Popular reviews

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★★½

  "Mister, what does it mean... when a man 'crashes out'?"

  as a portrait of a man escaping into himself, it's a sublime distillation of the early gangster movie. Bogart (and motherfucking *Pard*) are aces, as is Lupino with her eyelashes for days, but the accoutrement lets them down. the stuff with the crippled girl is thematically invaluable, but the hokum involved in setting it up and knocking it down is a bit much... stretches the innocence that Earle is looking for, and the redemption he's hoping to siphon from it. a lot of the small stuff doesn't connect, but Earle's slow tumble down the mountain (metaphorically speaking) is fine.

  mostly astonished by the speed with which Raoul Walsh gets things going... hurry up and wait, with some of the quickest fades in film history. a breakneck pace to let Earle self-destruct in slow-motion.

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  Review by theriverjordan ★★★★ 6

  “High Sierra” is Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino setting the stock standards for the next decade of noir. Also, it was Bogart’s genius excuse to make a whole film into ‘bring your dog to work day.’ 

  Bogart’s turn in “Sierra” as former bank robber Roy Earle blends the wild 30s Hollywood gangster spirit into a more nuanced portrait of an unsuccessfully reformed criminal. Where movies made lawbreakers part of the rebellious cool of Americana in the decade prior, the cons were generally little more than archetypical tricksters. They had only foibles; not humanity.

  Bogart’s Earle is a wiseguy with a soul. And a cute dog (Bogart’s own; Zero). It’s Bogart taking everything he’d learned in the Warner gangster stable and imbuing…

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★½ 4

  Although a conventional framework governs this Raoul Walsh directed heist movie, the screenplay by John Huston manipulates it enough as for it not to feel that way whatsoever. Based on a W.R. Burnett novel which sees Humphrey Bogart portraying Roy Earle, an infamous criminal receiving a pardon, arranged by powerful organised crime kingpin and former boss Big Mac. His release is to accomplish a task of leading a robbery from a prosperous hotel with a couple of immature and inexperienced criminals who he discovers has involved themselves with Marie, a stripper played delightfully by Ida Lupino.

  Earle attempts to create a workable situation for the task at hand while a mutual attraction unfolds between him and the seductive Marie, and…

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  Review by Criterion 1

  Marking the moment when the gritty gangster sagas of the 1930s began giving way to the romantic fatalism of 1940s film noir, High Sierra also contains the star-making performance of Humphrey Bogart, who, alongside top-billed Ida Lupino, proved his leading-man mettle with his tough yet tender turn as Roy Earle. A career criminal plagued by his checkered past, Earle longs for a simpler life, but after getting sprung on parole, he falls in with a band of thieves for one last heist in the Sierra Nevada. Directed with characteristic punch by Raoul Walsh—who makes the most of the vertiginous mountain location—Roy and Lupino’s Marie, a fellow outcast also desperate to escape her past, hurtle inexorably toward an unforgettable cliffside climax and a rendezvous with destiny.

  This edition arrives on October 12, 2021. To learn more or pre-order, visit Criterion.com.

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  Review by 📀 Cammmalot 📀 ★★★★

  Cinematic Time Capsule
  1941 Marathon - Film #6

  ”The last time I saw you I was when was taking slugs outta Lefty Jackson’s chest.”

  Bogart’s “Mad Dog” Earle is outta prison and rushing towards death, ready to catch lead at any moment… and then like a 14-karat sap he starts out on a caper with a woman and a dog with a death hex…

  Bogart shines
  Ida Lupino smolders
  John Huston co-writes.
  Raoul Walsh directs.

  No matter how you do the math this job’s worth the take and no stinkin’ rat’s gonna convince me otherwise.

  ”You got it all figured out, ain’t ya”

  
  Cinematic Time Capsule - 1941 Ranked

  Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Films

  A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

  The New York Times Book of Movies: The Essential 1,000 Films to See

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  Review by Mr. DuLac ★★★★½ 2

  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…

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  Review by Jerry McGlothlin ★★½ 7

  Havin’ Pard times, in this crazy town.

  Havin’ Pard times, there’s no love to be found.

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  Review by Joe ★★★★ 8

  Pard Boiled

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  Review by DallasFrance ★★★½ 2

  This gets a bit Treasure of the High SierrAce in the Hole towards the end, but it features strong performances by Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. There is an initial romance between Bogart and Joan Leslie. The character Velma has trouble walking, and the actor Joan has trouble crying (oof, that was awkward). The script was co-written by John Huston, and it’s pretty good, but it’s tough watching Lupino transform from her usual badass self to an almost absurdly submissive character.

  Then there is the Laurence Olivier of dogs, who legitimately has more to do in the film than all but four or five human characters. He would have been faster cracking the safe than those two “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” roughnecks Bogey gets stuck with for the job.

  Humphrey Bogart Ranked

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  Review by sakana1 ★★★★ 14

  Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) embodies a remarkable duality, particularly for a cinematic gangster. On one hand, he's a deeply sentimental, naive man who desperately wants to fix the world. On the other, he's a terrifying, cold criminal, one who can kill a man without a thought if it means his freedom.

  While American cinema is rife with tragic criminals who deserve better than they get, Earle stands out because of the absence of a tear-jerking backstory. We're never told that he was forced into this life, or that he was drawn in as a kid and never knew another world. As far as we know, he's chosen a life of crime, and he's good enough at it to be moved…

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  Review by Ben Peterson ★★★½

  Is it worth it just for the final chase up in the titular Sierras? Yes. Gripping thriller with Bogie saying all types of Bogie things ("you stinking rat" & "I'm giving you the chance to blow") and all with a cool haircut.

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  Review by Jacob Knight ★★★★

  "Bogie was a medium sized man, not particularly impressive off-screen, but something happened when he was playing the right part. Those lights and shadows composed themselves into another, nobler personality: heroic, as in High Sierra. I swear the camera has a way of looking into a person and perceiving things that the naked eye doesn't register." - John Huston on Humphrey Bogart [35mm]