Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil

Buy This Item Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil by Delta  Available from Amazon  $7.99  on 11-16-2008     A wacky comedy that’s played straight as any film noir and is even funnier as a result. Five men are out to garner control over East African land which they believe contains a rich uranium ore lode. <P>Includes "Bogart On Film" - a documentary, an introduction by Tony Curtis, and the trailer for The Big Sleep. <P>Menus: English • Spanish • Chinese Subtitles: Spanish • Chinese <P>B&W Running Time: 100 min. Reader Reviews WARNING! Numerous dirt cheap, inferior quality transfers are available since this film has slipped into public domain. Order the Front Row Entertainment (Canada) edition for a few extra bucks and really enjoy the superior picture and sound quality of this cult favorite. If you don't find it on Amazon, you may have to search the Web for this edition. 1953 critics and audiences alike, anticipating a serious drama, missed the point of this noir-satire that delightfully lampooned the genre. While bombing at the box office, it eventually became a cult classic when audiences realized they were supposed to have as much fun viewing it as the actors had in making it. Knowing about the stormy frustrations and dysfunctions that went on behind-the-scenes makes viewing even more enjoyable. The principle stars seem to delight in portraying the on-screen personas and stereotypes for which they were already famous. Tough guy Humphrey Bogart spits out wisecracks with the nonchalance we have come to expect. Gina Lollobrigida brings her predictable fiery Latin-tempered performance to the screen, along with her paparazzi-hounded cleavage. Despite his bizarre bleach-blond buzz cut, Peter Lorre remains true to the character spoofed by so many impersonators on the Ed Sullivan Show. Instead of "Did you get the information?" his most memorable line for this outing becomes, "Time is a thief." The portly Robert Morely fits comfortably into his role as the foppish English con man. The lovely Jennifer Jones, however, stepped outside of her better-known characterizations to display her rarely seen comedic talent as an intelligent but seemingly ditsy neurotic with an overactive imagination. I watch Beat the Devil periodically whenever I need relief from media reporting on the rather dismal state of global affairs. I suspect I'll be returning to it for some time to come.

Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil Available from Amazon Price: $7.99 Updated on 11-16-2008.

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