(NOIR) The Enforcer - 1951 ****

Incredibly powerful and well paced classic noir starring Humphrey Bogart as an intimidating law enforcer who gets himself embroiled with some dangerous men which we see through a variety of flashbacks. Very tense and very entertaining movie. One of Bogart's last.

Conflict - 1945 ****

A hidden gem. Critics said that this was a strange film for Bogart to be in. Totally unlike his Sam Spade personalities. I think it was brilliant, and I found the storyline to be immensely exciting. Bogart plays an unhappily married man who is in love with his wife Katherine's sister Evelyn. He decides to murder Katherine in the hopes of starting a relationship with Evelyn but things go horribly wrong when he starts to believe he is seeing traces of Katherine everywhere. Of course he cannot go to the police to tell them his fears because they are hoping she will be found alive and so he begins to live a nightmare which threatens to send him mad.
Excellent movie. Overlooked and understated.

(NOIR) Murder My Sweet - 1944 ***

I'm concerned that I didn't find this nearly as good as the critics rave about. In fact except for the occasionally funny one liners that Dick Powell comes out with I think that the rest of the film was quite poor. I'm not sure if I like Powell as Philip Marlowe, because to be honest I feel like Bogart IS Marlowe, so it's strange for another actor to take his place, especially one who is well known for singing and playing rom-com parts. He does make quite a good detective however, and is suitably smarmy into the account, but something about his performance just didn't click for me. Claire Trevor was typically beautiful and sultry as the femme fatale, but there was hardly any chemistry between the characters, except for the friendly 'bro-mance' between Marlowe and Malloy.
One to see, but would recommend 'The Big Sleep' with Bogart instead if you want to see Philip Marlowe at his best.

The African Queen - 1951 **** 1/2

The idea of Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn sitting on a boat for the entire duration of the film didn't really appeal to me at first, despite the rave reviews it has had. But when I pressed 'stop' I had to sit back for a few minutes just to take everything in. And I can say this is one of the most powerful films I have watched in a long time.

Bogart plays Charlie Allnut who picks up Rose Sayer in Africa after her brother dies of fever after being beaten by German soldiers. They both set sail on Allnut's vessell 'The African Queen', each as different as they can be, with Hepburn hoping to convince Bogart to build a torpeado to sink the Queen Louisa (a German ship) and Bogart trying to get Hepburn to lighten up and stop being so prim and proper. Katherine Hepburn seems to play the character with a lot of her own personality embedded within, as Rose takes practically no notice of anything Charlie says despite the fact that he is an advanced sailor and she isn't, even to the stage where they both risk their life to navigate a particularly perilous part of the river.

I admire Hepburn greatly as an actress but sometimes don't like her non-stop bossy nature. Bogart was terrific on the other hand and really showed a compassionate and good-natured man, even though drink seemed to be his main priority. ( The idea that Bogart would only be around for a few more years after he made this film was a deeply sad thought when watching this ) It's a nice moral story with two great actors. What more could you ask for?

Sahara - 1943 **** 1/2

I have a very wide love for black and white films, but I haven't quite come to terms with some of the 1940s war films of the time. I did however watch and enjoy 'Ice Cold in Alex' which I thought was one of the best movies I've ever seen. Here however we have a film where Humphrey Bogart, normally known for playing gangsters, lawyers and general killers, is stuck in the desert with his men after being separated from their unit. They are forced to make a detour of the desert to find water after the well they turn up at is dry. The story revolves around these men and their relationships while they try and come to terms with where they are and how they are supposed to survive. One of the last scenes is incredibly poignant with Bogart acting his socks off as usual. In fact most of the film shows Bogart's acting off to a pinacle of perfection. He really is superb.

(NOIR) Knock on any Door - 1949 ****

Nicholas Ray of 'Bigger than Life' fame directed this exciting courtroom drama starring Bogart at the height of his stardom.

Bogart's character acts as a charged up lawyer who takes the case of a disturbed man from the same slums as he, against the wishes of his colleagues. He feels empathy for the young man and also feels guilty for letting the man's father be wrongly put to his death after a botched criminal trial a year beforehand.

The whole film is basically Bogart talking, and Bogart acting his socks off. He's utterly faultless in this movie, and the passion he portrays as he holds the whole courtroom speechless is pretty amazing. There are also scenes interspersed with him talking that show us the story of the criminal's life and how things led up to him being on trial. The film has a tremendous climax and I think this is one hell of an underrated film, partly because I never hear anyone talking about it or mentioning it in lists about Bogart.

One thing I was really interested in was that the quote 'Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Good Looking Corpse' was first mentioned in this film, going on to become James Dean's iconic line, and I had always believed that Dean himself made up the phrase.

Dead End - 1937 ***

I wasn't a massive fan of this film, despite having waited over 2 years to watch it. However I did find that Bogart's evil character was a complete change from his usual good-guy persona. He shows in this that he really isn't type-cast and can portray both a positive and a negative character.

The story itself I gather is about social class. We have the slum area of New York, inhabited by the lowest of the low, and the wealthy apartments that have been built above for the view of the East River. Unfortunately it then means that the wealthy are in full view of the poor, and this therefore leads to antagonism between each class.

The first of seven films of the Dead End Kids, I recognised them almost immediately after having seen them in 'Angels with Dirty Faces' some years ago. They portray the poor and desperate kids of the area well, although their constant anger and violent amusement is something that grows tiring after a while.

We then have Sylvia Sydney, the sister of the head of the gang of boys, who has feelings for Joel McCrea, an unemployed architect who spends his time with a rich woman named Kay.

Bogart doesn't pop up immediatly, and when he does it's not a huge deal, (you see his trouserleg!)but soon after, once you really see him get into his part, he sends shivers down your spine, almost like Cagney's Cody Jarrett does in 'White Heat.' Back to the slums to visit his mother and old girlfriend, Martin is in for a shock with what he realises he's left behind and resorts to drastic measure to make his trip home worth while.

The thing with watching Bogart play a bad character (humourously called 'Baby Face' Martin) is that I am constantly expecting him to revert back to his loveable do-gooder, detective persona, who will give a sly wink or smirk to his leading lady before she collapses into his arms, overwhelmed by his charisma, and when that doesn't happen it's a very weird and unsettling moment for me. I can't say I prefer Bogart as an evil character but it's certainly interesting to watch, and Bogart is in my opinion one of the best actors to ever grace the silver screen.