The Desperate Hours is directed by William Wyler and adapted by Joseph Hayes from his own novel. Loosely based on real events, it had previously been a Broadway production. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, Mary Murphy, Richard Eyer and Robert Middleton. Out of Paramount Pictures, it is the first black and white picture filmed in VistaVision with photography by Lee Garmes and music by Gail Kubik.
Three escaped convicts take refuge at the suburban home of the Hilliard's, holding the family captive at gunpoint. But as the hours tick past, the three men start to come apart just as the Hilliard father begins to gain in confidence.
An excellent, if a touch too long, siege drama tinted with film noir traits, The Desperate Hours asks us to feel the fear of home invasion at the hands of someone sick or desperate. To which Wyler and company achieve their aims. Most of the action operates out of one claustrophobic location, giving the picture a sweaty edge, which when coupled with the exterior shots that paint a harmonious picket fence Americana, dials us into some 1950s paranoia. The three criminals dynamic, the conflict within, is what puts the picture into the film noir arc, particularly with the leader Glenn Griffin (Bogart), who is losing his grip on all in the house by the hour. The rest is pure melodrama, but riveting and capable of having one perched on the edge of the seat.
With two Best Actor Oscar winners in the cast, it's perhaps no surprise that the acting is high quality, with both Bogart (intense and moody) and March (two-fold characterisation of the father with a great transitional shift late on) reason enough to watch the film. Wyler, who also produces, has good sense for a stifling mood, and his action construction is high energised and thrilling, while to round things off the production value is mostly high. Some passages could have (and should have) been trimmed to cut the running time down to maybe an hour and half, and it does come close to being too stagy at times. However, film remains compelling throughout and it's very much a must see for fans of great classical acting and siege based dramas. 7/10
Three escaped convicts take refuge at the suburban home of the Hilliard's, holding the family captive at gunpoint. But as the hours tick past, the three men start to come apart just as the Hilliard father begins to gain in confidence.
An excellent, if a touch too long, siege drama tinted with film noir traits, The Desperate Hours asks us to feel the fear of home invasion at the hands of someone sick or desperate. To which Wyler and company achieve their aims. Most of the action operates out of one claustrophobic location, giving the picture a sweaty edge, which when coupled with the exterior shots that paint a harmonious picket fence Americana, dials us into some 1950s paranoia. The three criminals dynamic, the conflict within, is what puts the picture into the film noir arc, particularly with the leader Glenn Griffin (Bogart), who is losing his grip on all in the house by the hour. The rest is pure melodrama, but riveting and capable of having one perched on the edge of the seat.
With two Best Actor Oscar winners in the cast, it's perhaps no surprise that the acting is high quality, with both Bogart (intense and moody) and March (two-fold characterisation of the father with a great transitional shift late on) reason enough to watch the film. Wyler, who also produces, has good sense for a stifling mood, and his action construction is high energised and thrilling, while to round things off the production value is mostly high. Some passages could have (and should have) been trimmed to cut the running time down to maybe an hour and half, and it does come close to being too stagy at times. However, film remains compelling throughout and it's very much a must see for fans of great classical acting and siege based dramas. 7/10