Product Details

• Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin
• Directors: William Wyler
• Writers: Joseph Hayes
• Producers: William Wyler, Robert Wyler
• Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: June 10, 2003
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008Z44E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,094 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Desperate Hours" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Escaped criminals hold a family hostage.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Players, some awkward dialogue, great ending, January 24, 2003

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desperate Hours [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have been a Bogart fan all my life. He was that rare Hollywood breed so seldom seen today - and actor AND a movie star. In this "little" movie, Bogart and March lock wills - each knowing that the other is dangerous and desperate, each knowing that they both have more than their own lives to lose. They take the conflict to the edge, their hands, virtually at each other's throats in nearly every scene and then find a way to back off to live another day or another hour. In the quiet moments, March stares away from the camera several times, effectively showing the "wheels turning," an action not lost on Bogart. When he catches him at it he says "click-ity, click-ity" and warns him not to try anything. Advice, you know he'll never heed. This movie may not appeal to viewers who have grown up watching shoot-em-ups but movie fans and fans of good acting will find plenty to hold their attention. A few of the bit players, especially the cops, are saddled with hokey 1950's dialog but you'll get over it. The ending is all you could ask for. I suggest you give it a shot.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Get out . . . Get out of my house . . . ", May 18, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Desperate Hours [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If I remember correctly "The Desperate Hours" was originally a stage play that was based on a true story. A photo-magazine ran a spread on either the play or the film with pictures of the "real" house and the family sued for invasion of privacy; one of their lawyers was Richard Nixon. Humphrey Bogart gets top-billing in "The Desperate Hours" as gangster on the lam Glenn Griffin, but this is really Frederic March's film. March plays businessman Dan Hilliard, who discovers his home has been invaded and his family taken hostage by Griffin's little band of criminals, which includes his kid brother Hal (Dewey Martin) and the brutish Sam Kobish (Robert Middleton). That morning Hilliard's biggest concerns had been Chuck Wright (Gig Young), the boyfriend of his daughter Cindy (Mary Murphy), the refusal of young son Ralphie (Richard Eyer) to kiss his old man goodbye, and what wife Eleanor (Martha Scott) is going to make for dinner. Now he has to find a way to keep his family alive in a world where the police are perfectly willing to gun down unarmed criminals so their ability to protect an innocent family is certainly suspect.

This is a taunt drama, carried mostly by the desperation of March's character, who fails every time he tries to prove himself the hero. Bogart's performance is notable because it is a return to the tough guy role that made him a star, only this time showing more restraint than we had seen two decades earlier. This 1955 film also stands as a testament to how much things have changed in Hollywood, because they would never allow for this clean of an ending to this situation, a point that would be obvious even without the horrible remake of this film with Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins, which gives into the perceived need for sadistic violence.

Ultimately what makes this film work is that the climax exceeds our expectations given the set-up. You have to admire how a man can walk into a house with an unloaded gun and save the day. The final confrontation between Hilliard and Griffin is powerful because it speaks to not only the fact that you can hurt somebody without killing them, but also that even when confronted with barbarians there is still virtue in being a civilized man. I still watch the ending of this film every time I stumble across it on television. In fact, I just did.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Bogart fans, December 31, 2000

By 

Johny Bottom "Insane and lonely guitarist" (Jacksonville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desperate Hours [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Now this is a great flick. No one played the hard-edged bad guy like Bogie. This flick is old schol, meaning the story depends on the acting and not special effects or overused violence.

Bogart, his brother, and a simple minded convict escape prison and hold up in a suberbian 'Beaver-Cleaver' household. They have to hideout there until Bogie gets some dough from his girlfriend. The confrontations between the family and the convicts keep this movie going fluently without a break in drama, suspense, or action. If you've only seen Casablanca or the Maltese Falcon, rent or buy this flick if you like or are interested in Humphrey Bogart.