High Sierra (1941)

Warning: Spoilers

At the beginning of High Sierra, Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) is released from an Indiana prison after an eight year stint for armed robbery, and the first thing he wants to do is take a walk in the park, this serves to instantly makes him interesting/sympathetic. Earle's unexpected, and politically unpopular pardon by the Governor, has been engineered by his old associate Big Mac (Donald MacBridge), who wants his assistance in a planed jewelry heist from a palm beach type resort in, you guessed it, the High Sierra's. Earle's mid-west contact is Jack Krammer (Barton MacLane), a crooked former cop, who supplies him a car and sends him off to California to meet with Mac. On his way west Earle saves a family of dispossessed Ohio farmers from having a car accident. Pa, the patriarch of the clan (Henry Travers), takes an instant liking to Earle, who takes an instant liking to Pa's attractive by club footed grand daughter Velma (Joan Leslie). They part company and Earle makes it to the KOA type mountain retreat where he is too meet the fellow hoods with whom he is to preform the robbery. The inexperienced hoods Babe (Alan Curtis) and Red (Arthur Kennedy) have brought along with them a girl (top billed Ida Lupino), whom they had picked up a L.A. dime a dance joint. Earle is none to pleased by Marie's presence, but eventually agrees to let her stay, and she develops a fancy for him.

Earle goes down to L.A. to meet with Mac and on his way bumps into Pa and clan again. He saves them from getting fined for a fender bender, and now Pa is more impressed with him then ever ('there's no better man'), and they promise to keep in touch. Earle meets with Mac, who is sick and dying, and also with Doc Banton (Henry Hull), their old underground surgeon. Earle asks Banton if Velma's club foot can be healed, he agrees to see her, determins it can, and recommends a good 'legitment' surgeon who can do the job. Earle insists on paying for the surgery, hoping that Velma will agree to marry him in gratitude, though Pa informs him the girl has a some what slimmy bue back in Ohio. The surgery is a success, and though Velma is grateful she can't agree to marry him because "But I don't love him, Pa."

This state of affairs suits Marie just fine, and as a more appropriate mate for Earle the two pair up. The robbery of course goes awry and their inside man (Cornel Wilde) spills the beans. Red and Babe end up dead, and Earle and Velma on the lamb. Earle goes to see Mac, whose died, and Krammer, fresh from the mid-west, tries to take the jewels, Earle kills him. The film ends with a final confrontation between Earle and the police as he hides out in the rocky High Sierra's. Marie is there too see the man she loves gunned down.

Generally credited as the film that made him a star (before this he played mostly hevy's), Bogart here plays the first of the 'good bad men', that after detective roles (and people slowly going mad) would become his stock and trade. Though Lupino's first billed the film is really built around Bogart, who takes a so-so part and just makes you want to watch him. He would play better parts, and though really not a great actor, Bogart had his Bogartness, meaning a distinctive presence, something that was really requierd to be a star back then. A bit of a patchwork film, with varying modes and styles and a slow pace, its good though not great, but goods all it takes to make a satisfying feature, which this movie defiantly is.

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