Beat the Devil (1954)

Fantastic!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

The fabled John Huston directs this Truman Capote screenplay. Billy Dannreuther(Humphrey) is part of a group of international crooks--Peterson(Robert Morely, Julius O'Hara(Peter Lorre) and Ravello(Marco Tulli) that are stranded in Italy trying to catch a steamer to Africa. Billy's wife Maria(Gina Lollobrigida),starving for romance, is a bit uneasy when her husband meets Gwendolen Chelm(Jennifer Jones), the feminine half of a British couple waiting for the same steamer being repaired. Counting Mr.Chelm(Edward Underdown), there are now seven people ready to set sail to Africa, all conjuring a scheme to beat each other to lay claim on land that is rich in uranium.BEAT THE DEVIL didn't start out well with critics and viewers, but looking back some think this black comedy to be the epitome of a 1950's spy-spoof. For some strange reason, my favorite sequence is the evacuation of the sinking boat. Why didn't Miss Lollobrigida get more screen time? Bogart was effortless.Other players: Bernard Lee, Saro Urzi, Ivor Bernard and Mario Perrone.

Billy Dannreuther is working for a group of crooks; they are planning to sail from Italy then head to British East Africa where they intend to acquire land which they believe contains uranium. Their boat is delayed and while they are stuck in Italy Billy becomes friendly with Mrs. Gwendolen Chelm who, with her husband, are also heading to Africa; apparently to grow coffee. Gwen is an unusual character; constantly making up stories to make life more interesting; at one point she suggests that Billy and his associates are doctors planning to carry out immoral experiments on the unsuspecting natives. More dangerously she tells Billy that her husband is intending to get involved in the uranium business; this comment is overheard by one of the gang and soon they see the Chelms as a threat to their scheme; a threat that might need to be dealt with. As well as the drama there is also romance as Billy and Gwen grow closer while simultaneously Billy's wife, Maria forms a relationship to Mr Chelms.If one watches this film hoping for a gritty film noir you will be sorely disappointed but if you are happy with something lighter you may really enjoy this. Having read other reviews I went in with fairly low expectations but found myself having a good time. There are plenty of laughs to be had; many but not all provided by Gwen's stories/theories. The cast do a fairly solid job; Humphrey Bogart is a good lead even if this is nowhere near his best film and Jennifer Jones is a lot of fun as Gwen. The supporting cast, which includes Peter Lorre, Robert Morley and Gina Lollobrigida are entertaining and amusing too. The characters are nicely varied; the bumptious gang leader, the man who thinks the world is a worse place because Hitler and Mussolini are no more and the drunken sea captain to mention just three. Overall I'd say that while the film is a bit messy it is a lot of fun with far more laughs than I'd expected.

A very pleasing JOHN HUSTON directed movie, back when great actors and dialog were the real special effects. The cast is stellar and wonderfully over the top - a cornucopia of various European accents. Ivor Barnard is particularly hilarious.Humphrey Bogart looked slightly jaded. His character wasn't too well etched. And the film isn't very cleverly put together and they seemed to be working on a low budget - most of the scenes have been shot indoors.But even then, it was a pleasure to watch. The dialog by Truman Capote is hilarious (we are at sea in more ways than one :) ) and politically incorrect.

This is a film that has be described as a " thriller , " a " comedy " A "romance " a " drama " and an " adventure " . In other words it has elements of being a cross genre movie . The cross genre movie was very popular in the 1980s when you'd get the likes of AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN and TOP GUN where the girls would flock to the cinema to swoon all over the hunky male star and get caught up in the on screen romance while boys would get involved in the macho culture of the military drama . In other words there's two distinct genres to the movie .Watching BEAT THE DEVIL you're aware there's no real distinct elements to the story There is indeed different elements at play here from a screenplay by Truman Capote but comes across as being very uneasy with itself as characters discuss love , fascism and other aspects of the human condition . This existentialist discussion might work very much better in a French New Wave movie but jars in a film that resembles a British B movie despite the exotic locations . For some reason everything has a dullness to it that one would never expect from HustonThis is a film that seems more easier to market down to the casting rather than the storytelling . Humphrey Bogart was of course a screen legend but he seems to lack his usual charisma . People on this page have commentated that he looks ill and certainly you get the impression that his heart isn't in this movie . Indeed everyone involved has been much better in almost everything they've done and explains why BEAT THE DEVIL is relatively obscure when you think of the talent behind and in front of the screen