DVD Review: Humphrey Bogart - Signature Collection, Vol. One

By Adnan Tezer Oct 31, 2006, 15:07 GMT

Casablanca was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt. Synopsis In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. The cynical lone wolf Blaine comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault does what he can to ...more

Few actors, if any, can match the iconic presence of Humphrey Bogart who, nearly 50 years AFTER his death, still looms as arguably the greatest movie star that ever lived. When you think of masculinity, coolness and rebellion personified in American cinema, such names as James Dean, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, James Cagney and Clint Eastwood will jump to mind. They all have at in their own times, been THE dominant image of masculinity in their films. Cagney was in fact, the ideal set before Bogey came into his own in the 1940s. But once Bogey went from stock gangster player in the 30s to leading man in the 1940s, he redefined on-screen masculinity for decades to come.

All actors, in one way or another, have patterned themselves unconsciously or not, after Bogey’s enigmatic greatness.  Warner Brothers has collected four of Bogey’s films from the 40s, including three outright classics and put them in the Humphrey Bogart - Signature Collection, Vol. One.  The films included are They Drive by Night (1940), High Sierra (1941) and the Two-Disc Special Editions of Casablanca (1942) and The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948).

Bogart served in the Navy during World War I as a ship’s gunner. It was on a navy ship that Bogart suffered an injury that would provide him with his distinctive trademark. While fighting aboard a ship, he tripped and fell, a splinter becoming lodged in his upper lip; the result was a scar as well as a partial paralysis of the lip, resulting in his tight-set mouth and iconic lisp that defined him. After the war, Bogart fell into the theatre scene on Broadway where he crossed paths with future stars James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Spencer Tracy.

However, when the film studios came calling, Bogart was the least well-known of the aforementioned actors and while they enjoyed early success and leading man roles in the 30s, Bogart was relegated to playing bit roles in Warner Brothers films, usually as a despicable, amoral gangster who usually got killed at the end of the film.  Many of these roles can be seen in other box sets Warners has released over the years including the Tough Guys Collection and Gangsters Collection box sets. Whether it was “Bugs” Fenner in Bullets or Ballots (1936) or James Frazier in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Bogey was always the one getting blown away by Robinson or Cagney at the end. 

Two roles of the 30s were able to show us a glimpse of what Bogart could be when given the opportunity, Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1936); a role which Bogart originated on Broadway and which star Leslie Howard had to fight for Bogart to get onscreen and Red Kennedy in San Quentin (1937).  Bogart played hardened criminals in both films. Mantee was a chance for him to showcase his ferocity and brutality whereas Kennedy gave him a chance to play a criminal yet makes him sympathetic to the audience. Unfortunately, these roles confirmed to studio execs that Bogart was only good for villainous roles.

It wouldn’t be until High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon, both released in 1941, that Bogart started to establish his cynical, world-weary, rebellious persona that fit him perfectly and made audiences connect with him. From that point on, Bogey began to appear in such classics as Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) and The African Queen (1951) before dying in 1957 at age 57 of lung cancer after a wheels off existence of hard drinking and smoking. Bogart was the definition of an actor who was better suited to middle age than youth, and in his iconic roles of the 40s and 50s, he conveyed the essence of men who had been there and done that and were perfectly comfortable sitting back and letting the world go on around them as the world just wasn’t worthy of their effort. Only reluctantly do these men decide to reenter humanity and take a chance, usually for the betterment of others rather than for themselves.

It was this sense of sacrifice and nobility that was able to balance Bogart’s cynical, tough-talking, hard drinking, super masculine side. In several instances, Fred C. Dobbs in Sierra Madre and Lt. Commander Queeg in The Caine Mutiny (1954) being examples, Bogart would go farther outside of his established persona and portray paranoid, distrustful, empty men whose self-sightedness eventually destroys them.  There was still the cynicism and arrogance present but none of the hidden warmth and nobility that made his other characters so lovable.  These would be some of Bogart’s boldest moves as an actor and in Sierra Madre’s case, it was not initially well-received by audiences who had come to expect a grudgingly lovable Bogart character rather than a greedy, self-serving one that you pitied rather than admired.

They Drive By Night (1940) was one of the last films Bogey did where he was a supporting character. In fact, by the halfway point Bogey’s character is thrown a cruel plot development and is seen sparingly afterwards.  Bogey stars along with George Raft as the Fabrini brothers, Joe and Paul respectively, who are struggling to make a living as independent truckers. The luscious Ann Sheridan co-stars as a tough-talking waitress who Raft falls in love with but it is the smoking hot siren Ida Lupino who steals the show as Lana Carlsen, the scheming wife of trucking baron Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale.) She secretly has eyes for Raft but is constantly rebuffed by him because he respects her husband. This leads her to go off the deep end, and in a brilliant and haunting scene involving garage doors, she crosses the line never to return. Her breakdown scene at the end “The doors made me do it” launched her career. 

Director Raoul Walsh moves the film at a brisk pace and has some vintage, Warners era snappy dialogue that is delivered with flair by the cast.  Raft’s character is primarily focused on throughout the film, which doesn’t leave Bogey with much. Joe Carlsen would be one of Bogey’s more unique roles in that he plays a loyal, loving husband who was not a cynic, even after he suffers an accident that alters his ability to drive. Also, there is the interesting Bogey tidbit that his character never smokes in the film. Just about all of Bogey’s characters as well as Bogey off screen were heavy chain smokers. The film does work well and the acting is superb. The story line was typical of the Warners “ripped from the headlines” social conscience films that focused on the plights of working men and women in the United States.   This is a film that has been easily forgotten due to the popularity of Bogart’s other films later on in his career but it is well worth a viewing.

The extras include a 10-minute featurette Divided Highway: The Story of They Drive by Night, which touches briefly on the film’s origin and stars. Also included is a 19 minute vintage musical short Swingtime in the Movies, which is a humorous look at the musical film genre. It contains a brief cameo by Bogie, which probably explains its inclusion here. Curiously, the cover art of the DVD features a shot of Lupino and Bogart together in a car when in fact there is no such scene in the film. In fact, Bogey and Lupino barely if ever share a scene in the film.  Their true collaboration would be saved for High Sierra.

High Sierra (1941) would be the first film for Bogey where he got to play a lead that despite being a hardened criminal, allowed him to show a more humane side that made him accessible to mainstream audiences and essentially marked the transition in his career from supporting player to leading man.  Directed by Raoul Walsh, who also directed They Drive By Night, Bogart stars as Roy Earle, a hardened stick-up man with a nasty reputation, his nickname is Mad Dog so you can figure it out, that is released from prison by mob boss Big Mac (love the McDonald’s kick-down) in order to rob a posh California desert resort.  Immediately, it is established that Roy has a softer side that he tries to indulge by walking in the park after being released and befriending a family of country folk that includes the good girl Velma (Joan Leslie). 

This is contrasted by the fact that Roy is getting ready for the hotel stickup with two young punks (Arthur Kennedy and Alan Curtis) that he clearly distrusts and dislikes. Along with the two punks is Marie Garson (a HOT, HOT, HOT Ida Lupino) who personifies the bad girl. Marie has been around the block a few times; she’s a “dime a dance girl” which usually meant that she was either a stripper or a prostitute before. Roy is not keen to her being around and tries to send her away. However, after pleading with him to let her stay, Roy relents and it is here that the most fascinating aspect of the film develops, that being the relationship between Lupino and Bogart. Both are damaged, wounded people who are not on the moral side of nature; yet they find compassion and trust between them that they have never let anyone else in on. While Marie starts to fall in love with Roy, he is infatuated with the young and innocent Velma to the point of paying for her foot operation in the hopes that she will return the affection.

You can imagine that the hotel job goes bad but you can’t imagine that Marie ends up being the only one loyal to Roy, a fact that rubs off on him eventually. The two together have scenes of quiet desperation and sadness, as they are probably the two loneliest people in the world that, upon finding each other only have a brief moment in time to share together. Throw in a dog for good measure and the once hardened Roy is turned into a softy. While you can debate some of the mushier elements of the film, it is unquestionable how Bogart burns here. This would be the start of the quintessential Bogey character, a hardened, world-beaten loner who cares for no one until he is literally forced to. It is only after taking this risk that his true humanity opens up and he becomes a changed man.  Lupino, much as she showed in They Drive by Night, in addition to being stunningly hot would bring such an emotional depth to her character that you wonder why she wasn’t an even bigger star later in her career.  It is important to note that Lupino, in addition to her acting, also was one of the pioneers if not THE pioneer of American female directors.  Raoul Walsh, again as in They Drive by Night, moves the film along and allows for some quiet moments of human connection amidst the chaos. The script, which was co-written by John Huston, provides Bogart and Lupino with some of their most underrated work. The extras here include the 15-minute featurette Curtains for Roy Earle: The Story of High Sierra, which looks at the film’s production history and how it set Bogart on the track to stardom. Also included is a theatrical trailer.

When it comes to true cinema classics, you can’t look farther than the immortal and timeless Casablanca (1942).  No matter how many times you’ve seen it, the characters and dialogue are as fresh and relevant as they were back in 1942. Casablanca can back up its claim as the greatest American film as it is on more ten best lists of renowned critics than even the greatness that is Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind. This would be Bogey’s signature role, one that would cement his immortality and iconic status. 

It is World War II. Richard “Rick” Blaine (Bogart) is an American gunrunner and mercenary who has settled in Casablanca, Morocco after having to leave America. The reasons are a little vague but fall into the combination of absconding with church funds, running off with a senator’s wife and killing a man. He runs the hottest club in town, Rick’s, where everyone comes. With his faithful friend Sam playing the piano, and money coming in from the illegal roulette wheel and bar, all under the watchful eye of “poor, corrupt official” Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Rick is happy to sit back playing chess by himself while approving who does or does not enter his gambling room. Rick is a bitter, cynical, hard-drinking man who “sticks his neck out for no one.” Then Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid) comes into Rick’s bringing in tow the love of Rick’s life Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Lazlo is a World War II Czech underground leader who is seeking an exit Visa so that he may escape to America and continue his fight.  Nazi Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt) is determined to prevent that from happening.  Rick finds himself in a position of strength in respect to Lazlo for Rick possesses two signed letters of transit taken from two German couriers by the weaselly Ugarte (Peter Lorre) that can spell Lazlo’s freedom. However, Rick is not about to do any favors for the man that he learns is responsible for Ilsa abandoning him in Paris. His bitterness and hatred has been present ever since that sad, rainy day at the train station and he is eventually forced to “do the thinking for all of us” and commit the ultimate unselfish act for the betterment of the world rather than for himself.

You have to really strain to find something wrong with this movie and if there is anything it is purely an emotional reaction to a character. Personally, even though he was a selfless man who put himself in constant danger, I never liked Victor Lazlo. It has nothing to do with the great Paul Henreid. He does an excellent job portraying a noble man who is selfish but for the right reasons. You could have gotten the most charismatic actor to play this part and I still wouldn’t have liked him. The reason is simple, he’s not Rick.  Rick remains one of the greatest characters ever portrayed in the history of cinema. He presents you with the ultimate moral decision that most would not have the guts to decide. It all culminates with arguably the most legendary scene in all of cinema; that being the final scene between Bogart and Bergman at the airport with its immortal dialogue. There are several scenes such as that one, the first moment at the beginning when Rick sees Ilsa for the first time in years (the look on Bogey’s face still gives me an adrenaline kick like no other) being another, that will ALWAYS get you no matter if you’ve seen the film over 200 times. The dialogue is the greatest, smartest and most quotable of any film you’ll ever see, each character is memorable in his or her own right and the music and songs are the most memorable of any American film.  This is a five out of five, no question.

This 2-disc Special Edition had been previously released in 2003 and contains a treasure chest of extras. Disc One includes a two-minute introduction to the film by Lauren Bacall, trailers for the film, plus two separate audio commentaries, one with the great Roger Ebert and the other by film historian Rudy Behlmer. Everything you ever wanted to know about this classic can be learned from these commentaries; the Ebert commentary being one of the greatest film commentaries ever put on DVD. Disc 2 contains the bulk of the extras; the highlights of which include a superb documentary on Bogart’s life and career narrated by Lauren Bacall called “Bacall on Bogart”, another retrospective documentary You Must Remember This: A Tribute To Casablanca, the featurette As Time Goes By: The Children Remember, a brief set of audio-less deleted scenes, some humorous outtakes, the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon “Carrotblanca”, and a 1943 radio broadcast of the film with Bogart, Bergman and Henreid in their original roles.   

Rounding out the films is The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948).  Bogey took a chance here, reuniting with director John Huston, who had directed Bogey in the film noir standard The Maltese Falcon (1941). At this point in his career, Bogey fans were used to seeing him in his now-established persona of tough-talking, cynical, yet redeemable hero. He was the exact opposite here. In 1925 Mexico, Fred C. Dobbs (Bogart) finds himself penniless and panhandling all the while cursing his bad luck. He meets an equally down-on-his-luck man Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) and an old prospector Howard (played by Huston’s real-life father Walter Huston). Together, the three throw in together and go looking for gold in the treacherous mountains of the Sierra Madre. The fascinating aspect of the film begins AFTER they find the gold. Not only are the men up against Mexican bandits “Badges? We ain’t got no badges” but they have to face Dobbs’s growing paranoia and greed.

The film would not achieve its mythic status until years after its release due to the fact that audiences weren’t happy with Bogart’s role. Ironic, considering Fred C. Dobbs might be the Bogey’s greatest work as an actor. It is truly remarkable to watch him deteriorate into a greed-induced paranoia as the film progresses. How he wasn’t nominated for Best Actor that year is a mystery. Bogart is complemented well by Huston for his portrayal of the wise and patient old-timer and Holt who provides a believable naïveté as the idealistic young man of the trio.  John Huston, who does a cameo in the film, does some of his best work behind the camera as he moves the story along by drawing you into the three men. It does run a little long (126 minutes) but you won’t notice, as its structure and cinematography will suck you in quickly. The film is unique in that it is the only film for which a father and son won Oscars; Walter for Supporting Actor and John for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Warner Brothers empties out the vaults for the 2-Disc Special Edition here that was released in 2003.  Disc one contains the film along with an audio commentary by Bogart historian Eric Lax, a Bogart trailer gallery for 12 of his best films, a Warner Night of the Movies, introduced by Leonard Maltin that includes a trailer for Key Largo, a vintage newsreel, a comedic short So You Want To Be a Detective, and the cartoon “Hot Cross Bunny.” Disc two contains the bulk of the extras including two excellent documentaries. The first is John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick” that runs over two hours and digs into the legendary filmmaker’s life and career. There is also the 50-minute “Discovering Treasure: The Story of the Treasure of Sierra Madre” which is narrated by John Milius. Also included is the classic cartoon “8 Ball Bunny”; a chest of photos, storyboards and publicity materials; and a 1949 Lux Radio Broadcast of the film with Bogey and Huston reprising their roles.

Warner Brothers continues its well deserved reputation of producing the best DVD box sets/special editions of any major studio. The time and care that has gone into this set as well as others is plainly evident. My only complaint, a minor one, is that the DVD cases for They Drive by Night and High Sierra are the thin, slim cases rather than the regular sized ones for Sierra Madre and Casablanca that used to be prevalent. This unfortunate recent packaging trend seems to have continued with Volume 2 of the Bogart Signature Collection as well. The spines are too small and you can’t admire them on your shelf the way you can with the regularly sized others. That aside, The Humphrey Bogart Signature Collection Volume 1 is simply put, a must buy for anyone that considers themselves a film purist.

Humphrey Bogart - Signature Collection, Vol. One is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.