CONNECTION TO PREVIOUS ENTRY: Humphrey Bogart
SOURCE: Personal Collection: Warner Bros Bogart & Bacall: The Complete Collection Blu Ray
STARRING: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead
CO-STARS: Bruce Bennett, Tom D’Andrea
DIRECTOR: Delmer Daves
COMPOSER: Franz Waxman
STUDIO: Warner Brothers
SUMMARY: The film opens with Vincent Parry (Bogart) escaping from the notorious San Quentin prison where he was incarcerated after being convicted of killing his wife. The entire first half of the film is shown from Vincent’s perspective as he hitches a ride with a motorist. The motorist begins to ask nosy questions about Vincent and his appearance and then a report is heard over the radio regarding the escaped prisoner from San Quentin. Before the motorist has a chance to turn him in, Vincent knocks him unconscious and runs. He is soon picked up by Irene Jansen (Bacall), a young woman who supposedly was out painting. She helps smuggle him past a police barricade and allows him to hide out at her apartment. Irene explains to Vincent that she knows who she is, as she took an interest in his case during the trial. Her own father was falsely convicted of murder and she feels that the same thing has happened to Vincent. She and Vincent also have a mutual acquaintance, Madge Rapf (Moorehead) who happens to show up while he’s at Irene’s apartment. Madge as it turns out was romantically interested in Vincent, but he spurned her advances. Out of spite, she delivered the testimony at his trial that led to his conviction. With Irene’s assistance, Vincent receives new clothing and a new name to help hide him from the police. While out in San Francisco, he becomes acquainted with a cab driver (D’Andrea) who easily identifies him as the escaped convict, but helps connect him with a disgraced plastic surgeon with whom he’s acquainted. With an entirely new look, Vincent is transformed into Humphrey Bogart and he continues to try and evade the police (and Madge) until he can carry out his escape to another country. Bruce Bennett also stars as Bob, a sometimes date for Irene who detests Madge.
FAVORITE PART(S):
1) The use of the first person perspective for the first half of the film. It was a unique idea and I think it works well–much better than in “Lady in the Lake.” The latter film tried to use this gimmick the entire film and I think it’s less effective.
2) Irene’s amazing San Francisco apartment with the spiral staircase.
3) The amount of loathing that Madge has for Vincent. This woman is so mad that he turned her down, that she’s willing to commit suicide just to screw him over. Yes, she jumped out of that window on purpose. Despite the dialogue, I don’t buy that being an accident at all. Suicide as a means to get away with murder is not allowed in the production code.
4) The fact that the nosy motorist is able to run Irene’s license plate and not only obtain her name and address from the DMV, he’s even able to find out her net worth. Why does the DMV have this information?
5) The back alley plastic surgeon. On the advice of a random cab driver, Vincent receives facial plastic surgery at 3AM from a doctor who lost his license. That whole scene is so delightfully weird and creepy.
6) The weird dialogue between the police officer and Vincent, now “Alan Linnell.” The police officer asks him where he’s from. He says Portland (Oregon). The police officer says “it rains a lot in Portland, where’s your overcoat?” Vincent isn’t in Portland, he’s in San Francisco! Why would he need to carry around an overcoat in another city, because he’s from a city where it rains a lot? It doesn’t make any sense.
7) The fact that the photo of Vincent Parry in the newspaper pre-surgery (obviously) looks absolutely nothing like Humphrey Bogart. That plastic surgeon did a great job.
8) I love the ending. Sometimes happy endings in noir can feel phony and contrived, but it feels completely genuine in this film. I attribute that to the amazing chemistry between the two (married in real life) leads.
BEST QUOTE(S):
VINCENT to IRENE: I’m glad you provided a towel big enough to cover my embarrassment. (LOL)
BOB to MADGE: Why don’t you leave people alone? You’re not satisfied unless you bother people. Either’s it’s your family or your friends, people you don’t know…No feelings for you. No feeling at all, except I’m annoyed whenever I see you. (LOL)
BAKER (the motorist): I got the license number. I always had a good head for figures.
VINCENT: My only interest in your head is how easy it’ll crack open.
CAB DRIVER: A couple weeks ago I picked up a dame in my cab, she musta had her face lifted by one of them quacks. She got caught in the rain, and the whole thing dropped down to here. She shoulda left it unlifted.
MADGE to VINCENT: I’ve cried myself to sleep at night because of you. She’s got you now. She wants you very badly doesn’t she? She’s willing to run away with you and keep on running and ruin everything for herself. But she wouldn’t care because she’d be with you and that’s what she wants. Well she doesn’t have you now. She’ll never have you. Nobody will ever have you! And that’s the way I want it! You’re nothing but an escaped convict. Nobody knows what you wrote down. They’ll believe me! They’ll believe me!