7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beat him, thrash him, August 27, 2006
This review is from: Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil (DVD)
You'd think that "Beat the Devil" would be far better known than it is, since it was one of the last movies that Humphrey Bogart did before his untimely death. Maybe that's because Bacall wasn't in it, or maybe it was just too quirky for the masses -- a funny, wry noir-satire, with a gang of rather inept criminals.
Billy Dannreuther (Bogart) is part of a motley group planning to go to Africa, where a friend can help them illegally claim uranium. But trouble arrives: stuffy Harry Chelm (Edward Underdown) and his very imaginative wife Gwen (Jennifer Jones) arrive, and soon they're flirting with Billy and his sensual wife Maria (Gina Lollabrigida).
Even worse, Gwen's "exaggeration" habit is making the gang distrust Billy, thinking that he's withholding information from them. He isn't, of course. But all the personal plots and distrust come to a boil when everyone boards the ship, and Harry reveals that he knows everything about their uranium plot. Now Billy has to save himself and his friends, without Harry being bumped off...
"Beat the Devil" is an all-around satire -- it mocks grabby criminals, pathological liars, stodgy Brits, romance movies, crime capers, and even second-rate boats ("Of course, the captain is drunk!"). In fact, there's very little about this movie that doesn't poke fun at itself, or at the movies of the time.
And since it was adapted by John Huston and Truman Capote, you know that it's being witty as it makes fun. It languidly builds up in a sunny, ruined city where people plot and flirt, and then starts to boil when they get on board the boat. But even engine failures manage to be entertaining when Harry wrecks the oil pump while trying to fix it.
The cast is skilled in that under-the-radar way: Bogart plays a slightly more offbeat version of his noir characters, and Jennifer Jones is hilarious as the ditzy, chattery English girl. Peter Lorre and Robert Morley are also quite good as Bogie's pals, and Underdown plays the insensitive, straight-arrow dunce perfectly. You'll constantly want to smack him.
Though not as respected as it deserves, "Beat the Devil" is a little gem of a Bogart movie, with a witty, satirical script and lots of wild twists. Definitely a keeper.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie, Terrible DVD Production, February 7, 2007
This review is from: Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil (DVD)
The movie itself is great. It's funny with some great performances from brilliant actors. The producers of the DVD however have ruined the picture with very poor image quality, the worst I have seen in any reproduction of movies from that era. In addition, the "delta" insignia flashes on and off the screen intermittantly, distracting you from the show. The introduction and end comments from Tony Curtis are poorly edited in to the movie itself taking from the movie experience. Get the movie but not this version!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite Cult Classic!, August 7, 2007
This review is from: Humphrey Bogart: Beat The Devil (DVD)
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.
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