) along for the ride. They did 5 films together, beginning with "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). In addition to his work with Bogart, Lorre is most famous for his terrifying role in "M" (1931) and his "Mr. Moto" films. Director John Huston said of him -" Peter Lorre was one of the finest and most subtle actors I have ever worked with. Beneath that air of innocence he used to such effect, one sensed a Faustian worldliness."
Lorre is joined by fat and jolly Robert Morley (1908-1992) instead of his usual partner in crime, fat and jolly Sydney Greenstreet who retired in 1949 for health reasons, and died in 1954. Morley was a wonderful actor, a lovable pompous windbag who graced film and stage. He was nominated for an Oscar for his film debut in "Marie Antoinette" (1938) playing a shy Louis XVI, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe" (1978), but personally I thought his best performance was as the missionary in "The African Queen" (1951) with Bogart. Incredibly, this film was the only pairing of Morley and Lorre.
The two female stars are Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida. Jones (1919-2009) was a terrific actress and was nominated 5 times for an Oscar, winning for "A Song of Bernadette" (1943). Her best work was in the 40s ("Since You Went Away", "Duel in the Sun", "Portrait of Jennie") but she continued to work and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her final film, "The Towering Inferno" in 1974. Jones is a riot as the wife of a pretentious Englishman, and she steals every scene in which she appears.
Gina Lollobrigida (1927) is simply beautiful. One can hardly get past her beauty and enjoy her good acting in this film, which was her breakout role. She gave good performances in films like "Trapeze" (1956) and "Never so Few" (1959) before her film career went into decline.
Look for Bernard Lee (1908-81) in a brief appearance as an inspector from Scotland Yard. Lee would later gain fame playing "M" in the early James Bond films.
Director John Huston (1906-87) apparently conceived of the idea for this film as a spoof of his previous films like "The Maltese Falcon". Huston was one of our best directors, nominated 5 times for an Oscar for directing, winning once for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) that starred Bogart and Huston's father, Walter Huston (who won his only Oscar as Best Supporting Actor). Huston was also nominated 8 times for an Oscar for writing, and once for acting. This was his last of 6 films with Bogart.
Huston co-wrote this film (as he did with many of his films) with Truman Capote (1924-84). Capote was best known as a writer of novels ("Breakfast at Tiffanys", "In Cold Blood"). "Beat the Devil" was his first of two screenplays he wrote, and he got the job because of his work with Jones' husband, David O Selznick, on "Indiscretion of an American Wife" (1953).
Despite the quality of the actors and the director and writer, this is an unsatisfying film. It lacks a solid base. Clearly it isn't meant to be taken at face value (a thriller), but nor is it very funny (like "We're No Angels") or even sly (like "The Lavender Hill Mob"). The original novel was a thriller and it was Huston desire to turn it into a comedy, but it ends up being neither. Bogart himself disliked the film, said "only phonies like it", and his production company (Santana Productions) failed to renew the copyright. The NY Times said - "A potential treat emerged as a wet firecracker" and "For all the studiedly suave professionalism, though, Beat the Devil ends up beating itself."
There are some good things about this film. Jennifer Jones is terrific. Supporting performances by Ivor Bernard (the homicidal Major) and Mario Perrone (ship's purser) are brilliant, and there is the occasional plot point that will get a rise. But all things considered this is a monumental waste of talent that could have been created a much better work.
Some reviewers will claim that it is a great film, a camp film, a cult film, etc. Perhaps. I'm sure the film will appeal to a small group of people, but generally speaking, if it failed at the box office, failed at the Oscars, and was trash talked by the people who were involved in it, chances are most people aren't going to enjoy it. Fans of the actors have so many better films they can choose from, why would you waste your time on this failed attempt?
Description of Beat the Devil
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