Ebert likes it. It's in 1001 Movies To See Before You Die.
Yet I rather detested it.
'Beat The Devil' has a complicated jumble of a plot that really never gets off the ground or involves the viewer. Bogart does some nice work in a mess of a film but you can tell his heart is not really in it. Peter Lorre and Robert Morley are quite good in support. Jennifer Jones has an interesting role as Gwendolen Chenn, and wears a blonde wig (and looks remarkably like Vivien Leigh in 'A Streetcar Named Desire', it has to be said).
There are a few choice pieces of dialogue, with Jones getting some good lines, yet this is an uneven mess. I don't even want to go into that much detail about it (and I'm a pretty keen and wordy reviewer) because I just can't be bothered. I love classics, Jones and Bogart, yet I hate this film.
Yet I rather detested it.
'Beat The Devil' has a complicated jumble of a plot that really never gets off the ground or involves the viewer. Bogart does some nice work in a mess of a film but you can tell his heart is not really in it. Peter Lorre and Robert Morley are quite good in support. Jennifer Jones has an interesting role as Gwendolen Chenn, and wears a blonde wig (and looks remarkably like Vivien Leigh in 'A Streetcar Named Desire', it has to be said).
There are a few choice pieces of dialogue, with Jones getting some good lines, yet this is an uneven mess. I don't even want to go into that much detail about it (and I'm a pretty keen and wordy reviewer) because I just can't be bothered. I love classics, Jones and Bogart, yet I hate this film.