A stagy depression allegory—notable for the fine performances- particularly of an up and coming young Humphrey Bogart- a Warner’s contract player at this point—he’s 5th billed- apparently Leslie Howard (who did the stage version together) were close and Leslie refused to do the film when the studio wanted Edward G. Robinson (much bigger at the time than Bogart)
Good actors galore here- not just Howard, Bogart and Bette Davis—Porter Hall here and Charley Grapewin
The painted Arizona backdrop shot in a studio doesn’t help
Leslie is pure virtue here and Davis is a charming spirit- nice break from some of her other work where she always had an edge
It’s a great Harry Lime- Third Man performance for Bogart- he’s talked about for 20 minutes as a big thing before he ever shows up—intensity he’d show again in 1941 in High Sierra and a bit of a reverse of his Key Largo role as they’re holed up together by kidnappers
A collection of archetypes here- slice of life like Grand Hotel – a dreamer/intellectual poet, a naïve dreamer, a jock, a gangster, a drunk
Mayo is no film director but there is one great depth of field shot— the two women talking in a medium depth, husband in foreground and Grapewin eavesdropping in the background
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