Reviews of movies with Humphrey Bogart.
Tuesday, April 22nd 2008
Grade: C
Synopsis: Three World War 1 veterans (James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Jeffrey Lynn) turn to bootlegging upon returning home to New York City.
The Roaring Twenties is an ambitious gangster film buoyed by James Cagney’s strong performance and a good first half.
Initially, the film fires on all cylinders. The opening battlefield scenes are great and do a wonderful job of efficiently introducing the characters. As the setting shifts to post-war New York the script compensates for disappearance of Humphrey Bogart’s character with the introduction of Frank McHugh and Priscilla Lane’s, as Cagney’s character begins his rise to prominence
Everything’s working now, and Cagney’s chewing up the scenery, but then, the The Roaring Twenties begins to stumble. Starting with the introduction of a far-fetched love triangle between Cagney, Lane, and Jeffrey Lynn and culminating in a ludicrous finale, the script abandons any sense of gritty realism, and instead wallows in clichés. While there’s some good stuff here, the movie drags in the middle and, much like its protagonist, is finished long before the end credits. MORE »
Posted at 2:22 PM in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart.
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Wednesday, April 16th 2008
Grade: B+
Synopsis: An outlaw (Humphrey Bogart) holds an intellectual (Leslie Howard), waitress (Bette Davis), and others hostage in a small diner in the Arizona desert.
The Petrified Forest is a tight, well-written thriller with a knockout cast.
Lead Leslie Howard manages to mix just the right amounts of vulnerability, courage, and despair into his role as a disenchanted writer coming to terms with his own failed ambitions. On paper, the part could come off as pretentious or whiny, but Howard plays it perfectly without ever stooping to sentiment.
Opposite him, Bette Davis is the very epitome of the wide-eyed dreamer. Though her role is written a bit thinner than Howard’s, Davis makes up for it with sheer charisma, winning the audience over the same way she wins over Howard’s character. MORE »
Posted at 10:49 AM in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart.
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Wednesday, April 9th 2008
Grade: C-
Synopsis: A special agent (Humphrey Bogart) tries to reform a gang of kids (The Dead End Kids) in a reform school run by a sadistic warden.
Crime School is a mediocre entry in the delinquent youth genre, though, watching the film, you’re likely to get the feeling that you’ve seen it before.
That’s because the plot is basically lifted from another Humphrey Bogart picture, San Quentin (1937), only this time Bogart plays the Pat O’Brien role, and the Dead End Kids play Bogart’s role. This actually works out surprisingly well, as Bogart is believable as a former street hood who broke free of the cycle of poverty and crime to become a respected government official. MORE »
Posted at 5:49 PM in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart.
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Monday, March 10th 2008
Grade: D
Synopsis: Two career inmates (Spencer Tracy and Warren Hymer) escape from prison to help a buddy (Humphrey Bogart).
Up the River is notable for several reasons: it marked the screen debut of stars Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy, as well as their only collaboration, it was also Bogart’s only collaboration with director John Ford, and it was only Ford’s sixth talkie. Unfortunately, Up the River isn’t notable for being very good.
Littered with title cards and short cuts, this comedy falls victim to the awkward transition between silents and talkies. While Tracy and Bogart exude the charisma and stage presence that would serve them so well through their careers (and look fast for Ford-mainstay Ward Bond), the film itself lacks any significant story or character development and many of the scenes feel like padding. There are moments, here and there, when things click, but these are few and far between. MORE »
Posted at 3:55 PM in Movie Reviews, Humphrey Bogart and John Ford.
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Monday, March 10th 2008
Grade: D
Synopsis: An attorney (Humphrey Bogart) builds a sob-story defense for a young man (John Derek) accused of murder.
Knock on Any Door is a preachy melodrama from director Nicholas Ray.
Ray, who’s probably best known for directing James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), takes something of a warm-up lap here, treading into the same teen angst and disaffected youth pool that defined the James Dean film.
Unfortunately, like most pre-Graduate films meant to portray the angst of an emerging generation, Knock on Any Door doesn’t age well at all. What might have been edgy in 1949 just seems corny now, likely, because the motion picture code wouldn’t allow the filmmakers to be honest. Kids couldn’t curse, nobody could get away with murder, and topics like abortion were completely off-limits. What’s left comes across as preachy and disingenuous. MORE »
Posted at 1:16 PM in Movie Reviews and Humphrey Bogart.
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