High Sierra (1941)

I've decided to start this blog with arguably one of my favorite films of all time and the film that launched arguably my favorite actor into stardom. High Sierra is also considered to be one of the first noir movies and one of the last classic gangster movies.

Bogart Does Not Play Games

The film follows the story of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle, a hard scramble gangster with a famous rep as a bank robber and murderer.  Earle has just been pardoned after a hard eight year stretch in prison by crime boss "Big Mac" to pull a jewelry heist at a palatial resort and playground for the rich. Earle through his noir leading man luck is saddled with a beautiful woman from the wrong side of the tracks, two rookie "jitterbugs," a nervous inside man who talks too much, and a cursed dog. Unfortunately the job gets botched when Earle has to grease a cop who accidentally walks into the middle of the job. There's also a side plot involving Earle getting mixed up with a farmer's family and their handicapped daughter.

This film is a typical Warner Bros. assembly line gangster movie featuring the bad guy, the bad guy's rise, the bad guy's love story, and then the bad guy's fall. However High Sierra is a classic because it features Bogart in his first leading role in the persona as the strong cynical silent tough guy that would make him a silver screen legend. The real joy of this film is watching Bogart effortlessly own the screen and watching his brooding emotions explode.  Bogart was originally Warner Bros. third choice behind Paul Muni and George Raft. However thanks to Bogart's perseverance and some smooth talk on Raft, Bogart was able to win the part. This film was the beginning of perhaps the finest year in cinema for an actor, as legendary Bogart films The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca were released the same year.

Lupino and Bogart

The film also features a sizzling performance from Ida Lupino, who was the very definition of sleazy sex appeal in the 40s. Lupino plays Marie Garson a wayward taxi dancer who gets saddled with the two rookie jitterbug thiefs as a way out of her troubled life. Lupino is incredible in this film displaying a depth and dimension not often seen from female roles of that time. Ida Lupino strangely enough was also given top billing in this film (look at the Amazon ads at the bottom of this post) as Warner Bros. thought she was a bigger star at the time based on her success in They Drive By Night (1940) which came out the previous year. Lupino is one of the most unheralded women in the golden age of Hollywood. Turning in some of the best and most complex performances of her era. Lupino was also one of the first female directors in Hollywood (she was incredible at directing tension. Check out The Hitch-Hiker if you get a chance) and later worked in television.

This film also marked the first collaboration between legendary screen pairing Director/Screenwriter John Huston and Humphrey Bogart. John Huston adapted the screenplay from
W.R. Burnett's novel and was on set to help Bogart with his character where the two became friends. This notable relationship would turn in such classic films as The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Siera Madre, Key Largo, and The African Queen.

High Sierra was directed by Raoul Walsh, a legendary filmmaker with such credits as The Roaring Twenties, White Heat, and They Died With Their Boots On. Walsh was known for his gritty and masculine films but also had a stark poetic tone to his pictures. High Sierra may be one of his finest artistic works and statements. Walsh demanded to film this picture on location in the Sierra mountains, something that was unheard of at the time. The result is a beautiful and haunting film that keeps a constant beat.

High Sierra is a great work in the art of cinema. This film could have been a forgotten cookie cutter if not for the powerful performances of Bogart and Lupino and the poetic and gritty styles of Huston and Walsh. This film stands as a terrific movie for a rainy afternoon or just a good popcorn flick. This film also has one of the most memorable endings in classic movies.

             

Next Movie: 

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)