Crime does not pay…or does it? Maybe not for the criminals who commit crimes, but for Hollywood, it pays big time and has done so ever since the dawn of the motion picture. That is because movies and television shows whose stories are centered on crime draw and have drawn countless audiences for that century-plus time period. From Warner Bros.’ 1931 Jimmy Cagne classic The Public Enemy to CBS’ timeless courtroom classic, Perry Mason, which aired on CBS from 1957 – 1966, to so many movies in the 1990s based on author John Grisham’s novels, to so much more, crime has drawn so many audiences. There are even so many news magazine shows, such as 48 Hours, The First 48, Dateline, and 20/20 that continue to portray nothing but crime. So again, despite what the old adage states, crime clearly does pay. This past Friday, Arrow Video released yet another of that endless sea of crime stories that have drawn in audiences for ages in the form of a re-issue of The Desperate Hours. Originally having made its theatrical debut in October 1955 through Paramount Pictures, it is not one of star Humphrey Bogart’s most famous movies but is still worth watching for any fan of the crime drama/thriller realm. That is due in no small part to its featured story, which will be examined shortly. As much as the story is sure to keep audiences engaged, the story’s pacing does prove rather problematic throughout its nearly two-hour run. This will be addressed a little later. Knowing that while the pacing is clearly problematic but not enough to completely doom the movie, there is one more positive to address. It comes in the form of the movie’s bonus content, which will also be addressed later. Each item noted here is important in its own right to the whole of the presentation. All things considered they make the movie’s re-issue a work that any crime and classic film movie fan will appreciate.
Arrow Video’s new re-issue of Paramount Pictures’ 1955 crime thriller, The Desperate Hours, is a successful new presentation of the classic Humphrey Bogart-led movie. It is a presentation that audiences who are familiar with the movie and those who maybe have never seen the movie before will appreciate. That is due in part to its story. The story is simple: It follows Bogart, who plays escaped convict Glenn Griffin, his brother Hal Griffin (Dewey Martin – The Thing From Another World, The Big Sky, Land of the Pharaohs), and fellow escaped con Sam Kobish (Robert Middleton – The Court Jester, The Big Combo, A Big Hand For The Little Lady) as they take the Hilliard family hostage in the family’s own home. The trio holds the family hostage as they wait for Glenn’s unnamed girlfriend to bring money for the guys’ flight from the law. As the hours pass (thus the story’s title, The Desperate HOURS), things start to get increasingly tense and desperate among the trio of criminals. The outcome will be saved for audiences to discover for themselves but it is a fitting finale for the nearly two-hour movie.
The Desperate Hours is not the first movie of its kind, having debuted a little more than a year after Libra Productions debuted its own home invasion story, Suddenly. That movie starred another rather big name, none other than old blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. And just like Bogart starred as a villain in The Desperate Hours, so did Sinatra star as his own villainous figure in Suddenly. In the case of that movie, Sinatra took a family hostage in its own home as he planned the assassination of the president. The very plot made the movie decidedly controversial and ultimately one of Sinatra’s lesser-known works. It actually was re-issued most recently in December 2012 on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment. Getting back to Bogart’s work, The Desperate Hours is also not the first to feature “Boagie” as a gangster/bad guy figure. He also took on the villain role in movies, such as Key Largo (1948), High Sierra (1941) and The Petrified Forest (1936). The thing is that even though Bogart took on the bad guy role in those movies, his persona in each movie was totally different, and this is no different from those cases. His character is totally different from those other characters and his portrayal thereof is just as engaging and entertaining.
As much as the movie’s story will engage and entertain audiences, the story’s pacing proves a bit more problematic. The movie’s run time clocks in at an hour and 52 minutes, but throughout the course of that run time, the story is constant in how much it picks up and slows down. That nonstop variance in the story’s progression is a necessary evil but still does detract from the story’s ability to keep viewers engaged. It makes that nearly two-hour run time feel more like a nearly three hour run time because the story gets so dragged out. It is not enough to doom the movie but does ultimately prove problematic for the presentation.
Knowing that the story’s problematic pacing is not enough to doom the movie’s overall presentation, there is still one more positive to note here. That remaining positive is the bonus content that accompanies the movie in its new re-issue. The most notable of the movie’s bonuses is the expansive discussion from Josa Arroyo, Associate Professor in Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick. Dubbed “Trouble in Suburbia,” Arroyo’s discussion is a master class in film production and theory. Throughout the course of his commentary, Arroyo highlights the connection between the movie’s set and camera angles, and how all of that ties into specific aspects of the story, such as how the angles change on Bogart as he begins to lose control of not only his own group of cons but also of the family that he had controlled through much of the story. He points out that as Bogart loses control, so does his seeming stature on camera. That actually is true. The cameras begin to make him look shorter (smaller) than the other characters. It is a really interesting aspect that viewers definitely would not have caught without his note thereof. In another aspect, he points out how the house’s two-story set was used to help heighten the tension in given scenes, too. He really shows some interesting insight into these elements.
On another note, Arroyo also reveals that star Fredric March, who played the Hilliard patriarch Daniel was in fact not the first choice for the role, but in fact that a much bigger name – Spencer Tracy – was the first choice. As Arroyo points out, an ego clash between Tracy and Bogart over which star would get top billing led Tracy to leave the movie and be replaced by March. Director William Wyler’s daughter confirms this information in her own bonus feature that is just as worth taking in. She points out in her commentary that her father was in fact quite disappointed by what happened because he really had wanted to work with Tracy.
Getting back to Arroyo, he also reveals that when the rights to author Joseph Hayes’ book, on which the movie is based, were put to bid, Bogart had his own production company at the time and had actually put in a bid for the movie rights but had lost out to Wyler and Paramount. Arroyo points out Bogart had bid for the rights because he had wanted the role of Glenn Griffin so much, this even though Glenn was played by the much younger Paul Newman on stage opposite the much older Karl Maldin.
Speaking of the change in the movie’s two male leads from the stage to screen, Eloise Ross, co-curator of the Melbourne Cinematheque, notes how the change led to a much different dynamic between Glenn and Daniel in the screen rendition of Hayes’ story. In listening to Ross’ discussion thereof, viewers really do take in a different view of things here. When there is a much younger criminal holding an older man and his family hostage it is much different from when an older, more hardened, bitter man is doing the same, especially as his control of the family lessens. It changes who that antagonist is and makes for its own interest in the story.
What’s more, as he loses control of his own brother and fellow con, things change just as much, making for a unique emotional impact therein, too. Ross, like Arroyo and Wyler notes that while Haye’s novel was a hit (and so was its stage adaptation) the movie did receive positive reviews in its original run but never became a major hit for Bogart and Paramount. This even as it was the penultimate offering from Bogart in his decades long career. It would be interesting to learn exactly what led it to not be more popular and memorable than it was. It could very well be because of the movies it competed with that year. Disney released its animated classic Lady and the Tramp that year while other major hits, such as To Catch a Thief, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Guys and Dolls all were released the same year. Needless to say that is a lot of heavy competition, along with a handful of now well-known science fiction flicks and even a pair of comedies from none other than Abbott & Costello. Keeping that in mind, odds are this was why it has gone on to be one of Bogart’s lesser-remembered entries. Now though, it may well get new life and recognition thanks to Arrow Video.
Arrow Video’s newly released re-issue of Paramount Pictures’ 1955 home invasion story The Desperate Hours is a largely successful presentation that crime fans and of star Humphrey Bogart are sure to find engaging and entertaining. The re-issue’s success comes in large part through its featured story, which while it does suffer greatly from its pacing, is still gripping. That is because it is actually quite believable, as home invasions do happen in reality. The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its new re-issue adds a whole level of depth that is certain to keep viewers engaged and entertained in its own right. When that engagement and entertainment is considered with the gripping tale at the story’s heart, the whole proves to be a presentation that is among the best of this year’s new movie and TV re-issues.
The Desperate Hours is available now on Blu-ray. More information on this and other titles from Arrow Video is available at:
Website: http://www.arrowfilms.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArrowFilmsVideo
