Humphrey Bogart: Collection 1 (4 Disc Box Set), including High Sierra, They Drive By Night, Maltese Falcon and To Have and Have Not.
High Sierra (1941)
Prohibition era gangster Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) walks out of prison…and
into two unfamiliar worlds: the jitterbugging 1940s and the towering majesty of
High Sierra. This fast-paced, heist-gone-wrong manhunt movie is also a
fascinating study of a man time has passed by. Earle identifies more with the
era's homeless Okies than the callow punks he leads on a disastrous hotel
robbery. Then the teenager he loves (Joan Leslie) rejects him and only Marie
(Ida Lupino), a weary '30s survivor like himself, remains loyal when cops close
in. Directed with gritty intensity by Raoul Walsh, High Sierra signalled a new
era. Bogart's starmaking performance marked the transition from the
well-defined villainy of gangster films to the existentially grey areas of film
noir.
Director: Raoul Walsh, Written by John Huston, Stars: Ida Lupino, Humphrey
Bogart, Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Joan Leslie.
“A genre crossroads where gangster nostalgia gazes ahead to the antihero
alienation of film noir” CinePassion
“one of the great classic gangster films, continuing the traditions of the
30s (when the gangster film was at its peak) but dabbling with romanticism and
stylized cinematography more characteristic of the film noir genre, which wasn't
quite formed by 1941 but soon would be.” At-A-Glance Film Reviews
“Bogart owns it…Maybe it's because Bogart was different and it took
guys like Huston to see past his looks and see talent. In his eulogy of Bogart
he said, “He is quite irreplaceable, there will never be anybody like him.”
Not unique words but ones that were 100-percent true of Bogart. Talent, camera
presence and some luck made him a movie star. His films are just too good to be
forgotten. High Sierra is a great Bogart movie.” noiroftheweek.com
They Drive By Night (1940)
George Raft and Humphrey Bogart share a driving ambition in They Drive by Night,
a feisty tale of brothers trying to make it as independent truckers. Ann
Sheridan plays a truck-stop waitress dishing both the daily special and the
patter. And Ida Lupino is a headstrong executive mixing business and romance
with murder. With Bogart again riding shotgun en route to leading-man stardom
(which he would achieve the following year) and Raft at the wheel in one of his
best roles, this fine example of Warner Bros. social-conscience filmmaking
(directed by Raoul Walsh) proved a sturdy vehicle for both. It proved even more
fortuitous for Lupino: her courtroom breakdown made her an “overnight”
sensation that landed her a studio contract.
Director: Raoul Walsh, Stars: George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Ida
Lupino, Alan Hale
“a rich plot, a wonderfully bizarre climax, and strong evocation of
workingman blues” avclub.com
“They Drive by Night is an atypical film noir. About the only thing that
would even remotely place it into that category would be the presence of Ida
Lupino as the femme fatale. While murder figures significantly into the plot,
one remembers the picture primarily for the tough road drama it starts out to
be. The struggles of two determined men to beat the odds and make it on their
own. While of course this proves to be their eventual destiny, it happens in a
way neither could expect…They Drive by Night is a taut, exciting – if
dual-plotted trucker drama showcasing the star quartet of George Raft, Ann
Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart.” noiroftheweek.com
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Sam Spade is caught in a frantic search for the jeweled falcon of Malta and his
partner's killer. His pursuit leads him to a group of desperate individuals who
also want the bird.
Director: John Huston, Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter
Lorre
“..among the most important and influential movies to emerge from the
Hollywood system – as significant in some ways as its contemporary, Citizen
Kane.” ReelViews, James Berardinelli
“If ‘The Maltese Falcon’ doesn't qualify as the best private-eye yarn
ever filmed, I don't know what does.” Movie Metropolis
“This is one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful
melodramatic story telling in cinematic form.” Variety
To Have and Have Not (1944)
Help the Free French? Not world-weary gunrunner Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart).
But he changes his mind when a sultry siren-in-distress named Marie asks,
Anybody got a match? That red-hot match is Bogart and 19-year-old first-time
film actress Lauren Bacall. Full of intrigue and racy banter (including
Bacall's legendary whistling instructions), this thriller excites further
interest for what it has and has not. Cannily directed by Howard Hawks and
smartly written by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman, it doesn't have much
similarity to the Ernest Hemingway novel that inspired it. And it strongly
resembles Casablanca: French resistance fighters, a piano-playing bluesman
(Hoagy Carmichael) and a Martinique bar much like Rick's Cafe Americaine. But
first and foremost, it showcases Bogart and Bacall, carrying on with a passion
that smolders from the tips of their cigarettes clear through to their souls.
Director: Howard Hawks, Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan,
Hoagy Carmichael
“The plot's a plugger and the characters are sketchy, but the spoken
words are the music to which Bogart and Bacall fall in love, onscreen and
off.” Onion AV Club
“..an intriguing, romantic..predictable, but entertaining motion
picture. It's also one that holds up surprisingly well over time, as most of
Bogart's films do. It won no major awards, but it has won the hearts of plenty
of filmgoers over the years.” Movie Metropolis
“The scenes between Bogart and Bacall are so dazzlingly about attraction
and sex that they encapsulate the whole magic of movies.” Hollywood
Reporter