There are few plays or musicals from the Broadway stage that end up becoming a Hollywood film the very same year, but one of those rare examples is the Tony Award winning play "The Desperate Hours" which spawned several imitations on film the very same year, most obviously "The Night Holds Terror". But as well done as the imitator was, it is the original that deserves praise, giving Humphrey Bogart his most sinister sociopathic criminal since "The Petrified Forest" and giving fellow Oscar Winning actor Frederic March an equally good role to sink his teeth into as the patriarch of the family whom escaped convicts Bogart and his gang terrorize. Martha Scott, an underrated actress of stage, screen and TV, best known for character parts (in spite of a leading lady career of such classics as the original film version of "Our Town" and "Cheers For Miss Bishop") plays his terrified, but ultimately brave wife, determined to do everything she can to protect teenaged daughter Murphy and precocious pre-teen son Richard Eyer. She even risks her own life at one point in a powerful scene where her frustration takes over her common sense.Bogart's fellow escapees include his younger brother (Dewey Martin) and the coarse Robert Middleton, a large human monster who seems to take glee in the terror he poses on his victims, and in one of the more horrific scenes, drives an innocent elderly junk man to a presumed death. The terror on the junk man's face is powerful, briefly overcome by the determination to survive, and from that moment on, the audience is in the grips of the desire to see Middleton's character disposed of in the most violent of ways. Martin is a bit more sympathetic and gentle than his brother and Middleton, at one point stopping Middleton from attacking the attractive Murphy. But he's as much in this as the other two escapees, so his fate is sealed as far as the audience's desire is concerned. Bogart is the smartest of the trio, utilizing every precaution to ensure their survival, and suspicious of every little move that the family they are holding hostage (while still allowing them to go through their outside daily routines with the knowledge that housewife Scott will be in peril if anything should arise) to the point of even checking out Eyer's homework project just on the suspicion that he should be trying to alert his teacher to their situation.The always outstanding March delivers another fierce performance, at one point telling his concerned secretary (Helen Kleeb) to mind her own business when she expresses concern over his apparent nervousness. Murphy's boyfriend (Gig Young) becomes concerned over her sudden distance, even on a date, while a local cop (Arthur Kennedy) who was involved in Bogart's initial arrest, nervously fidgets during these desperate hours with the knowledge that Bogart will be coming after him for Kennedy's having struck and scarred Bogart with the butt of his gun when arresting him. The little details all add up to make a truly intense hour and a half of gripping terror that showed society at its worst. The fact that this is an apparently true story makes it all the more suspenseful, brilliantly written for the screen by its own playwright Joseph Hayes and superbly directed by the legendary William Wyler. Pretty much everything about this film is outstanding. I originally saw this as a double bill with the same year's "We're No Angels" (also from Paramount) where Bogart played a more comical prison escapee who hides out in the home of store owners unaware of whom they are playing host to. The common denominator between the two films of the lives of escaped convicts has stood the test of time with me, so it is difficult to think of one film without thinking of the other.

Trio of escaped convicts, led by Humphrey Bogart, take Fredric March and his family hostage in their own home. A well-acted thriller directed by William Wyler that, unfortunately, doesn't have as much edge as it should. This doesn't even seem particularly gritty by 1955 standards and it's certainly tame in comparison to the decades of far more brutal home invasion movies. It is interesting and the cast does a good job for the most part, but it's lacking that extra something to give it the proper amount of tension it needs. I didn't even find these guys all that menacing. Plus the characters do things that just seem to make no sense other than to keep the plot going in the way the writer needs it to. It's certainly not a bad movie, and I would probably watch Bogart and March read the phone book, but I just can't help but feel that this doesn't quite click. At least for me. I really think it would have been much better if it had more of a film noir style and edge to it. As it is, it has no visual style at all and the only menace comes from threats and tough guy talk.

"The Desperate Hours" is a tense drama about the ordeal that an ordinary family goes through when their home is invaded by a group of convicts who have just escaped from prison. Their predicament and the desperation that they feel is immediately understood by audiences everywhere and this is what gives the movie so much power and potency. The family understandably feel indignant, violated and quite helpless but also recognise that they need to be resourceful and co-operative if they are to have any hope of survival.Joseph Hayes' well written screenplay was adapted from his own novel, which was in turn inspired by a real-life incident that received a great deal of press coverage in 1952. The knowledge that this type of hostage situation actually took place gives "The Desperate Hours" added credibility and despite the strict censorship standards that applied at the time, this movie undeniably still packs a powerful punch.When a group of three escaped convicts travel through a respectable suburban estate in their stolen car, their leader Glenn Griffin (Humphrey Bogart) notices one home with a child's bicycle outside its front door and decides that this is the ideal type of residence for the men to hide out in because, if the residents have children, they will obviously be easier to control. The gang members break into the house in which housewife Eleanor Hilliard (Martha Scott) is busy at work and park their car in the Hilliards' garage.Glenn, who's accompanied by his younger brother Hal (Dewey Martin) and Sam Kobish (Robert Middleton), is armed and orders Eleanor to disclose where her husband keeps his gun. Hal then takes charge of the husband's gun and Glenn forces Eleanor to make a telephone call to his girlfriend Helen Miller, to arrange for her to deliver some money to the house later that night. When Dan Hilliard (Fredric March) and his grown up daughter Cindy (Mary Murphy) return from work and ten-year-old Ralphie (Richard Eyer) returns from school, they walk into a horrific situation and all immediately become hostages.Glenn and local Deputy Sheriff Jesse Bard (Arthur Kennedy) had crossed swords in the past and because of this, Jesse is put in charge of the manhunt. Glenn tells Dan that the gang will leave as soon as his girlfriend arrives with the money. Police checks identify where Helen is and Jesse arranges for her to be followed, so that she can lead them to the convicts. These arrangements go wrong when Helen gets stopped for committing a traffic violation and the Hilliards' plight from that point on, gets progressively worse.Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March both give strong performances as two men who are polar opposites and regard each other with nothing but contempt. Bogart, as the vicious criminal, shows the level of strain he's under as he tries to evade the attentions of the police whilst also having to control not only his hostages but also his other gang members who both become unpredictable and dangerous at times. March is very believable as the conventional department store executive who's frightened by the predicament he's in and determined to protect his family at all costs. The quality of the acting by the supporting cast is also extremely good and contributes greatly to the success of this very intense and claustrophobic thriller.

One of the last of the great film noirs came in 1955 in the shape of THE DESPERATE HOURS. Although it was filmed in Paramount's own widescreen process of Vista Vision it at once established itself and maintained its arresting noir look through its stylish use of black and white cinematography - courtesy of the great Lee Garmes - and masterful direction of William Wyler. Adapted by Joseph Hayes from his novel and play the picture also boasts a terrific cast headed by Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March and Arthur Kennedy. With a nod to his Duke Mantee in "The Petrified Forest" (1936) Bogart, in his next to last film, is superb in the kind of role he knew so well, that of the hard boiled criminal.Three escaped and armed convicts, led by notorious Glenn Griffin (Bogart), take over a house in middle class suburbia and hold the Hilliard family at gunpoint until the mail arrives the following day containing their getaway money. In the meantime the terrorized family must carry on with their everyday routine without arousing anyone's suspicions. With the police hotly on the gang's trail and closing in - the family little by little - begin to make attempts to outwit their unwelcome guests, gain the upper hand and thwart their plans. After two of the convicts are shot dead by the police the picture ends in a stunning sequence with the husband (March) confronting and fooling Griffin with an empty gun before the police marksmen, under huge arc lights, gun him down in a hail of gunfire in Hilliard's own front lawn.Thanks to Wyler's adroit direction, his genius for camera angles and set-ups, brilliant crisp cinematography and great performances THE DESPERATE HOURS is more than a neat little thriller. Suspense is maintained throughout at a very high level. Wyler's film proceeds with commendable energy and intensity. Mesmerizing is Bogart as the unshaven dishevelled sneering and dangerous leader of the three fugitives. His Glenn Griffin is one of his great and most underrated performances and should have at least earned him a nomination. Excellent too is the wonderful Fredric March as the beleaguered husband and father Dan Hilliard (Spencer Tracy was originally slated to play this part but neither he nor Bogart would accept second billing). Also good is Martha Scott (Judah Ben Hur's mother in Wyler's 1959 epic) as the wife and mother, the likable and ill-fated Gig Young as the boyfriend of Hilliard's daughter (played by pretty Mary Murphy). And there's an extraordinary performance from the rotund Robert Middleton as Kobish the violent, unscrupulous and giggling puerile convict.One disappointing aspect of the picture though is the sparse music score by composer Gail Kubik! There is an impressive raw pounding theme over the titles but no more music is heard then until towards the end of the picture. Kubik, a noted conductor, violinist and teacher was more akin to scoring shorts and documentaries and had scored only one other feature "C-Man" in 1949. It is quite extraordinary that Wyler didn't use a more established movie composer. He had always made great use of music in his films i.e. Max Steiner for "Jezebel" (1938), Alfred Newman for "Wuthering Heights" (1939), Hugo Friedhofer for "Best Years Of Our Lives" (1946) and of course later with Jerome Moross for "The Big Country" (1958) and Miklos Rozsa for "Ben Hur" (1959). THE DESPERATE HOURS must be Wyler's shortest and least involving score. However the minimalist score not withstanding his DESPERATE HOURS remains a stunning evocation of the best that ever there was in crime movies. Taking the picture's main premise Michael Comino remade the movie in 1990. It was a valiant effort spoiled by the excessive and over stylized performance by the irritating Mickey Rourke in the Bogart role - diminishing the fine portrayals of Anthony Hopkins as the husband and the excellent characterization by David Morse in the Kobish role. Ultimately though the picture, lacking the required tension and atmosphere, was little more than a pale imitation of the original.