We Were Strangers...

I dont usually zero in on one particular film but, oh well, the times they are-a-changin'!

I'm a huge John Garfield fan and I've had this vintage Lobby Card in my collection for about 10 years but never saw this film until tonight! It's quite bleak and grim as hell but John Huston's direction and excellent performances from the entire cast make it a winner! The story deals with the times just before the Cuban revolution circa late 1930's while at the same time weaving in a love story, of course!

Russell Metty contributed some beautiful black and white cinematography to the picture. There were several incredible shots of Jennifer Jones and John Garfield. My only complaint was there was a truly excessive use of rear-screen shots in the outdoor scenes, so much so that even someone like Hithccock might say "Doooon't you think you used toooo many of thooooose?"

The always excellent Gilbert Roland (far left) nearly stole the show from everyone in what I feel might be the best role I've seen him in yet! Pedro Armendariz also excelled as a sickenly corrupt police official. He was truly despicable!

Anyhoo, it was nice to see a "new" classic film and as of now I have only 3 more Garfield films left to see (Daughters Courageous, Under My Skin and Breaking Point) and 2 of them I have on tape here!

There will be a big John Garfield tribute posting here in the near future, so for those that care about such things, stay-tuned!

Bogey - part II

In the words of the immortal John Huston:
"He was endowed with the greatest gift a man can have - talent. The whole world came to recognize it . . . his life, though not a long one measureed in years, was a rich full life . . . We have no reason to feel any sorrow for him - only for ourselves for having lost him. He is quite irreplaceable. There will never be another like him."

well said!!!!

Here's the rest of Bogey's rogues gallery of classic characters with interesting names!

Bogart as Sam Spade along with Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sidney Greenstreet in a scene from John Huston's masterpiece "The Maltese Falcon". One of the best examples of every single aspect of a film coming together and meshing perfectly! There was no looking back for Bogey after this one!

A publicity still of Bogey as "Gloves Donahue" in Warner bros classic "All Through the Night"

Bogey as Sgt Joe Gunn in the superb war film "Sahara", one of my all-time favorite Bogart films and just a damn great movie on every level! I had the good fortune of seeing this for the first time in the theater many years ago as a child and I was totally captivated by the performances, the tank, the desert and the constant feeling of THIRST!!! The only other films I can think of that equal that "thirsty" feeling are the different versions of the "Three Godfathers" and of course Sergio Leone's "The Good the Bad and the Ugly"

Bogey has things well in hand as Rip Murdock in "Dead Reckoning" with Lizabeth Scott. I always thought she was a bit odd as an actress. Nice looking but had such a weird voice!!! Too bad they never put her in a film with Eugene Pallette, Charles McGraw, June Allyson and Krusty the Klown . . . maybe the title coulda been "God, I Need a Cigarette!"

A rather intense picture of Bogey as Fred C. Dobbs in another John Huston masterpiece "Treaure of the Sierra Madre". Arguably the greatest performance of his career and no doubt one of the greatest films ever made! Bogey certainly had incredible co-stars in Walter Huston and Tim Holt, and in fact every single aspect of this film - direction, script, cinematography, music, etc, etc is simply fantastic!

Bogey as screenwriter Dixon Steele in the tense Nicholas Ray drama "In a Lonely Place". This is one of my favorite of Ray's films, offbeat and fascinating like most of his work, and gave Gloria Grahame (Whom i believe was Ray's wife at the time) one of the best roles of her career, which she played to the tee! And Bogey is just a living intensity in this!!!

Here we see Bogart as Charlie Allnut in John Huston's "The African Queen" doing something that Bogart himself loved to do!

Bogey as paranoid Captain 'Yellow Stain' Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny", one of his best later films. A great cast, tense direction by Edward Dmytryk and an unforgettable performance by Bogey make this film an absolute must-see!