Mr. DuLac’s review published on Letterboxd:
Of all the 14 karat saps... starting out on a caper with a woman and a dog.
-Roy Earle
Another important film for Humphrey Bogart's career and another one that no one particularly wanted him to star in. The script was originally written (and rewritten) with Paul Muni in mind, but he turned it down when he wasn't satisfied with it. Bogart lobbied for the role but Warner Bros offered it to George Raft instead. Finally when Raft also turned it down, the studio gave it to Bogart against protests from director Raoul Walsh. This wasn't the last time Bogart would take a role turned down by Raft and the next one would be even bigger for his career, The Maltese Falcon.
The script was written by Bogart's good friend John Huston and based on the novel by W.R. Burnett. Bogart had started receiving some recognition for his roles in the last five years or so, but still hadn't broken through as a leading man. Here he probably recognized a layered character that played on his strengths and correctly assumed he could pull it off. Even though he doesn't receive top billing in the film, he is clearly the film's lead as Roy "Mad Dog" Earle.
Bogart plays the character as a cold blooded killer and career criminal that doesn't seem to realize what he truly is. After receiving a pardon and released from prison, at no time does it enter Roy's mind to go legit, in fact his next heist seems to be a given. He meets up with his younger accomplices and seems to be annoyed by their very presence immediately. Is it because he's angered at the fact that a long time professional like himself has to work with inexperienced men or because he sees his younger self in these two? Perhaps a bit of both.
Roy's attitude does a complete 180 however when he meets a failed farmer, Henry Travers in a great small character role, and his family on their way to L.A. in hopes of starting a new life. We soon learn that Roy actually grew up on a farm before turning to a life of crime and then the pieces of the puzzle come together. Roy sees Pa (Traverse) as the man he could have been while his grand-daughter, Velma (Joan Leslie), represents the life and love he wants but deep down he knows he can't have. All this while Marie (Ida Lupino) has fallen for him, but she's a criminal herself. She's damaged just like Bogart's character and a better match for him. He knows it and that's why he tries to push her away. She represents the life he's ashamed of.
The highlight of the film is clearly the great performance by Bogart who seems to have an underlying rage even in the moments when he's trying to court Velma. Ida Lupino deserves some credit too though as the tough as nails Marie, she got top billing after all. The third act of the film however almost eclipses everything else. Roy races towards his fate, that while it seemed predetermined, in truth he was in almost complete control of everything throughout the film. It's the perfect ending to a film highlighted by a great performance of a tragically flawed and damaged character.