All the same, without "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep", Humphrey Bogart's reputation as Mr. Ultra-Tough Guy rests entirely on Raoul Walsh's "High Sierra" (1941) (available on a 10/10 Warner DVD). "Mad Dog" Earle is an inveterate loser, an embittered hood with an odd streak of compassion and sensitivity that finally destroys him.Bogart's performance emerges as more clearly shaded than in his previous roles and the final scenes of the film in which he defiantly meets his death — and freedom — on top of the mountain have an impact that cannot be equaled. If Bogart had continued in this fatalistic vein, he may well have laid a claim to a unique, immovably tough-guy image. Instead he made "The Big Shot" (1942) (available on DVD, at Warner Archive) in which he plays another has-been bandit, but this time dies nobly to save a mixed-up kid! And then, of course, came the exotic "Casablanca". Romance with a capital "R".

"High Sierra" is an early example of film noir and is sometimes cited as the film which made a major star of Humphrey Bogart. It was co-written by Bogart's friend John Huston, who later in the same year (1941) would direct him in "The Maltese Falcon". In most of Bogart's films noirs, including "The Maltese Falcon", "Dead Reckoning" and "The Big Sleep" he played the hero, albeit often a flawed hero, but here he plays the villain. The film opens with Bogart's character, a convicted bank robber named Roy Earle, being released from jail after being pardoned by the State Governor. This does not mean, however. that Roy has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice or that he is now a reformed character. Far from it. His release has been engineered by a gangster named Big Mac, to whom the corrupt Governor owes a political favour. Big Mac (a name which in the forties presumably did not carry the associations with hamburgers which it would today) wants Roy to carry out a robbery for him at an exclusive holiday resort in the Sierra Nevada of California. (Hence the title). In form the film is a "heist movie" comparable to something like "The Concrete Jungle". It shows how Roy and his associates go about planning and carrying out the crime, concentrating more on the villains than it does on the police pursuing them. These being the days of the Production Code, however, when film-makers were forbidden from showing criminals succeeding in their enterprises, it also tells the story of how the robbery goes wrong and how Roy is forced to take refuge in the mountains. Film noir was a genre often noted for its tone of moral ambiguity, and I said earlier that some of Bogart's other roles involved him playing flawed heroes. Here, there is another sort of moral ambiguity about his character. On the one hand Roy is a dangerous criminal; he has no compunction about shooting dead a security guard who attempts to foil the robbery, displaying the ruthlessness which is to earn him the nickname "Mad Dog". , On the other hand, he also has certain qualities which, in another context, could have been admirable ones. He has a professional pride which leads him to be meticulous about planning his crimes, whereas his partners can be careless and slapdash. (He loathes the "Mad Dog" nickname, believing that it denotes someone wild and out of control). He has a code of ethics which leads him to turn down an opportunity to double-cross his associates. (But woe betide anyone who tries to double-cross Roy!) At one point in the film he pretends to be a successful businessman, and it is easy to imagine that, under different circumstances, this is what he could have become. The strangest side of Roy's nature is shown in his relationship with Velma, a young woman with a deformed foot whom he meets while planning the robbery. Taking pity on the girl, and knowing that her family are too poor to pay for corrective surgery, Roy pays for it himself. He does so in the hope that the otherwise attractive Velma will marry him afterwards, but never makes this a condition of paying for her surgery. (In the event, Velma turns him down, but for reasons unconnected with his criminal career, of which she remains ignorant). It is easy to see why this film made Bogart a star, as he gives one of the finest performances of his career, bringing out all sides of Roy's complicated personality, not only his ruthlessness, but also his better qualities, to such an extent that, even during the climactic final scenes of the manhunt on Mount Whitney, we can feel a certain sympathy with him. There are also good supporting performances from the two main female players, Joan Leslie as Velma and Ida Lupino as Marie, the sluttish moll who becomes Roy's lover after his rejection by Velma. The personalities of the two women are sharply contrasted. Velma can be seen as representing the respectable life of domesticity which Roy hopes to retire to after pulling off one last big job which will keep him for the rest of his life, while Marie represents Roy's actual life as it is at present. The film is also notable for its extensive location shooting, especially as it was made in the early forties, a period when most films were shot indoors in a studio. Raoul Walsh's black-and-white photography of the California sierras is very different to the gritty, urban look of most films noirs, but it lends the film a certain epic grandeur. It is the sort of film Ansel Adams might have made had he taken up film-making as well as landscape photography. Huston's script, co-written with William Burnett, is a powerful and intelligent one. This combination of acting, direction and writing makes "High Sierra" one of the great classic noirs, worthy to tank alongside the likes of "White Heat" (also made by Walsh), "Double Indemnity" and "Pickup on South Street". 9/10

Notorious bank robber Roy "Mad Dog" Earle (Humphrey Bogart) is released from prison and is asked by an old friend to help with a robbery. But Earle's not happy with the gang he's given or the woman (Ida Lupino) they've brought along. As they plan the robbery and wait, Earle makes friends with a poor family and takes an interest in their handicapped daughter (a very pretty Joan Leslie).Classic gangster picture from Warner Bros. and one of Bogart's best. This is the movie that convinced WB Bogie could be a bankable star. Later that same year he would star in The Maltese Falcon and the rest is movie history. Bogart is excellent, of course, as is Ida Lupino in one of her better roles. Nice support from Barton MacLane, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Hull, Cornel Wilde, Donald MacBride, and Henry Travers. Great direction, excellent location shooting. Climactic shootout between Earle and the cops is terrific. Essential for fans of WB gangster flicks.

After being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.Why is Ida Lupino top-billed in this film? I am not sure exactly who she is, and why they considered her a bigger star than Bogart (especially when Bogart has the bulk of the screen time). Not saying she was terrible or anything, but it just confuses me looking back.This is a nice story of redemption, or lack thereof. Earle balances his jewel heist skills with his compassionate side of helping a young woman get foot surgery. There is also a strange love pentagon going on.