Beat the Devil (1953)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

James Helvick (novel)
Truman Capote (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1953 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Adventure at its boldest! Bogart at his best!

Plot:

On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Uranium | Player Piano | Interrogation | Chilean

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Billy Dannreuther
Jennifer Jones	...	Mrs. Gwendolen Chelm
Gina Lollobrigida	...	Maria Dannreuther
Robert Morley	...	Peterson
Peter Lorre	...	Julius O'Hara
Edward Underdown	...	Harry Chelm
Ivor Barnard	...	Maj. Jack Ross
Marco Tulli	...	Ravello
Bernard Lee	...	Insp. Jack Clayton
Mario Perrone	...	Purser on SS Nyanga
Giulio Donnini	...	Administrator
Saro Urzì	...	Captain of SS Nyanga (as Saro Urzi)
Juan de Landa	...	Hispano-Suiza Driver
Aldo Silvani	...	Charles - Restaurant Manager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Gibson

Also Known As:

Il tesoro dell'Africa (Italy)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK | USA | Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Spain:T | Switzerland:14 | UK:U | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Rizzoli-Haggiag

Trivia:

At one point in the film, Ivor Barnard's character is referred as the "galloping major". This is the title of a film from 1951, also made by Romulus Productions, and starring Basil Radford. The Galloping Major (1951) in this other film is a racehorse.

Goofs:

Continuity: Inside the car, Billy has a long lit cigarette in his right hand, but soon after, when he steps down, the cigarette has disappeared.

Quotes:

Ahmed: [to Dannreuther] I believe you must have Arab blood. Westerners are not usually so subtle.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Jack Benny Program: Humphrey Bogart Show (#4.3)" (1953)

Maybe I missed something ... but ...

I watched Beat the Devil last night from a DVD I purchased recently, and frankly I wasn't impressed.

The reason I bought it I suppose was the cast list ... an excellent roll up it is too. But really I did not enjoy the film ... it just didn't seem to get up off the ground at all. Before I knew it, there was what I imagined to be a climax towards the end, then it finished. (Maybe I should watch it a few more times?)

The stars put together for the film seemed to play out their Hollywood stereotypical roles well ... Peter Lorre as the nervous little "illegal alien" type, Robert Morley as the pompous Englishman, etc. I really don't see how Bogart could have been a "sex symbol" in this one? Gina was just gorgeous as always.

I did enjoy the humour of the film though. It was subtle but it was there. Some quite funny moments.

The DVD I have is of a very poor quality. The picture is very scratchy and the sound is bad. (Gina was extremely difficult to understand in some parts.)