High Sierra

Year: 1941

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Walsh

Review

my favorite part of this bogart gangster film is the relationships it creates. there’s the relationship between bogart and his boss which doesn’t get much screen time, but is strong and complex nonetheless; there’s the relationship with the crippled girl and her father whom he meets on the road; there’s the relationship between bogart and lupino; and there’s even a nice touch with bogart and a homeless dog. if you haven’t seen the movie then all that might come off as a recipe for a hokey, dated picture, but it is actually well-executed and not at all corny. one reason things are able to work across such a diversity of feelings and moods is bogart’s performance. he’s able to shift gears from tough guy gangster to heart-warming nice guy with a blink; and it’s always believable. the chase sequence was well directed, and the rest of the picture seemed to played straight-ahead. a solid picture that had some nice touches, but seems most notable for the fact that it launched bogart as a leading man.