Despite having heard of him for a number of years,I have somehow never got round to taking a look at a film starring Humphrey Bogart.Taking a look at movie reviews on IMDb a few months ago,I suddenly stumbled upon what sounded like an excellent Gangster movie starring Bogart.Expecting to find the title on Amazon,I was shocked to find out that the film had not come out on DVD,or VHS.Sadly accepting that I would probably be unable to see the film,I was pleasantly caught by surprise,when I discovered a TV screened edition of the title,which led to me excitingly getting ready to see Bogart take a big shot.The plot:Lying in a prison hospital bed after surviving a shootout,Joseph "Duke" Berne is greeted by a former prisoner called George Anderson,who along with his girlfriend,wants to thank Joseph from stopping him being wrongly sent to death row.Feeling that this hospital bed,may soon become his death bed,"Duke" decides to tell Anderson about what led to him laying in this hospital bed.The past:Freed from prison after serving 5 years,Berne vows to leave his past life behind,and to instead "go straight".Soon after coming out of jail,Joseph runs into some old "friends" who ask if he can do them some favours.Angered about them trying to pull him back into the underworld,"Duke" pushes one of the gangsters to the ground,and tells him the that part of his life is now long gone.Being told by one of his (now former "friends" ) that a local attorney called Martin T. Fleming is interested in talking to him,Joseph decides to pay Fleming a surprise visit.Entering Fleming's office,"Duke" is shocked to discover,that a former long time girlfriend of his's named Lorna,has now become Fleming's wife.With having heard about Berne's past skills,Fleming asks Joseph if he would be willing to do "one last job",which would involve him working with a gang on Fleming's payroll to steal $100,000.Feeling that his back is up against the wall,"Duke" agrees to Flemings demands.Later that night:Getting ready to go out on his "one last job",Berne is stopped in his tracks,when Lorna's suddenly appears,holding a gun and telling Joseph that if he goes out to commit the crime,she will shoot him right away.Caving in to Lorna's demand's,"Duke" inadvertently ends up losing his last "big shot" at freedom.View on the film:Whilst the second half of the movie shows the title's age by featuring some…less than pc moments,such as one of the actors (not Bogart) covering himself with black pant,director Lewis Seiler and cinematography Sidney Hickox closely work together to give this wonderful Film Noir a raw,gritty atmosphere.Going "back in time" to the events that have led to "Duke" being on his "death bed",by stylishly scattering images and voices across Berne's eyes,Seiler and Hickox gradually drain any sense of light from "Duke's" shadow filled world,as Berne finds his "going straight" road to disappear into the darkness.Whilst Joseph Berne's nickname of "Duke" did leave me to temporary think about John Wayne, (aka:"Da Duke!") the terrific screenplay by Abem Finkel,Daniel Fuchs and Bertram Millhauser ruthlessly kicks "Duke's" body down their low-lit gutter street the moment his body lands on the hospital bed,with the writers showing Berne's big shot at freedom being something that he is unable to free from his shadowy past,and the ruthless corruption that will eventually choke the life out of him.Showing that despite starting the movie in bed,that he is not going to give a performance laying down,Humphrey Bogart gives a powerful performance as Berne's,with Bogart showing "Duke's" desire to "go straight" to be at the centre of the character's conflicted heart,as Berne's discovers that everything he desires and holds dear is connected to his crocked past.Joining Bogart,Stanley Ridges gives an excellent,gleeful performance as Martin T.Fleming,with Ridges showing Fleming to be prepared to do anything to get his hands filled with cash.Giving a vicious femme fatale swipe,the terrific Irene Manning gives a stunning performance as Lorna Fleming,with Manning showing "Duke" all of the temptations in front of him,as long as he gives up on his last ever big shot.

Big Shot, The (1942) ** 1/2 (out of 4) B-grade gangster film from Warner features Humphrey Bogart as a three-time hood who gets out of prison and tries to go straight because one more mess up will get him life in prison. After not being able to make a straight living he sets up a heist for a crooked attorney but gets double crossed. Once back in prison Bogart must find a way to escape and get revenge. This really isn't anything we haven't seen in countless other prison/gangster films from Warner but as usual Bogart makes it worth watching. He plays the tough guy perfectly and his image as a tough guy can never be questioned. He even gets a few funny moments including one segment where he's on the hideout in the deep woods and can't get use to cutting wood for a fire. The supporting cast includes Richard Travis, Susan Peters and Irene Manning as Bogie's love interest. Manning isn't too good in her role and it probably would have been better with a stronger actress here but either way, if you're a fan of Bogart then this is worth checking out. It's also worth noting that there's a scene in the prison where Bogart is pitching a baseball, which is filmed pretty much shot for shot like a scene in The Shawshank Redemption.

Humphrey Bogart, a master-actor of crime, did it again in this 1942 film. Ironically, it's when Bogie tries to go straight that things begin to go awry.While we have all the familiar elements to a Warner's Gangster Film, this picture is done incredibly well. There are the small time crooks, the fancy lawyer who plots the jobs, two innocent young lovers caught up in this mess and a dame, Irene Manning, who gives a splendid performance.Manning, the wife of the crooked lawyer, will not allow her lover, Bogart, to participate in a heist. That's when the action begins. Her husband discovers her indiscretion and makes sure that Bogart, who is blamed for being part of the robbery team, goes to prison on a life sentence as it is his third offense.The lawyer causes more havoc until Bogie breaks out of jail and is finally able to deal with him.With all his sinister gangster ways, Humphrey Bogart shows that he has a heart and will not let the "kid" take the rap and go to the chair as a result.

The Big Shot is a decent crime picture, reminiscent in theme to the previous year's High Sierra, which also featured Humphrey Bogart. Director Lewis Seiler was no Raoul Walsh but handles the familiar plot about the doomed criminal nicely, giving it shadings of atmosphere, urban and rural. The movie is one of the last flowerings of the second major wave of gangster pictures, of which it is a late example. Bogart is excellent, yet one can sense the genre running out of steam despite his performance and the nice pace of the film. There were more pressing issues at hand by the time the movie was made, such as a world war with Germany and Japan, as overall the activity of the criminals in the movie seem small potatoes compared to what was going on elsewhere, in Europe and in the Pacific.