Beat the Devil (1953)

Beat the Devil (1953)
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Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get uranium out of East Africa. Bogart's associates include pompous fraud Robert Morley, and Peter Lorre as the German-accented "O'Hara", whose wartime record is forever a source of speculation and suspicion. Becoming involved in Bogart's machinations are a prim British married couple (Edward Underdown and blonde-wigged Jennifer Jones). As a climax to their many misadventures and double-crosses, the uranium seekers end up facing extermination by an Arab firing squad. The satirical nature of Beat the Devil eluded many moviegoers in 1953, and the film was a failure. The fact that the picture attained cult status in lesser years failed to impress its star Humphrey Bogart, who could only remember that he lost a considerable chunk of his own money when he became involved in the project. Peter Viernick worked on the script on an uncredited basis. Beat the Devil eventually fell into public domain, leading to numerous inferior editions by second and third-tiered labels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Humphrey BogartJennifer Jones, (more)
Director(s):
John Huston
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R
Format(s):
DVD  |  Blu-ray
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Synopsis of Beat the Devil

Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get uranium out of East Africa. Bogart's associates include pompous fraud Robert Morley, and Peter Lorre as the German-accented "O'Hara", whose wartime record is forever a source of speculation and suspicion. Becoming involved in Bogart's machinations are a prim British married couple (Edward Underdown and blonde-wigged Jennifer Jones). As a climax to their many misadventures and double-crosses, the uranium seekers end up facing extermination by an Arab firing squad. The satirical nature of Beat the Devil eluded many moviegoers in 1953, and the film was a failure. The fact that the picture attained cult status in lesser years failed to impress its star Humphrey Bogart, who could only remember that he lost a considerable chunk of his own money when he became involved in the project. Peter Viernick worked on the script on an uncredited basis. Beat the Devil eventually fell into public domain, leading to numerous inferior editions by second and third-tiered labels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
93 mins

Complete Cast of Beat the Devil


Director(s):
John Huston
Writer(s):
John HustonTruman Capote
Producer(s):
Robert Haggiag
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
R(Suitable for Children)
Categories:
Comedy
Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

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Member Reviews
 
J'ADORE LE CINEMA O.

Bogie parodies his role as Rick in Casablanca, associating with, rescuing and sacrificing three unsavory characters, with great elan. Robert Morse is wonderful in his character as the soft con man, who cannot stomach violence but can easily have someone else do the dirty work. Peter Lorre parodies his Joel Cairo role as the weasel. The characters in this work are so distrustful of each other that they end up putting their own necks in the noose. Gina L is great as the sexpot girlfriend. JJones is super as the bubbleheaded english tourist. Not an academy award winner but a cute romp for some accomplished stars. This movie is totally tongue in cheek and if you thought otherwise, I think you missed it. Sorry if you got a bad copy, mine had some problems too, but heck you can buy it new for under $3.

Yes   |   No

 
Douglas B.

A spoof needs to be sufficiently outrageous to be clearly a spoof and not just a really bad original. There's too much earnestness in this to believe it was intended as a spoof in the first place. Bogey is Bogey, and the entire gang really does a pretty decent acting turn, but the story just isn't all that interesting and if it is a spoof (I think more likely that was the studio's spin after it tanked) then it is neither outrageous nor funny. Had to wake up and rewind to get back to the parts I missed. Twice.

Yes   |   No

 
Marsha H.

A whole lot of nonsense featuring several top stars. The part written for Jennifer Jones is truly unique.

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