Showing posts with label Humphrey Bogart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Humphrey Bogart. Show all posts
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| Bogart contemplates his actions |
Richard Mason (Humphrey Bogart) has a bit of a problem. He's married to the somewhat demanding Kathryn (Rose Hobart of Mr. and Mrs. North), but hopelessly in love with her beautiful younger sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith). What to do? What to do?The audience learns early on that Mason intends to murder his wife, but the fun is waiting to see how he does it, if he succeeds, and how and if he'll get caught. Bogart had no problem playing [somewhat sympathetic] villainous roles, as he also did in The Two Mrs. Carrolls (also with Alexis Smith), which his homely mug might have forced him to do in some alternate universe anyway. Bogart is fine, but he has formidable [in every sense of the word] competition from Sydney Greenstreet, as Dr. Hamilton, a friend of the Masons; Hobart and Smith are also good. The twists in the picture lead to a predictable but satisfying conclusion. Charles Drake plays a young professor who's in love with Evelyn, and you may not believe whom she prefers. Conflict is a smooth, well-played, and well-paced time-passer, thanks to director Bernhardt, and while not in the league of a Hitchcock classic, the picture holds the attention and has some suspense. Supposedly Jack Warner offered this script to Joan Crawford for her first Warner Brothers assignment and wanted her to play the role of Kathryn, which is really just a supporting part -- she wisely took Mildred Pierce instead. It would have been interesting to see Bogart and Crawford together, however.
Verdict: Bogie is a bad boy. **1/2.
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| Bogart and Stanwyck in their only film together |
THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947). Director: Peter Godfrey.
"Would you like something, officers? A glass of milk perhaps?"
Sally (Barbara Stanwyck) meets and falls in love with troubled artist Geoffrey Carroll (Humphrey Bogart), then learns he has a wife. Said wife conveniently dies, and Sally and Geoff are married, the two of them residing in Sally's palatial estate along with Geoff's very self-assured little girl, Beatrice (Ann Carter). Then along comes super-sexy Cecily Latham (Alexis Smith), who wants Geoff to paint her portrait and won't take no for an answer. Before long Sally is getting suspicious, especially when she learns that Geoff's first wife wasn't an invalid as he claimed, and that she's developing similar symptoms to what the first Mrs. Carroll had before she died ... Based on a stage play, The Two Mrs. Carrolls is a poor man's Suspicion, which was released six years earlier. There's even some business with a glass of milk. At least this is somewhat superior to the next thriller Stanwyck did with director Peter Godfrey, Cry Wolf with Errol Flynn, and the acting is quite good. Stanwyck is better at getting across the vulnerability and terror of the heroine than you might expect [although she does seem to summon up her bravery at the climax rather suddenly], Bogart is fine in all but his most challenging scenes, little Ann Carter proves a superlative child actress in her portrayal of the highly interesting and mature Beatrice, and gorgeous Smith has wicked fun as the slinky and self-absorbed Cecily, with Isobel Elsom scoring as her mother and Nigel Bruce as -- what else? -- a doctor. Anita Bolster is a riot as the saturnine housekeeper, Christine. Crackling good dialogue from Thomas Job [from Martin Vale's play] and a fine Franz Waxman score help a great deal. The last line provides a little wink at the audience. Bogart and Stanwyck play quite well together.
Verdict: No Suspicion, but fun nevertheless. **1/2.
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| Bogie |
Down-on-their-luck Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Curtin (Tim Holt) encounter an old prospector in Tampico named Howard (Water Huston) who tells them there's gold to be found in those hills if they only want to do a little hard work and dodge bandits to get it. The three men, quite friendly, set out to find their riches but once they begin prospecting doubt and suspicion begin to gnaw away at them. Other threats come in the form of a man named Cody (Bruce Bennett of Mildred Pierce), who wants to share in future booty, and the bandit "Gold Hat" (Alfonso Bedoya), who robbed a train the men were on and now wants them to turn over their rifles and everything else. Even some friendly Indians cause a bit of a problem when they want Howard to go with them to save an little boy who nearly drowned (in an affecting sequence). But once they have enough gold to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, will they manage to hold onto it, or will paranoia become their undoing? One of the great strengths of this wonderful movie is that it's almost completely unpredictable and continuously suspenseful and fascinating. The three lead actors are all excellent, bolstered by fine performances from Bennett; Bedoya (playing a very different role from his part in The Big Country); Barton MacLane [The Mummy's Ghost], as a man who tries to fleece them early in the picture; and even the director, John Huston [Annie], as an American who gives Bogie a hand-out on more than one occasion. Bobby Blake plays a cute little Mexican kid selling lottery tickets. One of Huston's best pictures and aside from a couple of stilted moments possibly Bogie's most memorable performance. Notable also for Ted McCord's photography and Max Steiner's evocative score.
Verdict: A classic. ***1/2.