• The film is an early one for Bogart, and he’s good in it, but it’s in the archives based on the strength of Wyler’s direction
  • It’s so weird to see Bogart get third billing- he’s behind Joel Sylvia Sidney and Joel McCrea here
  • Gregg Toland work as DP- he’s just sensational- not enough is made of his work with Wyler- this is his 2nd of 6 oscar noms- he died way too young at age 44
  • Bogey is playing his typical 1930’s era heavy before high sierra and Casablanca
  • Depression era strikes and people hard on their luck
  • Narrative issues with the sometimes incessant dead end kids
  • 6-8 amazing mise-en-scene showpiece shots—real depth of field artistic beauty and deep focus work
  • The film turns nasty in the finale with the shooting
  • The 3 leads are very good
  • “Baby Face” Martin is Bogey’s name- clearly a riff on Nelson
  • Bogart is superb- he’s great in a scene where he’s crushed inside by both his mother and his old girl not being what he had hoped for or remembered- these are strong scenes
  • Of course Ward Bond plays the doorman and is great with his 5 lines
  • The opening is very strong- it starts with an establishing shot of the city and then we get long dueling establishing shots that morph into miniatures showing a slum set against a nice mansion set against a larger city- it really tells a silent story that is very strong off the bad— a few of the 6-8 great segments I mention above that have Wyler’s trademark all over it are poor kids playing in the foreground with the mansion in the background
  • Recommend—close to fringe top 10