Jennifer Jones and Bogie
 | Written and directed by frequent Bogart collaborator John Huston, co-written by the now
legendary Truman Capote, and reportedly ad libbed by several of the cast. Filmed in Italy and financed
by Bogie's own Santana production company. On its release the film was a flop at the box office but has
since become a cult classic.
Beat the Devil is an interesting little film which takes many of the themes Bogie and Huston were most
famous for (think Maltese Falcon) and adds a fun quirky comedic touch to them, most of which lies in
the constantly humorous dialogue. For instance, an early scene which sets the tone of the film has straight-laced
characters Gwendolyn and Harry Chelm (played by Jennifer Jones and Edward Underdown) walking along an
Italian street when four seedy looking men (Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Ivor Barnard and Marco Tulli) go rushing past in the
opposite direction. Gwendolyn looks at her husband and says, "Harry we must beware of those men.
They're desperate characters." "What makes you say that?" asks Harry. "Not one of them looked at my legs."
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Basically, once Beat The Devil gets going, you don't pay too much attention to the plot, but rather are
drawn into the wonderful characterizations and relationship dynamics between the characters. But for the record, here's the basic plot: Husband and wife team
Billy and Maria Dannreuther (played by Bogie and the beautiful Gina Lollobrigida) were once a wealthy couple, but somewhere along the line
something went wrong, and having lost their fortune they have now compromised their standards and are hooked up
with four seedy criminals (Morley, Lorre, Barnard and Tulli) in a scheme to obtain Uranium rich land in Africa,
which they hope can return their lost millions and their lost lifestyle. Along the way Billy befriends the earlier
mentioned Gwendolyn and Harry and they too become involved in the scheme. As potentially dramatic as that seems,
not a lot actually happens (most of the story focuses on the interaction between the characters), but rest assured
there is a bit of excitement and danger, some mysterious elements that keep you guessing and a few surprise twists. |
