High Sierra (1941)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

John Huston (screenplay) and
W.R. Burnett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 January 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The Blazing Mountain Manhunt for Killer 'Mad-Dog' Earle!

Plot:

Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle is broken out of prison by an old associate who wants him to help with an upcoming robbery...

Plot Keywords:

Robbery | Police | Dog | Prison | Murder

Cast

Ida Lupino	...	Marie
Humphrey Bogart	...	Roy Earle
Alan Curtis	...	'Babe'
Arthur Kennedy	...	'Red'
Joan Leslie	...	Velma
Henry Hull	...	'Doc' Banton
Henry Travers	...	Pa
Jerome Cowan	...	Healy
Minna Gombell	...	Mrs. Baughmam
Barton MacLane	...	Jake Kranmer
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Ma (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Cornel Wilde	...	Louis Mendoza
Donald MacBride	...	Big Mac
Paul Harvey	...	Mr. Baughmam
Isabel Jewell	...	Blonde

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:(Banned) (1942) | Finland:K-8 (1990) | USA:Approved (certificate #6563) | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Humphrey Bogart''s part in this movie was originally intended for Paul Muni. Muni did not like the first draft of the screenplay which was authored solely by John Huston and given to him by Hal B. Wallis, so Wallis got the book's author W.R. Burnett to assist John Huston in a second rewrite. This rewrite was presented to Paul Muni who still disliked it and turned the movie and the role down completely. In the meantime, On May 4th, 1940, Humphrey Bogart sent a telegram to Hal B. Wallis reiterating his continuing desire, which he had mentioned several months earlier, to play the part of Roy Earle. After Muni turned down the script the next person on the list for Warner Brothers was George Raft. Bogart, knowing that Raft was trying to change his image and move away from gangster roles, found out about this and mentioned to Raft when he saw him next that the studio was trying to get him do another gangster movie where the gangster gets shot at the end. Raft marched into Hal B. Wallis office and flatly refused to do the movie. Bogart finally ended up with the role he wanted all along by default.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the chase scene up the dirt mountain road, the Foley is the sound of screeching tires on asphalt or concrete.

Quotes:

Roy Earle: Of all the 14 karat saps... starting out on a caper with a woman and a dog.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Curtains for Roy Earle: The Story of 'High Sierra' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Get a Kick out of You (1934)

Bogart Stands Out In An Interesting & Well-Crafted Story

Even aside from its impact on Humphrey Bogart's career and on the noir genre, "High Sierra" is an entertaining and interesting movie that is worth seeing in its own right. Bogart's portrayal of Roy Earle, along with Ida Lupino, a talented supporting cast, and some well-chosen settings, are all fit together nicely to tell an interesting story.

Though it's hard now to experience Bogart's gangster roles as they would have appeared to their original audiences, it's still easy to see why this and similar roles attracted so much attention at the time. The character is interesting to begin with, and Bogart makes him even more so. The tension between Earle's ruthlessness and his sense of fairness, and between his desires and his practicality, makes for some interesting possibilities.

Bogart makes good use of these opportunities with his distinctive style. The other characters and the plot developments furnish plenty of material that develop Earle's character and give Bogart lots to work with. Even the sequences that might seem unlikely or out of place are used to add depth to the character and the story.

The climactic sequence in the mountains ties everything together nicely, in a very appropriate setting. "High Sierra" is the kind of movie that classic movie fans can enjoy both for the chance to see its influence on later movies and for its own interesting and well-crafted story.