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Beat the Devil

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
11K
YOUR RATING
Beat the Devil (1953)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:58
1 Video
99+ Photos
Dark ComedyActionAdventureComedyCrimeDramaRomance

On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...

  • Director
    • John Huston
  • Writers
    • Claud Cockburn
    • Truman Capote
    • John Huston
  • Stars
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • Jennifer Jones
    • Gina Lollobrigida
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    11K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Huston
    • Writers
      • Claud Cockburn
      • Truman Capote
      • John Huston
    • Stars
      • Humphrey Bogart
      • Jennifer Jones
      • Gina Lollobrigida
    • 160User reviews
    • 70Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Videos1

    Beat the Devil
    Trailer 1:58
    Beat the Devil

    Photos139

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    Top cast20

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    Humphrey Bogart
    Humphrey Bogart
    • Billy Dannreuther
    Jennifer Jones
    Jennifer Jones
    • Gwendolen Chelm
    Gina Lollobrigida
    Gina Lollobrigida
    • Maria Dannreuther
    Robert Morley
    Robert Morley
    • Peterson
    Peter Lorre
    Peter Lorre
    • Julius O'Hara
    Edward Underdown
    Edward Underdown
    • Harry Chelm
    Ivor Barnard
    Ivor Barnard
    • Maj. Jack Ross
    Marco Tulli
    Marco Tulli
    • Ravello
    Bernard Lee
    Bernard Lee
    • Insp. Jack Clayton
    Mario Perrone
    Mario Perrone
    • Purser on SS Nyanga
    Giulio Donnini
    • Administrator
    Saro Urzì
    Saro Urzì
    • Captain of SS Nyanga
    • (as Saro Urzi)
    Juan de Landa
    Juan de Landa
    • Hispano-Suiza Driver
    Aldo Silvani
    Aldo Silvani
    • Charles
    Dave Crowley
      Julie Gibson
      Julie Gibson
        Alex Pochet
        • Hotel Manager
        • (uncredited)
        Mimmo Poli
        Mimmo Poli
        • Barman
        • (uncredited)
        • Director
          • John Huston
        • Writers
          • Claud Cockburn
          • Truman Capote
          • John Huston
        • All cast & crew
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

        User reviews160

        6.411.1K
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        Featured reviews

        8secondtake

        It's a little on the silly side of insane, but what a trip. A serious bit of fun.

        Beat the Devil (1953)

        A riotous, imperfect, silly, brazen, forward thinking, throwaway, brilliant spoof.

        For starters, you know something will happen with Huston directing Bogart. And throw in an aging bulging Peter Lorre as a German named O'Hara. O'Hara comes into a room and says to Bogart, playing a disaffected American, "Why do you always make jokes about my name, huh? In Chile the name of O'Hara is, is a tip top name. Many Germans in Chile have become to be called O'Hara."

        And so there is a dig at a lot of stereotypes, most of them with shades of truth. The style of the film is not film noir, as many people say, but more just an intrigue or war time spy film. The most direct connection seems to be Huston's own Maltese Falcon, but even this is based on Bogart and Lorre appearing in both films (as well as a fun appearance in Beat the Devil by Robert Morely doing a kind of less pleasant Sidney Greenstreet).

        I sensed a lot of direct influence from Lady from Shanghai, an overlooked and frankly brilliant and daring Orson Welles film from a few years earlier. Check out the slightly surreal plot, the strange sequences of locations (land, boat, land, with an exotic overture in the middle), and the characters themselves, including Jennifer Jones as a kind of decorative female not unlike Rita Hayworth in Shanghai. There is even a man-to-man discussion of Heyworth in Beat the Devil between Bogart and a unlikely Muslim captor in a generally hilarious scene.

        The film is flawed by its own excesses at times, and by a kind of frivolousness that Welles, for one, avoided by making his film's excesses more formal and less literary. Huston, like Bogart, was literate by nature, as a lot of heavy drinking men were in those days, and the dialog, as brilliant as it is (and shepherded along by Huston and Truman Capote in tandem), isn't always in synch with the acting, and with the flow of events. So if we don't really expect anything from the plot, per se, knowing it's all just in fun, we come to expect more from the series of remarks, the twists of fate, and the yawning expectations of an audience used to very high quality writing and acting by 1953.

        I know some people who just can't finish watching this because it strikes them as phony and childish. Bogart might agree--he lost money on the production. But there are some great moments, and an ongoing repartee that works well, or works superbly, at different moments. I'd cash out a couple of actors for others more idiosyncratic, I think. But no one asked me, I know. Watch it for what it is. And check out Lady from Shanghai and see if you see what I mean.
        7alfiefamily

        Very good off beat comedy, beware of bad prints.

        "Beat The Devil" is one of Bogart's more unusual films. Scripted by none other than Truman Capote and John Huston, it is a very entertaining, offbeat noir satire (quite a description). Upon first viewing a lot of the humor may get lost, but view it a second time, and you can not help but laugh out loud at many of the jokes.

        The cast is absolutely top notch. Bogart is perfect as Billy Dannreuther, a man who has a friend that will line him and his associates up with some land in Africa that is rich with uranium. It's always nice to see Bogie prove that he had a great sense of humor, and didn't mind poking fun at himself. Jennifer Jones, who, for some reason, always reminded me of Vivien Leigh (in "Streetcar")in this picture is terrific as Mrs. Chelm. But it is Robert Morley who steals the picture for me. Sometimes menacing, sometimes charming, he is a delight to watch.

        Huston and Capote have done a great job of blending the different genres without letting them get all caught up in each other. I do wish that the final scene was written a little better, but the movie is still a lot of fun.

        Caution - because the film was allowed to enter the public domain, there are a lot of really lousy prints out on the market, even on DVD. If you want this film for your own collection, do yourself a favor and spend a couple of extra dollars and buy a good print.

        7 out of 10
        7Nazi_Fighter_David

        Bogart himself called it a "mess."

        The plot, if you can call it that, concerned a group of six stranded adventurers in an Italian port whose plan is to buy up some East African land that supposed1y contains uranium… Double-crossing quickly becomes the name of the game as Bogart and his fellow conspirators (including Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Gina Lollobrigida, and a seemingly endless parade of bizarre characters) outdo each other in inspired crazy way…

        Bogart, trying desperately to maintain his composure, delivered such priceless lines as: 'I'm only in on this because the doctor told me I needed plenty of money. Without money I become dull, listless, and have trouble with my complexion." But his lines weren't the only offbeat ones… In a room where he's being questioned after being captured, while a firing squad goes about its routine work outside, he is asked straight-faced, "Now tell me, do you really know Rita Hayworth?"

        The film is one of those rare items that viewers either seem to love or hate, no middle ground accepted… and declared that only the "phonies" thought it was really funny… Many reviewers thought the whole thing was a tasteless joke and decried the waste of time, talent, and money…

        In any case, Bogart gave an immensely satisfying performance in his tongue-in-cheek role and the film itself has now become a regular attraction in Bogart film retrospectives… It is also an excellent example of how much Bogart had matured as an actor, since it is not easy to overcome apparently inept material and still give a performance with some meaning and substance
        6blanche-2

        Odd...I call it odd

        The above is a line from "Black Widow" that I've always liked. I guess it was called to mind because "Beat the Devil" is a black comedy. Well, it's an odd comedy anyway.

        The 1953 film had absolutely everything going for it, including Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollabrigida, Peter Lorre, Robert Morley, directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Truman Capote. What more could you ask for? I don't know, but something.

        The story concerns crooks stuck in Italy while they wait for a steamer to be repaired that is to take them to Africa. There, they will buy land that has uranium on it, though no one knows that. They're allegedly selling vacuum cleaners.

        Also traveling on this steamer are a British woman (Jones) and her husband. He supposedly is landed gentry in England, but is he? The crooks wonder what he's up to, and the wife keeps changing her story.

        There is a lot of humor to be had in this film - the situation is funny, the denouement is wonderful, there is some witty dialogue and there are clever situations that go on during the film that are amusing. The problem is that nobody cares.

        The film, which looks like it cost about a dollar to make, is too disjointed, and there are long sections where nothing interesting happens.

        One of the posters, who really liked the film, commented that people don't like it because the actors aren't going for laughs. Well, I'm not one of those people. Acting 101 says you don't go for laughs - you play the situation and the characters for real and the laughs happen. That doesn't mean, however, that you pace it like it's Long Days Journey.

        Bogart had wonderful timing no matter what, and it's evident here, particularly in the car scene on the way to the restaurant, where the character's glibness is apparent. The problem isn't in any person, it's in the direction. I don't believe Huston had a sense of comedy. He could be brilliant, but this was not his thing.

        Still, "Beat the Devil" is worth seeing, but it's hard to keep your attention on it.
        7panchro-press

        Not your grandfather's Bogart nor Jones picture

        The other comments from reviewers capture the plot. I won't add mine.

        'Beat The Devil' has got to be the most edgy movie Bogart or Jones ever attempted. Jones performance is a revaluation in her range of talent. Actually, considering 'Portrait of Jenny', 'Love Letters', and 'Song Of Bernadette' a startling revelation. In 'Beat The Devil' she more than matches Morley and Lorre in comedic brilliance. Very few actors could play a saint and a complete ditz with precision and believability.

        Bogart was no slouch in comedy e.g. 'All Through The Night' and 'We're No Angels' may have called this movie, 'A mess', but it is a fine mess and a tribute to Bogart's ability.

        -30-

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        Romance

        Storyline

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        Did you know

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        • Trivia
          Humphrey Bogart was involved in a serious automobile accident during production of this film, which knocked out several of his teeth and hindered his ability to speak. John Huston reportedly hired a young British actor noted for his mimicry skills to rerecord some of Bogart's spoken lines during post-production looping. Although it is undetectable when viewing the film today, it is Peter Sellers who provides Bogart's voice during some of the scenes in this movie. However this cannot be confirmed.
        • Goofs
          Bogie enters the lifeboat wearing a plain suit but gets out wearing a pinstriped suit.
        • Quotes

          Julius O'Hara: Time. Time. What is time? Swiss manufacture it. French hoard it. Italians squander it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook.

        • Alternate versions
          The original American release version was truncated and had scenes moved around, making a mess of the story line. The uncut version--released overseas by Romulus--was finally restored in the U.S. by Sony in 2016.
        • Connections
          Edited into Your Afternoon Movie: Beat the Devil (2022)

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        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • December 17, 1953 (Italy)
        • Countries of origin
          • United Kingdom
          • Italy
        • Languages
          • Arabic
          • English
          • Italian
        • Also known as
          • Udri djavola
        • Filming locations
          • Amalfi Coast, Salerno, Campania, Italy
        • Production companies
          • Romulus Films
          • Santana Pictures Corporation
          • Dear Film
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Box office

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        • Budget
          • $1,000,000 (estimated)
        See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

        Tech specs

        Edit
        • Runtime
          • 1h 29m(89 min)
        • Color
          • Black and White
        • Aspect ratio
          • 1.37 : 1

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