For such a talented group of people who participated in creating Beat the Devil you would think they could have come up with a much better product.
Truman Capote's script was witty and Humphrey Bogart did deadpan some of those lines effectively. But the production values were so shoddy I could hardly believe John Huston put his name to it. Mind you, his two previous films before this were The African Queen and Moulin Rouge and both of them had superb cinematography.
Maybe part of the reason that Beat the Devil has become a cult item is that it looks like something shot with a Kodak. A lot of the bad horror films that became cult items have the same look to it.
Bits of The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca get spoofed here, but not well. Robert Morley is somewhat amusing in his recreation of Sidney Greenstreet. Gina Lollabrigida is quite sexy, hefting those two weapons of mass destruction around.
Actually my favorites here are Jennifer Jones and Edward Underdown the pretentious English couple whose pretensions nearly do them all in. Still it's not enough.
In fact I'm amazed that David O. Selznick who was known for interfering in all of his wife films allowed her to even do this one. Didn't help her's or anyone else's career.
I'm sure the cast was grateful for a Mediterranean location and a tax write-off for Bogart's Santana productions. Bogart himself thought little of the film and who am I to argue with Bogey.
Truman Capote's script was witty and Humphrey Bogart did deadpan some of those lines effectively. But the production values were so shoddy I could hardly believe John Huston put his name to it. Mind you, his two previous films before this were The African Queen and Moulin Rouge and both of them had superb cinematography.
Maybe part of the reason that Beat the Devil has become a cult item is that it looks like something shot with a Kodak. A lot of the bad horror films that became cult items have the same look to it.
Bits of The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca get spoofed here, but not well. Robert Morley is somewhat amusing in his recreation of Sidney Greenstreet. Gina Lollabrigida is quite sexy, hefting those two weapons of mass destruction around.
Actually my favorites here are Jennifer Jones and Edward Underdown the pretentious English couple whose pretensions nearly do them all in. Still it's not enough.
In fact I'm amazed that David O. Selznick who was known for interfering in all of his wife films allowed her to even do this one. Didn't help her's or anyone else's career.
I'm sure the cast was grateful for a Mediterranean location and a tax write-off for Bogart's Santana productions. Bogart himself thought little of the film and who am I to argue with Bogey.