By Bogart, distinctively masculine and undeniably iconic, epitomised brains and brawn in an era defined by different values. Unfortunately for Beat The Devil his iconography is fundamental in consigning this picture to a bygone era.
This fifties thriller starring Humphrey Bogart, directed by John Huston and penned in part with Truman Capote should be better. Featuring veterans Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and starlet Jennifer Jones, Beat The Devil may feel exotic but is hampered by pedestrian pacing. It is a film which takes an age to get going before failing to do anything at all. Bogart and Gina Lollobrigida are a husband and wife team caught up in nefarious dealings, while Edward Underdown plays the upper crust husband with a mysterious past.
From the outset tensions feel tepid, encounters awkward and dialogue uninspired. Considering those involved Beat The Devil consistently fails on a dramatic level, while Bogart phones in his performance long distance. This only undermines our investment in characters who might be sailing for Africa but lack substance, as fabricated affairs, attempted murders and veiled threats fall flat.
Morally speaking the romantic openness between Bogart and Lollobrigida might be considered risqué for post war American cinema, but Jennifer Jones and Underdown are so one-dimensional that any liaisons lose impact. That combined with the obvious switch between location shooting and balsa wood back lots sucks any sense of magic out of the end product.
From our current culture standpoint Beat The Devil only underlines how out of touch these male archetypes really are in contemporary terms. Age gaps in cinema are still common place but gender equality has levelled the playing field and changed our perceptions. For that reason Huston’s film ceases to convince, as Bogart lacks any conceivable allure or moral compass which doubtless sold the picture originally. As a result other elements suffer impacting on our emotional investment which in turn undermines other thematic elements.
There is no doubt that Humphrey Bogart has more than earned his place in cinema history. Distinctively masculine and undeniably iconic he epitomised brains and brawn in an era defined by different values. Unfortunately for Beat The Devil his iconography is fundamental in consigning this picture to a bygone era.
Written by Martin Carr
Directed by: John Huston
Written by: John Huston, Truman Capote
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida
Released: 1953 / Genre: Adventure Comedy
Country: USA / IMDB
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Beat the Devil arrived on a new UK Blu-ray/DVD on March 16 2020 with simultaneous release on BFI Player, iTunes and Amazon.
I agree that it is showing its age – and Bogart only had three years and a couple of months left on this mortal coil after its release, so maybe the throat cancer had already started kicking in. Nevertheless, it’s more of a comedy than anything else, and a dry one at that. Still, it took me a couple of starts before I managed to sit through the whole thing in the one sitting.